5. Cat
Chapter five
Cat
I couldn’t breathe. I could barely move. I struggled to recall my own name.
These weren’t pictures or videos—these angels were really here, standing in front of me. And they were massive.
They were here .
Male and female both towered over us by more than a head, some of them having to be near seven feet tall. Their wings were even taller than that, brushing the ceiling of the large conference room they had shoved us in. Metallic-glazed feathers—the metal not unlike frost etched on a window—were perched on their massive wings, making them shimmer under the fluorescent lights. We were told that not all angels had that feature, and this only belonged to those who lived in the Ashen Mountain. But beyond that, we knew next to nothing about the angels’ magics, no matter how much we asked.
The angels were beautiful, but far more fearsome than I anticipated. Their features were angular and sharp, their eyes roaming over everything like hunters searching for weakness in their prey. Tight leather and fabric in dark jewel tones graced their bodies, showing off angles that belonged on statues and not flesh. I had seen thousands of grainy and blurry pictures and videos, but nothing compared to having the real thing mere feet in front of me.
Their melodic voices carried through the conference room, despite it being packed with dozens of people. Why didn’t we choose a larger space for this? Though, based on the law enforcement officers that were pacing the halls and the outside, we were probably in one of the few places in the airport that balanced security with accessibility. There were some groups who wanted to kill the angels as aliens, and others who saw them as divine messengers. And many more in between, who merely wanted to see these legends for themselves.
Whatever the angels were, I had never been aware of how comparatively small I was in my entire life. I wasn’t short, but compared to them I was. No wonder the other creatures working with us at the university had absolutely refused to attend this gathering. I was seeing literal legends in the flesh, and it may have been a good idea to leave them to my imagination .
“Stay here,” Dr. Mulberry said to me, leaving my side to speak to the head of the Political Science Department, who surveyed the gathering with a frown. I took a relaxing breath and moved off to a corner. As if I was going to do anything else. What happened today was going to be studied for years to come, dissected and analyzed. My job was to watch and make mental notes for my dissertation. My experience from being here was priceless, the envy of academics around the world. I couldn’t waste this opportunity.
No matter how much I suddenly regretted not taking Silv up on his offer to binge TV and gorge on pizza.
I was doing my best not to be noticed by anyone, when suddenly one of the angels looked at me, his gaze locking with mine.
Oh, shit.
I swallowed.
“Thank you, everyone for meeting with us today,” the mayor of Princeton said, her smile impeccably cheerful. She plunged into an obviously well-rehearsed welcoming speech, though I barely listened. I couldn’t look away from him .
The angel seemed to be close to my age, though appearances were deceiving when it came to these creatures. I tried to control my breath. He had radiant clear skin that stood out even in the room’s fluorescent lights. Brilliant blue eyes peeked out from under dark lashes, inquisitive and relentless. Straight black hair covered the tips of his ears, framing a handsome face with sharp cheekbones, and pouring down his back. His full lips parted, and for a long moment he was still, as if waiting for clouds to erupt into a storm.
Was he still watching me? He was.
Damn, he definitely was. Lines furrowed his forehead. Did I upset him? Did I do something wrong?
Did I spill something on my shirt?
Then, without warning, he strode towards me, making both angels and humans move out of his way, before stopping directly in front of me. I spared a look around—no one seemed to have noticed that an angel burst through the crowd. Or, more specifically, none of the humans paid us more than a passing glance, and they casually moved aside. The angels were another matter—we had their attention. However, the angels remained in place while the discussions continued, their expressions curious while their eyes occasionally went in our direction. Whatever was happening, they weren’t going to interfere.
My chest felt as if it was in a vice, the room suddenly far too small. What was this? What was he doing? What did this angel want with me?
“Hello,” he said to me, his voice smooth with a rich timbre.
“Hi,” I said, clutching my bag against my side.
“What is your name?”
“Um … Cat.” I coughed. “Catalina. But no one calls me that.” Not a single head turned in our direction. No one was listening to us? Still ?
“Catalina,” he said.
“Yeah, like the island? The name actually stems from Greek, I think it’s a version of Katherine, but no one really pays attention to name origins, and no one really calls me my full name anyway …” I rambled. I couldn’t stop rambling.
Why couldn’t I stop rambling?
Far from mocking me, the angel’s lips curled, as if he found it charming to watch me. “My name is Zariel,” he said. “And I am beyond pleased to meet you.”
“You … are?” I looked around the room again. Still, none of the humans were paying us any mind. Something was off. Very off.
The angels, however, were focused on us in a way that was impossible to ignore.
