Page 93 of Wings of Valor
Pulling back, I glance down at Raphael and really look at him for the first time. His pants are covered in blood, and there, on his chest, is a thin line crusted with blood. When I look up at him, he’s grinning at Theo.
“You’re one to talk. Look at your cheek.”
“I can try…” I say, then drop it when I sense how empty my power reserves are.
“It’s alright, firefly,” Theo says.
Zeke rubs a thumb against my cheek, wiping away my tears. “It gives them character.”
Laughter tumbles up from my throat that quickly turns into a sob as I glance back down at Castiel’s body.
“Don’t cry,” Phiel says. “He died defending the city he loves, which is exactly how he would have wanted to go.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. There will be time to break down later. Right now, there’s still work to do.
“Have you heard from your father?” I ask Zeke when I open my eyes.
He nods. “He’s with Briathos. They’ve cleared out all remaining demons in the district, but now they’re trying to find Malik. Briathos saw him with a woman not too long ago, but the building they went into collapsed.”
So many questions flood my mind at once.
Why did half the demons leave?
What was Auriel offering them to make them fight?
What was Malik doing in the Fallen district, and who was the girl?
I don’t think I’ll get any answers right now, so all I say is, “We should help them and the wounded.”
“If it’s alright with you,” Isadora says to Remiel, who still hasn’t left my side. “I’d like to bring Castiel to the sanctuary and prepare him.”
My eyes prick, hot with the promise of tears, but I hold them back. Later.
“Of course. I’ve already notified the guards to keep the gates open.” He turns to me then, eyes soft. “It may not feel like it right now, but you saved the city. We can handle the wounded, if you want to accompany Castiel’s body.”
I spare another glance at Castiel’s unmoving form. As much as I want to, I’m afraid. This grief feels too big, too suffocating. I’m worried if I let it in, I might never find my way out. “I can do more good out here, but Isadora, please let me know where he is, so I can see him after.”
She offers me a sad smile, and then she and Phiel grab Castiel’s body and leave with Remiel.
Raphael, Theo, Zeke, Mira, and I walk in silence toward the ruins of the Fallen district. The damage here is extensive. Irreparable. Which is good, I think. Going forward, we will no longer sequester Fallen angels away from society. This area can go back to what it once was. A place for guild lieutenants and their families to live—except now it’ll be for all angels regardless of wing color or background.
Hopefully, the house Zeke grew up in remains intact. With so many memories of his mother there, I’d hate for him to lose anything more in this war.
“Bombs?” Raphael asks as we grow closer to the decimated brick that once was a wall. Chunks of it lie scattered on the ground.
Zeke nods. “But I don’t see any blade shards, so they must have just been normal ones.”
“That’s good. I hope they were destroyed in the bunker,” Theo says as we step into the throng of moving bodies. Time passes in a blur as we busy ourselves in the search for wounded angels.
Malik checks in from the sanctuary after rushing another angel there for healing, and I’m relieved that another professor isn’t dead because of me. I know my friends would tell me it’s not my fault, and maybe someday I’ll believe them, but not today.
So instead, I focus on making myself useful by healing as many angels as my power supply will allow. Sweat coats my skin, but still I don’t stop until there’s no one left. We head back to the sanctuary, with Raphael and Theo helping Zeke. He doesn’t look nearly as frustrated as I feel.
Later, I’ll have time to mourn. For Castiel. For the other dead angels. For Zeke’s wing.
I tried to save everyone, and I failed.
It’s going to be a long road to recovery for all of us, but at least now the city can heal.
