Chapter 26 #2
I’m still wearing the same clothes I wore yesterday—it doesn’t really matter, seeing as angels don’t sweat or anything.
However, I will say, I’ve never been more thankful to have a pair of thick black tights handy than I am at this moment, considering my underwear was quite literally torn apart last night.
He is a little too excited about the prospect of me not wearing underwear under my plaid skirt and gray sweater.
After slipping my black boots on, I step outside onto the wraparound wooden porch and take a deep breath, inhaling the crystal clear, crisp winter air and white cloudy sky.
Snowflakes fall across the yard, leading me to glance at the neighbor’s lake house and notice their vehicle is gone. It’s just Kai and me out here now.
He follows me down the stairs, passing me. Drifting closer to the water’s edge, we trail alongside the perimeter. After a few minutes of tense silence, he eventually stops walking and tosses his head back, opening his mouth wide to stick his tongue out.
“What in heaven’s name are you doing?” I gawk, covering my mouth to stifle a laugh.
He continues, completely ignoring me until a dainty, little snowflake lands on his tongue.
He shuts his mouth and cheers. “I used to do that with my little sister all the time. We’d stand outside and do competitions—the person who caught the most snowflakes in under one minute would win.
I bet you can guess who usually won.” He smirks.
“Iris, of course.”
He sighs. “You have no faith in me.”
I punch his arm. “No need to jump to conclusions now.”
“No, no, it’s fine—I’m just stalling.”
“Stalling? For what?” I ask, confusion crossing my features.
“Well, it’s already been over thirty seconds, and you have yet to catch a snowflake. Surely, you know the odds are stacked against you now. It takes a lot more time than you’d think to catch one of those pesky little guys.” He crosses his arms and sighs.
“You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, but I am. Thanks in advance for contributing to my never-ending winning streak.” He smiles. “That’s right—I’ve never lost.”
Never?
My competitive nature won’t allow me to sit idly by, no matter how childish this may seem. Knowing time is running out, I toss my head back and open my mouth as wide as I can, tongue out and all.
“Clock’s ticking, Cleo.” The fact that he’s not even trying infuriates me. I decide to pace back and forth from one spot to another in hopes of catching some snowflakes and begin to lose all hope when suddenly, the sweet freezing taste of victory lands right on my tongue.
One down, one to go.
“Ten seconds left,” Kai calls, and to my utter delight, he’s actually trying now, meaning he sees me as the threat I am.
We both keep our mouths open, and suddenly, another snowflake hits my tongue. I won.
“I win!” I scream obnoxiously and tackle him to the ground, cackling in pure delight. “I just single-handedly broke your winning streak in one try.”
We both laugh until we’re wheezing. I’m pretty certain I haven’t laughed this much since I was a child. He looks at me with mirth in his gaze as he tucks a strand of stray hair behind my ear.
“You win.”
But really, I win, his voice taunts in my mind.
“Incorrect.” I sit up and cross my arms, still straddling him.
“It’s okay—I didn’t mean for you to hear that.” He blushes. “Are you feeling a bit better about talking about your wings now, baby?”
“Oh… Actually, yes.”
I’m shockingly far less tense about this conversation than I was earlier, thanks to his little snowflake charade. We both sit down in a more comfortable position, our bodies facing each other, legs tangled.
“I haven’t been entirely honest with you.
I’m not here to run away with you. Or, that wasn’t a part of my initial plan, at least. The Archangels tasked me with watching you while you were up there, and I undeniably failed.
It was naive of me to assume they wouldn’t notice—especially considering your adventure down to Earth wasn’t your first since your probation period started.
” I sigh, picking up small chunks of snow and letting it dissolve between my fingers.
“After you left this time, they called me into the throne room. They were disgruntled to say the least. They obviously had counseled together before I got there, because by the time I finished explaining what happened, they already had determined the consequences of my actions.”
I let out a shaky breath and pick up more snow, then push it into the ground forcefully. Kai’s jaw ticks. Alright, time to get to the point, I tell myself.
“They decided that I would be required to retrieve you from Earth as soon as possible. To give me even more of an incentive, they stripped me of my wings until I returned you. Using some sort of light magic I’ve never witnessed before, they seared my wings off without laying a finger on me.
Luke simply raised his hand and severed them off.
I braced myself for the absolute worst, but it didn’t physically hurt as much as I anticipated.
Didn’t even leave a mark. After that, they gave me a mission.
If I returned you to Eloras in one piece, they’d give me my wings back.
Nial softly—surprising for him, I know—assured me that ‘it’ll be as if they never left. '”
I scoff, lifting my eyes to meet his for the first time. His eyes burn with an ire I’ve never seen before.
