Page 9 of Wings of Valor
“Take the bitch and get the fuck out of here,” Theo warns Big Forehead, his usual soft voice completely gone.
Before he can scramble away, Zeke grabs him by the throat. “And if you so much asthinkabout coming near Hayliel again, I swear to every being in this realm and the next that you won’t like the consequences. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes,” Big Forehead squeaks out before grabbing his friend’s unconscious body. Hoisting the bloodied mess over his shoulder, he stumbles down the path to the main hall. Whatever I did must’ve really messed up his eyesight, because the dude trips over everything—nearly dropping Thin Eyebrows more than once.
When they’re far enough away, three sets of eyes turn to me. “What happened?” Raph asks.
I struggle to breathe. It feels like the weight of ten demons sits on my chest, though I know it’s only anger. Looks like I didn’t take all my aggression out on those two.
I try several times to answer but can’t get the words out. Then the shakes kick in.
Fuck. I’m a mess.
“It’s alright. Let’s get you cleaned up first. Come with me.” Raphael leads me to Somersault Falls, where I drop to my knees and rinse the blood from my hands. Cold water washes away thephysical signs of a struggle, but the emotional wounds remain raw and festering. By the time I’m done, the knees of my uniform are wet and covered in sand, but I feel a little calmer. Enough to explain, at least.
“They called me an orphan and said my parents killed themselves to get away from me.” I fixate on the waterfall, unable to meet their gaze. Without looking at them, I sense their rising anger like a dark, warm cloud snuggling up to my own.
“Those motherfuckers. I’ll show them what death fucking feels like,” Zeke says. It’s like he can feel the bloodlust rising in my veins because in this moment, that’s exactly what I want. For them to know how much anguish I’m in. To feel how fucking hard I’m trying to keep myself from falling apart.
My mental connection with Theo flares, his anger matching mine, but in a far more refined way. “I want to harm them as much as the rest of you, but if any of us gets kicked out, our job of protecting Hayliel and saving this fucking city becomes all that much harder.”
How the hell does he stay so clear-headed all the time? It’s both endearing and, at this moment, slightly annoying. That’s likely the rage talking, though, because he’s not wrong. If any one of us gets expelled—or worse, imprisoned by the guild—we’re screwed.
Scattered along the bottom of my bag, I find a hair elastic and pile my hair into a messy bun on top of my head. “Let’s just go to the cave before I change my mind and spend the day in my room.”
The thought gets more appealing with every passing moment, so depending on how things go, I may wind up there anyway.
Mira and Castiel are already in the cave when we arrive. I’m a little shocked not to find Azrael sitting with them, but it’s probably harder for him to get away than the rest of us. Besides,I want him at the guild looking into the items they took from my parents’ house.
He and Zeke took several blood samples from both angels and demons. They also took a few chunks of mud and wet sand they found inside the house, too. Azrael thinks he can track where they originated from. It doesn’t guarantee we’ll find my parents, but maybe it’ll help me figure out where Auriel wanted the trade to happen, since the piece of shit didn’t even leave me with a fucking destination.
How am I supposed to give myself over when I don’t know where to go?
If Azrael finds out where my parents are being kept, I’ll go there myself and bring them back, or I’ll sell my soul for their freedom. Those are the only two options.
I just might have to keep the one I choose to myself.
“Miss Hayliel.” Castiel approaches, looking just as tired as I feel. His hair, which is normally tied back, now frames his face. Maybe he cared just as little as I did for looks this morning. “I spoke with the principal about the possibility of dropping Wingology from your course load. He doesn’t understand the want for it, considering how close we are to finals. For now, the best he could do is allow you to drop it as a major.”
“It’s still better than nothing. If any other professor taught the class, I’d love to continue, but I don’t think there’s any benefit to it while Uriel runs it. Besides, we both know he’s going to fail me at the slightest infraction. Thank you for talking to him on my behalf.” It’s not as if I can convince the school to come watch me fly on the island, and as long as I’m in the arena with Uriel, I won’t make any progress with the obstacle course.
Castiel nods. “I know it might feel like you’re running away or we’re giving up, but I promise that’s not the case. This is a delicate matter, one I must handle a certain way if we want Uriel to get the punishment he deserves. I’ve been assembling a caseto bring to Principal Cael, but I just need a bit more time before I can present it.”
Words fail me as I comprehend just what he’s saying. “I … Thank you, Castiel. Seriously. You’ve been a friend from the start, and that means more than I can say.”
Castiel blushes at my praise, and Zeke clears his throat. “I’m all for Uriel getting his due, so if you need anything from us, just say the word. Now, we only have a few days left before the deadline. Since we’re all against Hayliel turning herself in and we clearly can’t decide on a plan of action, could we consider an ambush? Perhaps we can capture whoever shows up at the meeting point—then the guild can do their thing and extract information for us.”
I hate the idea, but I can tell the others don’t feel the same.
Raphael nods. “They could even lead us straight to his hideout.”
Theo at least looks pensive. “Maybe. But I think the risk would be too high. We’d still need to extricate her parents without sounding the alarm. Depending on whether they’re brought to the swap point or being kept somewhere else—and who or what is protecting them—that may prove difficult.”
“I won’t risk my parents to save myself,” I say defiantly. My life is not worth more than theirs. “Besides, we don’t even have a location to meet at, let alone ambush.”
Castiel strokes his stubble-lined chin. “What if I could get an audience with one of the other Archangels? Would anyone protest?”
“Uh,” Raphael says. “I don’t know about that. We could be jumping from one bad outcome to something worse.”
