Chapter 5
Five
Castiel
My wings itched as I paced the luxurious prison, waiting for supper to be delivered to me. This was quickly growing tiresome, and I’d been here less than a day. The door to this room had a heavy lock on the outside—something the elder probably hoped I hadn’t noticed.
I was both amused and alarmed by the glass structure they’d created for Gabriel—or whoever they could catch.
There was no way something as flimsy as tempered glass could hold a seraph.
I could break that with my bare fists if I needed.
But the idea they thought they could—what was a Herald?
A supernatural being to worship, or a puppet for the elders?
I thought back to what Gabriel and his mate, Eve, had shared about this community. Eve had once mentioned she’d had to attend a set amount of services every week or she’d be punished. It really was a cult, I agreed.
A knock sounded at the door.
“Enter,” I barked, straightening and putting my hands on my hips. I should probably learn more about their religion. But perhaps I’d be done tomorrow, the mission complete. I could hope, anyway. What could humans hide from a seraph?
The door swung open, revealing Lilith Meadows’s expressionless face. She held a tray in both hands, white porcelain and silverware clinking on it. A small silver pitcher held wine, judging by the scent.
Wine was one of the human things I greatly enjoyed.
We didn’t have the fruit called grapes on Rundis, my home world, though we’d learned to ferment and drink other things.
But wine—it was sharp and thick and tart and sweet all at the same time.
Probably one of the best human inventions, I often mused.
Lilith stared over my shoulder, perhaps at one wing arch.
I bit back a smirk. She was doing her absolute best to pretend I didn’t exist. She also kept hiding that sharp wit, though I couldn’t fathom why. This cult clearly operated on the basis of power, and knowledge was a type of power.
She stepped forward, nearly tripping on the hem of her dress, to set the tray on the wooden table nearby. “My apologies for the delay.” She looked at the ground as she performed a short, perfunctory curtsy. “With planning the funerals, normal chores got jumbled tonight.”
I nodded. “I understand.”
She glanced up quickly, through her pale, blonde lashes. I caught a flash of light blue irises, then Lilith looked back down.
I tucked my wings tightly along my back, crossing the primary feathers to shorten them as much as I could before sitting on a tall stool. Any self-respecting seraph hated their wings trailing the ground. I sniffed the food as I kept my eyes on her.
Smelled like…braised pork with steamed vegetables. Nothing special, but I had been somewhat unexpected, and everyone likely was busy with funeral planning, as Lilith had said.
She, on the other hand, was glorious. Even with exhaustion creating brackets on the sides of those rosebud lips and shadows under her sky-blue eyes.
Her shimmering golden hair fell from the severe bun she’d put it in this morning.
The loose waves made my fingers twitch as I wondered what texture her hair had.
What did it look like, down around her face? How far would it fall? Would it cover her nipples? Shadow her lower back?
I gritted my teeth and pushed past the nonsense.
So she was a beautiful human woman. So what?
I’d seen plenty of beautiful people before, especially beautiful seraphim.
I’d slept with all genders of seraphim when I first joined the military, excited to become a warrior and a part of warrior society.
It would be easier if Lilith was beautiful by only human standards. Humans could appreciate those thin, arched brows and the short, rounded nose and the long lashes because she was human. I clenched my jaw. It was just so annoying that I found her wildly attractive, too.
She cleared her throat, and I glanced sharply at her.
“Are you—are you truly a Herald?” Her face was smooth, not letting even a ripple of emotion across. But I could see that spark in her eyes—that spark I hadn’t seen since our last conversation while still at Mirkwold, Gabriel’s home.
I turned to face her, giving her my full attention. Would she shy away? Or would she be all spite and bite, like when we first met? My skin prickled with anticipation. I won’t let you hide, even if you do hate me.
A muscle in her jaw feathered, but she looked at the floor. Her hands, clasped together, tightened.
“Why do you ask, Lily?” I dare you. Play with me.
She stiffened at the nickname, but didn’t look up. “Because you seem unfamiliar with the blessing and prayers.”
I didn’t plan to be here any longer than necessary. So, what, a day? Two at the most? Certainly not long enough for all these fools to entrap and “worship” me. I stood, letting my wings loosen enough she could see them behind me.
