Page 38 of Wings of Strife
Below us, the water roils angrily, but from all the way up here, it’s almost picturesque. There’s something about the ocean that captivates me. Its depth seemingly endless, full of unknown creatures and hidden secrets just begging to be explored. Still, I wouldn’t give up being able to fly to breathe under water.
It doesn’t take long for the island Castiel told us about to come into view.
Hayliel sucks in a breath when she sees it, the sound stolen by the wind. “What is this place?”
“Paradise,” I yell over the wind whipping by us while we fly. Even though Castiel described it to us, the sight of it amazes me, and I wish I knew what Hayliel was thinking. Does she feel transported to another realm, just like I do? Does it feel like the worries and troubles in her life are somehow diminished out here, as if they’re nothing more than pebbles sinking to the vast ocean floor?
We land on craggy rocks that make up one of the three mountain peaks set in an almost perfect triangle. When Castiel said this would be the perfect spot for us to implement our idea, I didn’t believe him, but now, seeing it with my own eyes, I know he was right. Apparently this used to be a training grounds of sorts, long before the Archangels took over. Now it’s entirely abandoned.
“It’s beautiful,” she murmurs, twisting around three hundred and sixty degrees to get the full view.
Theo, Zeke, and I do the same, taking in the salty air and mixture of green, grays, and browns of the surrounding landscape. “We thought it might help to practice flying maneuvers away from the rest of the world. What do you think?”
Tears well in her eyes, but they don’t fall. She just grins like a fool and nods. “The only thing that would make this better is caffeine.”
“Holy shit. Slow down, sunshine!” Hayliel’s black wing jacket lies crumpled in a pile on the grass. Her golden wings shimmer as the sun crests the horizon, but she’s moving so fast it looks more like a lit sparkler at midnight, leaving a trail of sizzling flares in its wake.
Without the pressure of Uriel and her classmates, she’s much faster. Like wickedly fast. Unbelievably fast. It’s hot as fuck.
She lands beside me with the biggest grin I’ve ever seen spread across her face. Happiness shines from her in waves, surrounding me as she wraps me in a hug so tight it steals my breath.
“Are you having fun, little sun?”
Theo and Zeke land before she can respond. They’d taken up residence on one of the other two mountain tops so that Hayliel always had one of us close by. She gives me one last squeeze before pulling away and looking at the others.
“This is by far one of the best days I’ve had in a long time. Thank you.”
“It was nothing, firefly. We’re just glad to be here with you,” Theo says, returning her hug.
When they separate, she immediately beelines for Zeke, who looks shocked that she’d include him in her thank you tour. His face settles into something serene when he rests his chin on thetop of her head. Shit. I can’t deny the hold she has over all three of us. Not that I’m willing to just accept him into the fold and forget all the fucked up stuff he’s done. At least not yet. He’s got a lot of shit to make up for.
Hayliel stretches, and I have to stop myself from drooling. Her eyes light up for a second before she turns to Zeke and says, “Hey, I meant to ask you something earlier. Why don’t you ever use weather manipulation? They would have taught you last year, right? We all saw what Seraphina’s little stunt did to me, and apparently I was lucky to get off as unscathed as I did. I bet a little lightning strike would help a ton in our fights against demons.”
She makes a valid point. Why wouldn’t he use every power at his disposal?
He shrugs. “It’s not a power I feel particularly gifted in, given the lack of practice. Besides, the guild advises us not to use it. It’s unpredictable and volatile, and has caused more harm than good in the past. Honestly, the fact that Seraphina managed to strike you dead on is surprising. It’s a lot harder than it looks.”
“Ugh. I hate that she’s skilled,” Hayliel grumbles, and I must admit, my girl looks awfully adorable when she’s annoyed. “Still. I don’t think we should rule it out entirely. Maybe we can add it to training once a week?”
The three of us share a look, but I don’t even know why we bother. It’s not as if any of us will deny her.
A thought grows in my mind until I’m practically vibrating with excitement. “Fine. But we came here to get away from reality for a bit so I was thinking. Now that you’ve got a good sense of the island, how do you feel about a race?”
She pulls away from the grumpy bastard and looks at me, her eyes lit up and damn near glowing. “I’m in!”
“Winner gets to have whatever they want. A favor of their choosing from the losers. Does everyone agree?”
Zeke looks like he wants to disagree.Hard.But he nods along with Hayliel and Theo. Perfect. I’d kill to have that asshole owe me a favor.
I motion everyone toward the starting line we’d drawn on the rocks for Hayliel. “We start here, wind around each of the mountain peaks, and the first angel to touch down back on top here, wins. If no one objects, Theo can count us down.”
No one pipes up in disagreement, so I rub my hands together with glee.
“We’ll go on three,” Theo says as everyone gets into position. “One. Two. Three!”
With a leap and a flap of my wings, I’m in the air, racing toward the first mountain. The others keep up with me easily as we zip around the first peak, but by the second peak, Hayliel and Zeke are pulling ahead.
Fuck!
