Chapter 59
EXCERPTS FROM MALAM
Iam digging in the dirt back at the demon stronghold and trying to numb my emotions. I have decided to try to recreate a specific type of vine, and having something else to concentrate on is helping the ever-present tension in my shoulders to finally unwind.
I was supposed to be leading the conclave, but the other elders took one look at me when I arrived after my conversation with Chaosta and told me they could handle it without me.
I don’t know what I was expecting when I went to speak to her, but it was not that.
My intent was to share the information I had gathered.
I was so focused on what I planned to say to her that I was distracted and didn’t ensure her privacy as I should have.
It was a mistake on my part not to have my eyes closed.
Even I can admit that. I have been so careful to respect her privacy, and then I had to go and mess up in such a spectacular fashion.
When I saw the scars covering nearly her entire torso, I was overwhelmed by rage. However, as she casually sat there, ignoring me and removing her own stitches, a realization came to me. She’s different. She seems to be even stronger somehow.
Whatever happened to her in the angel stronghold rasped away the casual, childlike innocence she possessed and left a much more predatory strength in its wake.
Whether that is good or bad will remain to be seen, but some of the protectiveness I have felt for her has faded.
In its place, a quiet respect is growing.
I must say, what they did to her felt especially evil set against the backdrop of bright wings rising from her shoulders.
It makes me wonder who they made torture her and why they were willing to ignore their tenets like that.
Even if it is technically a grey area, since she isn’t an angel.
They must consider her a significant threat to themselves and their wards in order to have been willing to hurt her like that.
The angels protect the human race with a single-mindedness that would be admirable if humans were worth it.
I still have my doubts that she’ll be strong enough to accomplish what I created her for. When I dwell, I try to remind myself that she has already killed an angel. I wish I could have seen it with my own eyes, then maybe I’d be able to believe it.
Either way, at this point, I am confident that the best thing I can do is stay out of her way.