Lilith sucked in a breath. I unfurled my left wing an inch or two. Not much. Just far enough the light could play across the brown feathers and my filaments could catch the light. Apparently I wasn’t above preening for this human.
It was only flirting. And I used to be so good at it. A little practice wouldn’t hurt.
She raised her chin enough to watch me through her lashes. Clever little human.
I stepped toward her, hiding my smile. My heart beat faster, and a wave of exhaustion swept through me. My ayim surged through my bloodstream, strengthening me. Odd. I hadn’t thought I was that tired. I pushed it aside and took another step nearer.
“Is there anything else?” I murmured, arching a brow. I hadn’t had much one-on-one contact with humans, even though I’d lived in the Mirkwold village for forty years and a handful of years before working for an Emmas coven.
“You and your captain, the one with white wings. Why are you determined to find this book I mentioned? What does it matter that a Herald with black wings came to this world before you?” She finally looked up at me.
I took another step nearer, and my pulse spiked as I took in her scent. She smelled of yeast and herbs, and underneath that, all herself—sweet and musky and real. “The elders have accepted who I am. Why not you?”
Her eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. “You have not answered me.”
Ah, there she is. I smiled. “Would you doubt the word of your god? I am his messenger, am I not?” I shouldn’t be encouraging her suspicions. But she was too smart to lie to, and suddenly I wasn’t interested in hiding from her.
She pursed her lips. “You know almost nothing of Erlik’s teachings.
You have been on this earth for half a century and yet haven’t come to Erlik’s churches.
You call yourself a seraph, not a Herald.
You seemed shocked a seraph with black wings fell to our world.
And Gabriel said something about wanting to—to leave?
” Her voice turned uncertain on the last word. “And Eve is clearly sleeping with him.”
I laughed. “When you lay it out like that, it seems clear, doesn’t it?
I’m impressed you could see beyond your beloved dogma.
When a person has been taught one thing her whole life, particularly to the exclusion of everything else, it is hard to see multiple possibilities.
” I wasn’t worried she knew. What could happen?
She flushed, leaning toward me and crossing her arms. “I am not stupid.”
“I never said you were.” I kept my eyes on her face, rather than how her movement had pushed her perfect breasts upward.
If her collar wasn’t so high I would be able to see the lovely shadow that formed between the two breasts.
One of my favorite places on a woman. “Though…some of the elders might be.”
Lilith’s lips twitched, but then she regained control and frowned at me. “The elders are holy men. You should not make light of them.”
I rolled my eyes, a human gesture I’d picked up years ago. “But it’s so easy.”
Lilith huffed. “Are you or are you not a Herald from Erlik?”
I eyed her, then made my decision. “No.”
“No?” She gaped at me.
“Don’t act so surprised.” I laughed. “You guessed it.”
“Then why are you pretending?” she demanded, hands on her hips.
I arched my brow. “Careful. I might not be some supernatural being whom you worship, but I am far more powerful than you and deserve respect.”
She scoffed. “Please. I had to guide you through a blessing this afternoon or your entire ruse would’ve fallen apart.”
This was not the flirtation I was used to, but I liked it all the same. It was sharp and fresh, always keeping my wings stretched. “I have given you answers. Now you must do something for me.”
She turned wary, her body somehow closing on itself without her moving. “What is it?”
“Help me find this book with the illustration you saw. And once I have the answers I seek, I will fly away and you’ll never see me again.”
My heart thumped again, and my stomach turned. Damn. I must be hungrier than I thought. I reluctantly stepped away from her to sit back at the small table and picked up the utensils to eat.
Lilith stepped toward me. “What will happen to the Church of the Love of His Divine Saints?”
I took a bite of pork. “That’s a mouthful. Why can’t it be Erlik’s Church or something?”
Her lips pressed together as if hiding a grimace. Or smile. “Because our lord appeared to the first Reverend Grimshaw fifty years ago, the same day he saw you Fall.”
I took a sip of wine to hide my distaste. I hated being reminded of that day. We all did. It was the most frightened I’d ever been. Several of the warriors in our sedge nearly died from their wounds. Our enemies, who Fell with us, had disappeared into the landscape like we had.
