Page 80 of Wings of Strife
Zeke: My shift is done, so I’m available anytime, too.
Hayliel: Eventful, to say the least. We’ll call in a few minutes to explain. Wish you were both here.
Theo: Me too, firefly. Me too.
The little typing bubbles pop up several times from Zeke before eventually fading. I’m desperate to know what he was going to say, but I don’t let myself dwell on it. If he wants to be part of this, he’ll need to let down his guard and say so. I’m done trying to read his mixed signals.
When Raphael ends the call a few minutes later, he turns to me with a small grin that tells me everything I need to know. The rune weaver has agreed to help us. At least we havesomegood news.
“Theo and Zeke are ready to chat whenever we are,” I tell him, trying to keep the panicked thoughts from returning.
He must pick up on it because he takes my hand in his. “We’ll call now, but first, were you able to reach your parents?”
“I was. They’re fine. Bless the fucking Archangels for that.”
He pulls me into his arms, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “Good. That’s good.”
We settle onto his bed and spare no more time before connecting with the group. While we snuggle up among a mass of pillows and blankets, we prop the slate up on a lap desk that Raphael pulled from his closet, and I immediately want one for myself.
For a second, I worry maybe we shouldn’t sit so close together but then chastise myself for even thinking it. If last night taught me anything, it’s that I need to give angels the chance to reactor not. I can’t keep trying to predict the future, worrying about what-ifs. We have far worse things to worry about.
Theo and Zeke immediately pick up on our moods, asking us to explain what went down.
Raph shakes his head. “You go first. What did you learn from Uriel’s classroom?”
Zeke rolls his eyes, clearly annoyed with Raph for putting off the sharing of what we learned, but in this instance, he’s right. Once we tell them about war, everything else is going to feel a hell of a lot smaller in comparison.
Theo shrugs. “Nothing substantial. His planner had a few appointments, but it’s not like he wrote out the names or any incriminating details. Other than that, we found a decoding tool that went along with a map of the city. There were several marked areas on it, but we weren’t able to decode the notes before we had to leave. Castiel took photos, though, so he’s not giving up.”
“Marked areas? Those don’t sound good,” Raphael says, and I frown.
Zeke sits forward, getting closer to the screen. “Do you remember where they were?”
“Let me guess,” I say before Theo can respond, “One was in the Fallen district?”
“No, actually. That’s what was so weird about it. The marked places almost seemed random. If there’s a rhyme or reason to them, we don’t know what it is yet.” He frowns. “Why did you think it would be there? What happened?”
“The good news is, Raduriel agreed to help us, and I’ve already spoken to the rune weaver. She needs our measurements and a list of runes we want sewn into the fabric. Given the next bit we have to tell you, we should give her this information as fast as possible so she can get started right away.”
A message from Zeke flashes across the top of the screen. His measurements and rune selection sit there for a few seconds before disappearing.
“Do you just have your body measurements saved to your notes or something?” Theo asks, voice teasing.
“Ha. Ha,” Zeke replies, his tone annoyed, but I see the slight tilt to his lips. “Those are from getting fitted for the guild uniform. Now, what is it you aren’t telling us?”
We explain what Raduriel told us, sparing no details, and the further we get into it, the more jittery I become.
Zeke huffs out a derisive breath. “That’s extreme, isn’t it? A war against demons I can understand, but Fallen? Don’t they remember what happened the last time we had a war among our kind? It didn’t end well.”
“Not to mention, because of the ridiculous rules of the guild, the entirety of our angelic fighters are Fallen. How the hell do they plan to handle that?” Theo adds, and holy shit, he’s right. If the Archangels declare war on Fallen, will they force the guild to attack their own?
All of this is too much.
The need to see my parents face to face and make sure they’re alright is an itch I need to scratch. I won’t be able to sleep tonight without knowing they’re safe. “I’m going to the Fallen district. Tonight. If the Archangels truly are planning to declare war, my parents won’t stand a chance. Maybe we can ward their house like we did the cave? Or at the very least, I can try to convince them to take a vacation somewhere far away. I hear Earth is beautiful.”
My breaths come fast, my mouth dry as I try to take in more air than my stiff lungs will allow.
“Breathe, sunshine,” Raphael murmurs, soothing me.
