Page 32 of Wings of Strife
I should feel pleased, but the way he says the words makes me think it’s a far darker story than I might hope. “What do you mean?”
“A very long time ago, there were two powerful Seraphim. A pair of siblings, one boy and one girl. As they grew, so too did their power. Eventually, God began to feel threatened by them until one day, he snapped. He moved against the Seraphim and anyone who stood in his way. It took all four of the Archangels to stop him, but not without casualties, including the last two Seraphim in recorded history.”
As Castiel speaks, my heart breaks for the two siblings. The word Seraphim bounces around my head, ping-ponging through my mind until I remember where I’ve seen it before. There was a book in the library with pages ripped out that mentioned this type of angel. Is what happened with God the reason all mention of them has been removed from history, because they can’t be trusted? Maybe I haven’t escaped my fate of being a monster.
“Was there any truth to God’s suspicions? Were the Seraphim trying to take over?” Theo asks like he plucked the very thoughts from my mind.
“That I don’t know. I only met them once when they were young and both seemed kindhearted. Like you.” He says that last point to me, and I wonder just how much of my worry is plastered on my face.
“Do we know how they died?” I ask, wondering how such powerful beings could be taken from this world.
“Not exact details, no. But as far as I know, only God could kill a Seraphim, so I would suspect one of their last acts in this world was helping to save Silver City from tyranny.”
If that were true, then why aren’t they celebrated as the Archangels are? Why isn’t the story more widely spread? It makes no sense.
“With no God around, does that mean she’s truly immortal? And if so, is that why she survived the blade and not because of the faulty runes?” Raphael asks, causing my heart to squeeze. It’s a scary thought to consider. True immortality would be incredible, but not alone. I couldn’t survive living forever if it meant being without my friends and family. That would be a fate worse than death.
The second part of his comment finally registers. “Wait. What do you mean, faulty runes?”
Raph and Theo share a look, then Theo shrugs and says, “The dagger we pulled from your shoulder looked off. Some of the runes didn’t fully connect. We couldn’t tell if it was old and faded, or if something else was at play.”
I read between his words easily enough. They think the demons supplying the angel blades are messing with them, but if that’s the case, what about the one I saw Roderick use to kill that guy? Because he absolutely died. And besides, it was demons that attacked me with the blade. Why would they use a faulty blade? It doesn’t make sense.
Before Castiel can answer Raphael’s question, Zeke asks one of his own. “If you suspected what she was all along, why didn’t you say anything?” My hard-headed, grumpy house leader looks more angry than usual, but this time his ire isn’t directedatme, butforme.
Castiel sighs. “I can only speculate on her mortality, I’m afraid, but I can comment on the runed dagger. It isn’t the runes that make it deadly. It’s the material used to make the blade.Shards of a very powerful scythe. Even if they messed with the runes, on purpose or not, that thing would still kill any one of us except for her. As for the rest, there are many reasons I didn’t speak up about my suspicions. To start, there has been no record of Seraphim since the siblings died, so how Miss Hayliel possesses the gene is frankly a miracle. And besides, I was under the impression that they have golden wings as soon as they develop.”
Zeke rolls his eyes. “Fine. Say I believe that excuse. Why wouldn’t you have at least mentioned it after her wings changed? You knew how hard she was looking, how much pain she was in not knowing what she was. Keeping that knowledge to yourself was cruel.”
Butterflies flutter to life in my belly as Zeke defends me. Even with the distance he’s kept lately, it’s nice to know he still has my back.
“If I had gotten her hopes up and been wrong, that would have been far more painful for her. What happened near the well could have been a fluke from your transformation, a one-time thing only. It’s only when you told me about surviving an angel blade that I felt confident.”
“And yet you still needed confirmation from a stranger, someone outside our group who now knows the truth,” Zeke grumbles, growing more annoyed with the professor.
Castiel, ever the mature angel, doesn’t seem to notice. “A necessary evil, yes. Phiel is trustworthy. He’s a recluse by choice, but he knows how to keep his mouth shut. Regardless, knowing what I do now, I’m sorry that I didn’t share my suspicions with you earlier, Miss Hayliel. I hope you’ll forgive me someday.”
I smile, not having even an ounce of space in my soul for anger. Not today. “There is nothing to forgive, Castiel. I understand what Zeke is saying, and I even feel those exact same things, but you’re right. If I had known what you suspected andthen it was wrong, I would have felt so much worse. The fact is that we know now. Finally, after all these years, I know who I am.”
“I’ve always known who you are, babe,” Dina says with pride in her voice. “You’re my best friend and the greatest angel I know. The difference now is that we knowwhatyou are. You’re still you. Don’t forget that.”
Tears well in my eyes as I nod at my oldest friend.
“When I was little, my grandmother would read me stories before bed and there was one I always insisted on hearing,” Mira says, grinning as she recalls the memory. “It was a story about a golden-winged angel with the power to heal others and harness a blade made of pure sunfire. I always thought it was made up, just a story to bring hope to little girls like me, but maybe it was real.”
She stares at me with open adoration, like I’m the one her grandmother used to read about, but I’m nowhere close to being a beacon of hope. If what her story talked about is true, then maybe someday I can be.
To my surprise, she doesn’t ask to see my wings, which only makes me like her more. Why can’t more angels be like her? Instead, I’m stuck at a school filled with creeps like Professor Uriel or cruel bullies like Seraphina and Cadriel.
“Castiel, do you recall when the last sunblade was made?” Zeke asks. His question causes me to pause because I know exactly where his mind is going. But there’s no way, right?
My mind whirls in a million directions as I wait for Castiel to answer.
“Picked up on that, did you?”
“Can you elaborate for those of us who aren’t quite following?” Dina asks sheepishly, and I can’t help but laugh.
Castiel chuckles too, then nods. “Sunblades are created using sunfire, which only the Seraphim can harness. They have what’s called the smiting touch and can summon sunfire at will to killdemons with a single touch. Imbuing any weapon with sunfire will make it strong enough to kill those creatures too.”
