Page 25 of Wings of Deception
As I shift, I feel a weight on my back that hadn’t been there earlier.What the hell?
I reach behind me and find a jacket draped across my shoulders. When I pull it toward me, I’m enveloped in the familiar scent of leather with just a hint of something floral that I can’t place.
The only person who’d been in the library before was Zeke. But why would he have done it? Based on our interaction earlier and the fact he’s been ignoring me this past week, it’s more than likely that he wouldn’t notice me at all.
Deciding not to bother worrying about it, I check my slate to find a missed text from Raphael.
Raphael: Up for another picnic tonight, sunshine? Theo can’t make it, so you’re stuck with just me.
I smile, my mood shifting entirely from this one message.
Hayliel:Who could turn down food? It’s a date *drool emoji*
The moment I hit send, my stomach drops. Fuck. Why did I have to put the drool emoji after the date part? It clearly should have gone after the food part. I probably shouldn’t have even said the date bit at all.
While I put away the books and pack up my things, I try not to let my worries get the best of me. After all, it’s possible he didn’t notice. Right?
12
Thesenewmarkingsworryme. From what Dad says, runes and rituals aren’t really a demon thing, or at least they haven’t been in the past three hundred years.
The library is quiet, and images of Hayliel sprawled out on the grass with her Pure boyfriends keep popping into my brain. I shake them off and throw myself into researching the runes.
I’m here to join the Assassins’ Guild and avenge my mom. Nothing else matters. As much as I may need the distraction, this particular task is more like pulling out teeth. The Archangels had most of the books rewritten, and the few pieces of original text I found were scribbled out or ripped up.
With my frustration mounting, I stand and head back to comb through the texts once more. If I’m honest, this feels like a waste of fucking time. I stroll through the aisles, scanning each title for anything that might seem useful. Most of them are shit, but I find one that sounds promising and head back to read through it.
Before I step out from between two bookshelves, I find Hayliel looking at the texts I left laid out on the table. I watch as her eyes trace the details of the sun blade with curiosity. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, looking rather adorable in a purple Silver City University sweater. Part of me wishes I could talk to her, tell her everything I know and see what she thinks, but I’m still angry.
At her. At myself. At those pieces of shit from the school newsletter. And even at those Pure boys for offering the support to her that I can’t seem to manage. I know it’s misplaced, but it’s there all the same.
The low lighting in the library brings out the dark circles beneath her eyes. As angels, we can handle a ton of shit that mortals can’t, and it takes a lot to wear us out. So what the hell is keeping her up at night? I shake off my worry, though, because she’s strong. I knew it from the moment we first met, and every encounter with her so far has only solidified it. For all I know, her little Pure groupies are the reason that she’s so tired. If she screams for them as much as she did for me …
My slate pings with a notification, interrupting my train of thought. I watch as Hayliel reads the pop up, her brow furrowing from whatever she sees.
“What are you doing?” I ask, causing her to freeze. Keeping my face blank, I walk back to my spot and do my best to ignore her.
“I just … wanted to talk, but you walked away when I arrived.” She finally looks up at me, stepping back as our eyes lock. Maybe I haven’t done such a good job at keeping my face neutral after all.
“There’s nothing to talk about. I have to get back to this.” It takes every ounce of willpower I have not to push the books off this table and fuck her until this all blows over.
She wants to talk? Like we can be friends after she brushed me aside for something better? All I want to do is fuck some sense into her and show her just what she’s missing out on. But I don’t. Instead, I sit back in my chair and crack open my book like it’s the most interesting thing in the fucking world. Like her sweet, earthy scent isn’t making me lose my goddamn mind.
I jot something down in my slate, pretending to find the information in this dusty old tomb wholly fascinating when in reality, I can’t keep my thoughts off the luscious angel beside me. Fuck. If she doesn’t leave soon, I might do something we’ll both regret.
As if she can hear my thoughts, she walks away. The air around me feels colder with her gone, like she’s taken all the warmth with her. The longer she’s gone, the less the air tastes of honeyed sugar. But as I try to focus on my research again, one thought keeps niggling at the corners of my mind.What if this is all a big misunderstanding and she actually wants me?
The light on my slate flashes, reminding me of the notification from earlier. A message from the Guild. Shit. Another attack, and I’m needed in an hour.
I’ve still got a few minutes before I have to leave though, so I push aside all thoughts of one very special gray-winged angel and focus.
The book in front of me is another rewritten text, but this one details an old historic account of the first demons in Silver City. Instead of God removing them from our land, it states the Archangels were responsible.
No one truly knows how demons came to be. Our old textbooks might have told us they’ve always existed, even saying they co-existed with us, but we know that to be false; a lie woven into old stories to fool us. It is our understanding that demons only came to be from our corruption. Since the dawn of time, angels have been tempted by the sinful and the wicked. Each of us fought that desire and chose purity over all else until one day, they didn’t.
I keep reading, falling deeper into the realization that this book is basically just ‘he said, she said.’ Whether the old God was right or the Archangels are, I have no clue, but I don’t have the fucking time to figure it out.
This volume was the last hope I had of finding something without visiting the Knowledge house. Their library is at least three times the size of ours. It’s foolish of me, but I hate needing the Pures for anything.