Page 62 of Wings of Valor
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It’s been a week since the rescue, and yet it feels like an entire year has passed.
My parents are safe, thank fuck, but Zeke … he hasn’t woken up yet. The healers tell me this is normal—encouraged, even, with their medicine. I guess losing one’s wing does far more to the body than I realized, and with me reattaching it, things are even further out of our control. The healers say what I’ve done is unheard of, so their estimates of when he’ll wake up are just that: guesses.
Still, I don’t regret what I did. I just hate waiting. All I want is five minutes. Five minutes! To tell him he’s safe. That I love him and we’ll be here whenever he wakes up. Is that too much to ask?
Apparently it is.
If that wasn’t bad enough, we finally found out why Castiel was acting so strangely. Turns out, I’ve been expelled from Silver City University—effective immediately. He kept it to himself all this time because he didn’t want to add more to my plate. To be honest, I wasn’t all that surprised. I’d already failed Wingology class and knew there were secret, important meetings being discussed about me.
The news might have shocked me once, but not now. And with everything else on the horizon, I can’t find it in me to care.
“Hayles, wait up!” Dina calls from behind me. She was waiting for us at the sanctuary when we got back from our mission. I guess her dad has let up on her now that I’ve been MIA, so she doesn’t have to fly home every day. Instead of waiting around and attending class like nothing was going on, she grabbed a few things and came here as fast as she could.
Gagiel and the others stopped her in the hall to check up on me, so at least I know not everyone hates me on campus. Though I’m sure Seraphina and Cadriel are thrilled to have me gone.
“Hey,” I say back, though it’s lackluster. A lot of the things I do lately are.
“Where are you off to?” she asks, falling in step with me.
“To check on my parents. I’m still not sure they’ll ever be the same after …”
“They’ll get there. We all will. Mind if I join?”
What she doesn’t realize is that I don’t know if I’ll get there, especially not while Auriel and the demons exist. “Not at all. They’d love to see you.”
My parents finally know the truth about what I am. As soon as we knew Zeke was in the hands of the healers, they’d hounded me for details about the strange power I used on the cells. They’d already figured out it had to do with my change in wing color, but to say the truth shocked them is an understatement.
Just like it’s always been, my differences don’t faze them. They love me as much as they always have, and I know—in the very marrow of my bones—that will never change.
We finally stop in front of the room Remiel gave my parents. It’s farther away than I’d like, but that can’t be helped, or so I’m told. The door opens before I even have to knock. Dad stands on the other side while Mom is setting some food down on the coffee table.
“Come in, come in,” Dad says. “Good to see you, Dina. Mari, we’ll need another plate.”
Mom puts another plate down and rushes over to us. “My two favorite girls!”
My nose burns, warning me of oncoming tears, but I fight them back. This all feels way too familiar. This place may not be our home, but everything about this visit is like before. Mom has been busying herself in the kitchen while Dad explores and waits to try whatever she puts in front of him. Now the four of us are hanging out like everything since my attending Silver City University never happened.
Damn. Maybe my parents are tougher than I ever gave them credit for.
We barely shut the door when a knock sounds.
“Expecting someone else?” I ask as a tingle of worry creeps down my spine.
“No.”
Finding my well of power, I reach for the handle and open the door, ready to blast anyone who means us harm.
Remiel is on the other side, standing a few steps back from the door like he knew I’d be wary. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but your presence is requested in the council room.”
I get the sneaking suspicion thatrequestedisn’t the right word. That would imply I have a choice.
“Of course. Just let me say goodbye—”
“No need. They’re welcome, too. Come, or we’ll be late.”
Great. This is just how I wanted to spend my afternoon. I glance once more at the food Mom prepared for us and sigh. So much for comfort food.
