Chapter 23 One and a Half Aeons Pre-Great War
One and a Half Aeons Pre-Great War
The students’ forge in the Lessons Hall was empty at the end of a long term of lessons, and Lila found herself there, her final projects having been submitted, eager to be alone with her thoughts while Castor drank and celebrated.
She couldn’t be around him. Not him or any of their friends. She’d felt so awkward ever since…ever since…
She couldn’t even say it in her head.
Stupid, stupid.
She was so stupid.
But more than that, she was confused. Luc never glanced at someone twice if he didn’t deem them worthy of his attention, but he glanced at Lila often, and now, he’d kissed her instead of shoving her off.
What did that mean? She couldn’t imagine that he liked her, the least of his classmates, though the traitorous beat of her heart hoped he did.
She drowned out its rapid pulse with a series of hard strokes on the heated steel bar she should be turning into a hair pin for Eva but might just be beating into a thinner and thinner version of itself.
“Are you trying to shape that or shatter it?”
Lila jolted at the sound of Luc’s voice. He stood in the entrance, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed, and she shot him a glare before returning to her work.
“Can you not sneak up on me like that?” She banged her hammer against the steel bar.
“I don’t think you can lecture me about sneaking up on someone.” A smirk wove through his tone. “Not after what—”
“Why are you here, Luc?” Lila paused, her hammer hovering over the bar. Luc had raised his voice to be heard over the noise, and though she didn’t want to humor him, she definitely didn’t want him shouting for anyone down the corridor to hear.
“No reason. I thought we could hang out.”
Hang out? Luc never hung out with anyone.
Lila frowned.
“I don’t want company.”
“The kiss says you do.”
“Shh!” Lila snapped her head up.
Luc now stood on the opposite side of the anvil.
There was no one in the entrance, and she didn’t hear footsteps or voices in the corridor, but how could he say that so casually?
Why did he have to be so unnervingly close to her while he said it?
Close enough he might as well have been murmuring it in her ear.
Maybe he thought he had nothing to worry about if they were caught breaking the rules, being so indispensable, but Lila wasn’t supposed to do grandiose things for all angelkind. She had to worry. She needed him to leave before she did something else she regretted.
“Didn’t you hear me?” she bit out. “I want to be alone.” Lila punctuated this statement with a withering scowl.
“Oh, I heard you. But you’re fun to annoy. Did you know that?” His silver-gray eyes sparkled.
“You want to hang out with me so you can annoy me? Hard pass.”
“No.” Luc chuckled.
“Then why?”
“I don’t know. You kissed me?” Amusement tugged at his mouth.
“Stop saying that!” Lila hissed. She left her hammer lying on its side and wiped her clammy palms on her robes.
Luc snickered. She didn’t think she’d ever seen him laugh so much. He was ridiculously serious, even at mealtimes. Not that Lila ever peeked at him from across the dining hall.
“Look, I didn’t mean that, okay? Forget it happened.”
“I don’t think so.” Luc squinted. “You don’t do stuff you don’t mean.”
“Sure, I do! I act like I care about Castor all the time!” Lila slapped her hand over her mouth.
Had she really said that? Out loud?
Stop talking, Lila. Stop talking. Do not engage.
Luc raised his eyebrows.
“Then how about this?” He smirked. “I don’t tell anyone you kissed me. In return, you work with me on a special project of mine. Which you also can’t tell anyone about, by the way.”
“I—”
“Oh, and also, you kiss me again. Now.” Luc leaned toward her, but she stepped back, picked up her tongs, and thrust the still-cooling end of her steel bar at him.
“Have you lost your senses?!”
“Are you going to do something with that?” His gaze flicked down to the bar.
She slammed it down on the anvil, and the clang rattled through the workshop.
“You have a lot of nerve demanding that, even for you. It’s against the rules. Aren’t you supposed to be perfect?”
