Page 12 of Descent of Angels

He disappeared, and Jophiel and I were left looking anywhere except at each other as I knelt back down to help Joph replace Remiel’s bandages. Ade was right, of course, but by the heavens, I really wished he wasn’t.

She showed up a few hours later, as she’d promised, with steaming hot cooking pots full of spaghetti and Bolognese sauce, more bottles of water, and a bag of fruit. I could tell with one look that she hadn’t slept in the few hours since I’d seen her. We’d taken turns grabbing a couple of hours, with one of us awake to watch Remiel. I started serving dinner as she knelt next to him to check him over. I smiled as I watched her. The gray tinge to his skin had faded, and although he wasn’t exactly jumping around on his feet, his breathing seemed steadier. I was convinced she’d saved his life, and I was pretty sure the others thought so too.

I passed around the plates of food, and Jophiel held his plate up to his face and closed his eyes, breathing in the scent. “Wow, this smells incredible, Dylan. I’m so, so happy it was your farm Remiel decided to try and die on.”

I grinned.

“I’d have succeeded, too, if you all hadn’t been so damn stubborn,” a gruff voice cut in, and my grin grew wider. “And what is that amazing smell?”

“It’s dinner, provided by the beautiful Dylan,” I said, gesturing toward the woman who knelt at his side, trying to surreptitiously check under his bandages.

“I guess you’re feeling better if you’re interested in food,” Joseph remarked, smiling from ear to ear.

Remiel smiled then slowly turned his head and reached out to take Dylan’s hand. “Thank you,” he said, his voice rough. “I don’t know what you did, but I know I’d be dead if it wasn’t for you.”

Dylan blushed. “Oh no, the others, they—”

“Followed your lead,” Ade cut in, and I nodded. “Dylan’s been playing mom since we arrived.”

Remiel’s eyes traveled down Dylan’s body, and he grinned. “Does she spank you if you misbehave?”

Dylan gasped, and her face flushed red, but then I saw she was laughing along with the rest of us. “I will spank you if you don’t behave yourself,” she teased, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. “But I can guarantee you won’t enjoy it.” She stood up and moved over to get the thermos from where she’d left it near the stall door.

“I wouldn’t count on it, you gorgeous creature,” Remiel muttered quietly. Louder, he said, “You have got to be kidding.”

“Nope,” Dylan replied as she held out a spoonful of broth. “We need to get your strength up.”

“Yes, but... but...” Remiel looked over to Ade, who was happily eating a large forkful of pasta and sauce. “Ade, tell her.”

Ade shrugged his shoulders as he chewed. “Sorry, Remiel, doctor’s orders. I wouldn’t want to mess with her. I might get spanked.” His eyes met hers and sparkled with humor and something else. I shook my head. Ade might be our leader, and he might be the one reminding us of our moral duty, but it was interesting to see him flirting with Dylan too.

Dylan blushed again, then gestured with the spoon. “Can you help him up a little? Not too much. The wound is starting to close again, and I don’t want to cause any more damage, but I don’t want him to choke on this either.”

“I wouldn’t choke on the pasta,” Remiel grumbled as Ade set down his plate and helped me shift Remiel so he was in a slightly more raised position. Remiel opened his mouth to argue again, and quick as a flash, Dylan slipped a spoonful of broth between his lips. The look of surprise on Remiel’s face made me laugh.

“Actually, this tastes incredible,” he murmured, and to my astonishment, allowed Dylan to feed him three more spoonfuls.

“Dylan!”

Dylan froze as her father’s voice thundered outside. I actually watched the blood drain from her face as he shouted a second time. He sounded annoyed, and I looked over at Ade as she hastily pushed the spoon and thermos in my direction before jumping to her feet.

“Dylan—” Jophiel started, but she shook her head. “He woke up, I have to go. I didn’t realize the time. Get some rest, all of you.” She darted between the stalls and out of the door.

I turned to Ade. “She actually ran to the door.”

He nodded. I set my plate down.

“Don’t,” he said quietly.

“Don’t what?” I asked evenly.

“Don’t interfere.”

“Are you for real? Did you even see the bruises on her? The way she reacts when he calls her name is not normal.”

Ade reached out and laid a hand on my shoulder. “I agree with you, but we don’t know anything for sure. Humans don’t trust us as it is, so how do you think it’ll look if we rough up a human and it turns out he’s done nothing wrong?”

“I’m telling you, there’s something not right here,” I insisted.

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