“Our glamour abilities are weak compared to others,” Zariel said, noting where I was looking, “but a little distraction is manageable.”
“A glamour?”
“Yes.”
“And this is … weak?” We had heard nothing about angels being able to do this, though it did seem like angels were immune to whatever Zariel was doing. But why was he telling me about his magic? Angels were notoriously secretive about their kind, even with the creatures from their original world, and here he was—offering me this knowledge within a minute of meeting .
Zariel smiled, sending a flutter through my chest, along with a sensation of familiarity, like I knew him. I wanted to tell him my secrets, my thoughts. Like this statue of an angel was my friend.
I needed him.
That was impossible. And made no sense.
“I wanted to speak with you without being bothered,” Zariel explained.
“You did?” I blinked hard while still staring up at him, resisting the urge to run my damp palms over my pants.
“Yes.” He glanced back at the other humans for a moment, a frown spreading on his face. “We don’t have long because the glamour won’t hold, but I want to ask you, without distractions—would you like to come back to the Ashen Mountain with me?”
“What?” I had to have misheard. He wanted me. Me. To go back to the mountain? The home of the angels. Me? We met literally just moments ago. What was this? Why was he rushing?
Why was he offering this to me at all?
“Not forever,” he quickly added. “Only for a couple months or so. Let’s say three. I’ll bring you back as soon as you like, though. Even sooner, if you prefer. You would be my guest. You can stay as long or as little as you like.”
“Three months,” I said softly. His offer was amazing—with the knowledge gained after three months in their home I could learn so many things about the angels. My dissertation would be unparalleled, beyond anything Dimmy could hope to do. No human had this sort of access before, that I knew of. I’d be an academic legend. Should I do it?
Besides the research, going with Zariel would also give me more time to see him , this angel who made me feel like I knew him so well. Was he … rambling too? The thought of saying no and sending him on his way left an unexpected pang in my heart, like leaving behind a sweet kitten at the animal shelter.
This was ridiculous. Spending three months with strange creatures because I found someone attractive? It didn’t make sense. Though he did offer to let me stay a shorter period of time if I wanted.
What if this was a trap? Silv had warned me about the angels. The other creatures the university had interviewed also seemed nervous of them. What if kidnapping women was something they did and no one ever told us? What if I never came back? I had milk in the fridge—it would be a spoiled disaster when I returned if I was gone that long. And it would be hell to explain my absence to the university.
Yet what I was feeling was beyond physicality. I had to go with him. I didn’t know why, or how, but I had to.
Research. It was for my research.
Yes. Research.
My lips pursed as I tried to gather my thoughts under Zariel’s relentless stare. It could be a trap, but there was something about Zariel, something that called to me … and it wasn’t like women disappeared by the Ashen Mountain. Zariel seemed to be too concerned about his magic lasting for them to be able to make people forget women altogether. If I left, I would be remembered, and someone would piece together that this was the last place I was seen. They would come and find me. Eventually.
“Why me?” I asked, my eyes narrowing. “Why now?”
“Why not? We want this summit to work, and offering it to you, like this, means it could happen without months of arguing.” He smirked, like he knew exactly how much work went into making today happen. He wasn’t telling me everything—there was a reason he was choosing me—but it didn’t feel malicious. I had no sense that he wanted to hurt me, none of the latent caution that came with interacting with some creatures. He was imposing, yes, but something told me that he wouldn’t let anything hurt me.
“Is everyone alright with the idea?” I asked, gesturing toward the other angels, who watched us with barely concealed, if impressively impassive, displeasure.
“They are,” he said, in a tone that made me wonder if he was talking to me, or to himself.
“If you’re sure …”
“I’m sorry, but we don’t have long,” he said. “If you would like to go, we need to go now. Human minds tend to ask questions they shouldn’t.”
“Won’t anyone wonder where I am?”
“Yes. They will. But they won’t see you leave with me. ”
I had to decide. Now. I could go with Zariel and have the chance to see things that would let me craft a dissertation that would eventually become a New York Times bestseller. Or I could stay here, and endure Dimmy.
Dimmy.
… I could give into what I was feeling and go with Zariel, whose full lips parted in such a gentle way, who looked at me with something I couldn’t quite place. Longing? No. That was impossible. How could he long for someone he had never met? But, regardless, going would also mean that there would be more time with him, and … I couldn’t claim that didn’t send a surprising thrill of pleasure through me. In fact, the thought of him leaving without me spurred a sudden panic, a sense that felt wrong . I’d regret it forever if I stayed behind.
I couldn’t say for sure that it was my rational mind making the decision when I said, “Alright. I’ll go.”