“What’s the point of being perfect if you can’t have imagination?” Luc circled around the anvil, and Lila watched him approach with silent dread. What further stupidity could he drag her into? She knew she should run, but she was rooted to the spot.
“Sometimes, to have imagination,” he admonished, “you have to break rules. But you should know that because you have imagination.” Luc dipped his chin, and she tilted her chin up on impulse, though he wasn’t much taller than her.
She regretted it immediately; he seemed to take in everything with those eyes, especially the thoughts she didn’t want him to see.
Like how easy it would be for them to kiss again.
“You’re the only angel in our class who can understand and appreciate what I’m working on,” he continued. “I want your opinion on it.”
Lila’s heart stuttered. She felt lightheaded. His haughty tone should have annoyed her, but it didn’t.
I want your opinion.
No one wanted Lila’s opinion; in most cases, she was forbidden to have one, much less voice it.
Swallowing, she managed, “That’s very amusing, but flattery will not win you another kiss.”
“Come on, you know I wouldn’t compliment you if it wasn’t true.” Luc smiled.
Instinctively, Lila parted her lips, but she couldn’t deny his statement. She found she had nothing to say. No answer.
Did he really think that highly of her?
Or was it possible that the chosen angel was lonely? Did he want someone to throw around ideas with that badly?
Come to think of it, that gave her an advantage.
And just like that, Lila found her voice again.
“I’ll say ‘yes’ on one condition.”
Luc inclined his head.
With more firmness, Lila continued, “You teach me everything you learn in the architect program.”
Luc frowned.
“You can’t use it.”
“Well, where’s that endless imagination of yours now? I want to know it.” The words trembled deep in Lila’s throat, rising from the ache in her stomach, the endless pit of her longing to find something she desired that wouldn’t be denied her.
Luc worked his jaw, considering.
“All right,” he agreed, “I suppose you’ll be more helpful that way.”
“I want to learn metalworking too. I took the beginner classes, but I want to learn the rest of it. I want to know everything you know.”
“I know an awful lot,” Luc supplied doubtfully.
“I can learn it.”
“On top of woodworking?”
“Yes.” Lila smiled. “I’ll even be better than you.”
Luc scoffed.
“Deal?” Lila stuck out her hand, and he studied her a moment, cracking his neck.
“Deal.” Taking her hand, he guided it down to her side and smiled once more. “I’ll take my kiss now.”
“Of course, you will.” Lila pressed her hand to his chest. “But not so fast. What’s this project I’ll be helping with? Isn’t it fair that I know what I’m getting into?”
“It’s my project.” Luc laughed like she was being silly. “Doesn’t that tell you all you need to know?”
“No.” Lila crossed her arms. “Sell it to me.”
“We already have a deal.”
“Sell.” Lila smiled. “Or I walk.”
Luc gave her a stare of disbelief; he looked like he might argue further, but he sighed instead and told her to meet him at the Void.
A short time later, Lila found herself by the obelisk again, sitting next to Luc in an awkward mirror image of the last time they’d been there.
“I’m designing a new world.” Luc spread a map out on Lila’s lap; the drawing depicted a solid disc floating on water, surrounded by atmosphere. Its boundaries reminded her of Heaven’s square structure, part stone and part aether, hovering in the midst of the Void.
“I’m sorry, a what?” she asked, staring down at the Heaven-that-was-not-Heaven.
“A place. Separate from here. Like Heaven, only better.”
“An improved Heaven? Isn’t that what the architects are already doing?” She shifted her back along the obelisk, searching for a more comfortable position. If they weren’t trying to be so secretive, she would have suggested pillows.
Though that might bring up unwanted connotations, leading to—
“No, no, it’s different. The way Heaven is set up, it can’t support all the features I want to introduce.”
“The way it’s set up? Wow. You really want to tick someone off, don’t you?”
“It’s going to be great.” He brushed his fingers over the map’s surface. Reverential, resolute. “Here, I’ll show you.”