“I’m so sorry. I know this is the last thing you wanted to hear. Frankly, I was eager to comply. You left me, Kai. You didn’t even say goodbye—”
My voice unexpectedly breaks at that. I clear my throat and shake my head.
“In my distress, I agreed to their terms, assuming it’d be simple to bring you back to Eloras.
Initially, I planned on teleporting us back to Eloras as soon as I reunited with you.
But after seeing you, I realized I didn’t have it in me to do it right then.
And, as we spent more time together, I determined I made a terrible mistake in lying to you.
So, I made a change of plans. I’ll make all this up to you. ”
I nod, scooting closer to him and pleading with my eyes that he’ll somehow find it in his heart to forgive me. He fixes his gaze on the lake, his jaw clenching again.
“They hurt you.” His low voice rumbles like a drum.
“What?” I pause, assessing his tense expression. “No, I told you, losing my wings didn’t physically hurt—”
“You specified that it didn’t physically hurt, but not all wounds are physical,” he concludes in a flat tone, ice lacing his voice.
I stare at him, stunned. Why is he so fixated on this? This part of my confession has the least to do with him. Suddenly, he rises and reaches his hand out to help me up. I grasp it and follow him to stand.
“Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“To the sky.”
My stomach drops.
“No, you’re getting it all wrong.” I shake my head and glance down at my feet, then frantically search his eyes.
“You’ve been happier on Earth over the past twenty-four hours than almost your entire time up there.
I want you to be happy. More than anything, you deserve to be happy.
So, I’m going to march back up to Eloras and plead your case.
I’ll find a way for you to stay down here.
Please, I know I shouldn’t have lied to you, and I couldn’t be more sorry, but I can fix it, love. If you’ll let me.”
I cup his face delicately and pierce his gaze with my own. I can’t read his expression, so I try one more time to get through to him.
“You’re always helping everyone else. Let me help you this time, okay?” I whisper, leaning into him.
“Cleo, we’re going back to the Middle Realm together. You’re getting your wings back. As for what happens to me, consequences be damned.”
He repeats the phrase he told his sister weeks ago with an edge to his voice I don’t particularly enjoy. His hand remains on my waist, but his hold is different.
“No.” I scowl, my brows upturning in protest. “I refuse.”
“This is my choice. Mine. You can’t decide my fate for me,” he says, breaking eye contact and glancing at the lake again. “If I knew this would happen to you, I never would’ve left. You hear me? This wasn’t worth the cost of your wings. Your pain. I’m undoing this right the hell now.”
I shake my head and close my eyes. He’s not listening. What if they banish him? What if he gets imprisoned? A cold chill runs down my spine at the thought of what will happen to him. He has no idea what lies ahead. He’s broken so many rules… This might be the Archangels’ breaking point.
He begins walking back toward the lake house, letting out a sigh.
“Thank you for sharing this piece of your life with me. I’ll treasure it forever,” he whispers, stopping at the foot of the porch’s stairs. “Time to say goodbye. Knowing you, this might be your last time seeing this place. Take your time. I need some time to think.”
Then, I watch him walk away. I should have expected this. I lied to him. The cold shoulder is the least of what I deserve.
I turn toward the front door of the cabin and walk up the little steps to say goodbye to it.
He’s right. This will be my last time visiting.
Just before turning the knob, a subtle movement to my left catches my eye. I gaze toward it, capturing it just before it disappears.
A dragonfly.
I smile faintly to myself. Realizing this truly will be the last time I visit this spot, I let the memories surface.
While gazing at the lake, the memories replay like a movie.
I can see my brother, sister, and me chasing dragonflies along the lake’s perimeter as my dad chases us.
My mom’s inside, baking some fresh French bread.
Being the eldest and tallest at the time, I take the lead, glancing back to grin at my dad as he catches up to each of my siblings.
Suddenly, it’s down to just me and the dragonfly. I keep my eye on the magical little creature, chasing it until I land in the water.
Once I hit the water, I know my dad can’t catch me now—there’s no way he’s jumping in fully clothed like I did.
Upon reaching the surface, a delighted squeal and round of cheers greet my ears.
I turn toward them, but something huge blocks my line of sight.
I realize a moment too late that it’s him.
He must’ve dove into the water while I was under.
I swim as fast as my nine-year-old body can, but my dad inevitably captures me. Once he captures me, he holds me tight and cracks the biggest smile. I giggle uncontrollably and splash the water around us, making sure he is just as soaked as I am.
Tears prickle my eyes as I watch that little girl and her father swimming in a fish-filled lake without a care in the world.
In a way, it looks like they’re dancing.
Heavens. I miss them.
I miss them.
I miss them.
Turning the brass knob, I enter the cabin to say goodbye to some of the best moments of my life.