I’d heard a few rumors of monsters being sighted around the human world, but hadn’t tried to find out what they were up to. As far as I was concerned, the war stayed on Rundis. We had more important priorities now than fighting the war our grandfathers had started.
“Help me find it,” I said again.
She sat on the stool opposite me, watching me closely. “I saw it on Reverend Grimshaw’s desk.”
I took another bite. Human food wasn’t my favorite. But with the right spices, it wasn’t so bad. “I’ll be gone by tomorrow afternoon.”
But she shook her head. “You’ll be too busy tomorrow with funerals and petitioners and elders and all sorts of things. Besides, you don’t know where his study is.”
I glared at her. “And I suppose I’ll need you to accomplish all this?”
She smiled and batted her eyelashes at me. Actually batted them. And damn it, the ploy worked. My cock took notice.
Down, I ordered it. Not while you’re in a church pretending to be some holy messenger. Thank the stars the table was hiding me from Lilith’s view.
“I shall assist you,” she replied, annoyingly beautiful, “if you answer all my questions.”
I leaned backward, letting my wings relax as I stared at her. “I’m not a good resource on the finer points of Erlik theology,” I drawled. “In my world we don’t have gods. We worship our world.”
She scrunched her nose. “What do you mean, no gods? And—no, I know better than to ask you questions about serious matters.”
My tertiary feathers ruffled at her dismissive tone. Who did this girl think she was? Did she not realize I was nearly two hundred years old, a master warrior, the third in command of an elite sedge from another realm?
“We believe the world, the sky, everything in our reality is connected. The magic, the energy of all life thrums together to create a living one-ness in nature. It is that interconnected life we worship. For without it, none of us would live.”
Her mouth opened in a perfect O. “Fascinating.”
I crossed my arms. See? I know things.
“You can perform magic?” Her eyes sharpened.
I shook my head, old resentment flaring.
“There is less magic in this world. It’s weaker, harder to grasp hold of.
” I didn’t tell her I couldn’t do magic.
I was not from an echelon that had ability, anyway.
Only the top three could work with magic, and I was in the fifth out of seven echelons total.
There was no reason to let her see I was inferior to other seraphim, so I shoved the old frustration back down.
“The sedge lost its ability to use magic once we Fell,” I summed up, ready to change the subject.
“So we have a deal. Anything else, cirra?”
Her brow wrinkled. “What’s that mean?”
“It’s a type of cloud. When you spend your life in the sky, you tend to come up with many names for all the different clouds.”
“So what type is a cirra?” she prompted.
I sighed, already regretting this. “It’s the most delicate cloud there is—high in the heavens, it’s formed by fragile ice crystals. If one breaks, it all falls apart.”
Her lips pursed. “Why do I think that’s not a compliment?”
“It’s what we call people who think they are beautiful and important but are actually rather demanding and…difficult.”
Lilith didn’t say anything at all, merely narrowed her eyes at me. “I am beautiful.” She stated it simply. It was a fact in her world.
To annoy her, I squinted. “Eh, passably pretty.”
She stood, sputtering. “Passably pretty?”
I nodded, gesturing vaguely at her figure. “Nice curves in a small package. Bright hair, and symmetrical eyes. Passable.” I smiled as I lied. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever had the misfortune of being attracted to.
“Symmetrical eyes?” she repeated in disbelief.
“Why? Is that not an attractive trait in humans?” I blinked up at her innocently.
She glared at me. “I’ve had enough of you tonight.” Gods, she was beautiful when her eyes flashed and her color was up. My heart lurched.
I needed sleep because this lurching and stuttering and pumping was getting annoying. In the morning I’d feel normal again.
Lilith stomped to the door, wisps of blond hair framing her face like a halo.
She jerked the door open and glared back at me.
“You have no idea how demanding and difficult I can be,” she threatened.
“Half the congregation thinks I’m difficult.
But I’ll let you find out how much I can be.
I’ll see you tomorrow, Castiel.” My name sounded like a curse on her tongue.
And damn me, I liked it.
With that, she left and slammed the door shut behind her.
I forced the ayim in my body to slow by taking deep, steady breaths while I picked at the vegetables on my plate. I grinned. Tomorrow was going to be a lot of fun.