Page 59 of Wings of Strife
She’s barely conscious while I clean her up, and it takes great effort for her to swallow even a few sips of water. When I put everything away, I crawl into bed beside her, letting her soft skin soothe my mind. It races with questions and worries, all of my thoughts jumbling into a messy tangle. But one stands out among the rest.
It’s not safe for her anymore. Frankly, I don’t think it ever has been.
“Hayliel, baby,” I whisper against the top of her head. She snuggles into my chest but doesn’t say a word. “I don’t think youshould sleep alone anymore. How would you feel about staying the night with someone from now on?”
Her body grows still, and I can feel her heart rate pick up from where she’s pressed into me.
“Sunshine?”
“I … I don’t know,” she says groggily, but I don’t miss the telltale sign of fear in her tone.
Shit. She probably thinks I mean for her to choose, but that’s the last thing I want. I mean, sure, do I want her to spend more time with that grumpy house leader? No. He’s been a dick to her most of the time, and while I can appreciate that he’s taken his head out of his ass, a leopard doesn’t change its spots.
But despite my feelings about him, Hayliel enjoys having him around, and what she wants far outweighs everything else. If she wants to give him a second chance, I won’t stand in her way.
Though I may not be there with open arms either.
“You could rotate between my dorm, Theo’s dorm, and even Ezekiel’s, if you were interested. I doubt either of them would mind. Especially not after tonight.”
She lifts her head from my chest, eyes that are no longer sleepy roam my face like she’s trying to see if I’m being sincere. “You’d really be okay with that?”
Does she even comprehend the lengths I would go for her happiness? For her safety?
“Baby, I would live with you, Theo, and Zeke in that damn cave for eternity, if that’s what you wanted.”
Her bottom lip quivers and a single tear falls down her cheek. By the Archangels, she’s so fucking beautiful.
“Come,” I say, pulling her gently back down to my chest. “Let’s get some sleep. Morning will be here far too soon.”
26
We meet in the cave before school. It hadn’t been the plan, but when the usually quiet house leader asks everyone to go somewhere, you show up. It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t intrigued. All he’d said was there’d been a new development, which could mean anything. Good or bad.
I was about to stop by and escort Hayliel. Want to join?I press the message through my private bond with Raphael, curious what he’ll think of Zeke’s summoning.
His cheerful voice enters my head with a response.I’m actually with her now. We’ll be at the cave in five minutes.
Give her a kiss for me.Smiling, I imagine him doing just that. I shake my head, not needing to get lost in the lust fog that Hayliel is so good at dragging me into without even trying.
Before I leave my room, I shoot off a message to Castiel, letting him know of Zeke’s request. We really should open up a path to communicate with our entire group instead of having to send different messages to include everyone, even if it’s frowned upon by the university to have private mental connections with students.
It takes me no time at all to arrive at the cave, but only Dina is here. Castiel still hasn’t responded to my message, so I have no clue if he’ll show up. Dina says she’s having lunch with Mira and Hayliel, so at least they can loop the girl in on anything important.
When Hayliel and Raphael arrive, I expect a happier pair than the two angels in front of me. Something must’ve happened. As hard as I try, I can’t help but worry it’s about the odd sort of relationship we’ve formed. I push those thoughts aside, though. They would tell me if something was wrong.
Zeke is the last to arrive, and the man looks furious. I don’t think I’ve ever seen his scowl so deep, and I’ve seen it pretty damn fucking deep. If I was wondering before whether this news was good or bad, I now have my answer.
This shit isbad.
“Sorry I’m late. Have you updated anyone yet?” he asks Dina. When she shakes her head, he continues. “Then I’ll cut to the chase. The Fallen library was vandalized last night. So far, there have been no witnesses, but we’re still looking into it and searching for the culprit. I haven’t ruled out Uriel’s little Fallen minions, but the thought that Fallen ruined their own fucking library pisses me off more than if it were a Pure.”
I consider his words, but the motives don’t line up. What would tearing apart an entire university house library prove? That wouldn’t just harm Hayliel. It would harm the entire Fallen population at Silver City University and the school itself. Fromwhat we’ve seen of Uriel, he wants to keep shit contained to just Hayliel.
My gaze travels to the woman I can’t seem to shake, and I catch her and Raphael sharing a look that has unease curling through me.
“What do you know?”
Raphael’s usually happy persona turns dark as he says, “Hayliel couldn’t sleep last night, so she went to the Fallen library. Instead of studying, she had two Fallen and some cloak-wearing psycho coming after her. She ran and ended up at my dorm, where she spent the night.”
