25. Uriel

25

URIEL

T hrough the study's open window, I watch Athena dance across the courtyard, her honey-blonde curls catching the afternoon sun. She's graceless with the wooden practice sword, but her determination makes up for it. Koros towers over her, his massive frame casting long shadows, yet he moves with a gentleness I've never seen from him before.

"Keep your guard up." Koros's deep voice carries across the yard. "An enemy won't hesitate because you're pretty."

"Like this?" Athena adjusts her stance, feet planted wider.

Her laughter rings out as Koros easily deflects her strike. The sound pierces something in me, unfamiliar and sharp. I grip the edge of my desk, the wood creaking under my fingers.

"Fuck." I push away from the papers spread across my workspace, weapons designs forgotten.

My wings twitch with the urge to intervene as Koros steps closer, adjusting her grip on the hilt. His scarred face softens when she beams up at him, proud of the correction. That twist in my chest tightens.

I can't tear my eyes away from the flush on her cheeks, the way her leathers cling to her curves as she moves. She lacks the deadly grace of demon women, but there's something pure in her enthusiasm, her genuine joy in learning.

"Ha!" She manages to dodge one of Koros's slower strikes. "Did you see that?"

My friend's mismatched eyes flick toward my window, a knowing smirk playing at his lips. "I saw. But you left yourself open, little healer."

The wooden sword taps her ribs, and she pouts. That expression shouldn't be so captivating on a human face. I stretch my wings, gray feathers rustling with agitation. Every laugh, every smile she gives Koros feels like a blade between my ribs.

This possessive hunger for a human is beneath me. Yet here I stand, watching her like some obsessed creature, wanting to snatch her away from my oldest friend's careful instruction.

I knew this would happen. One taste of her and I'm so deep in this addiction I'm drowning. I've been avoiding her so I don't pounce on her again, which I know I would the second I got her alone. Fuck, I may not even wait for everyone to get out of the room if given the opportunity.

I don't know what she thinks of me now, if she hates me more than ever before, but I do know that she is acting like her old self. And that makes it all worth it to me.

Even if I want her beneath me every night. Even if I fuck my fist thinking of her, wanting her. I've never wanted anything in my life like I want her and while I can steal her, keep her here, claim her body as mine…

I can't rip her heart out and keep it like I want. That's something she has to give me.

And I know she never will.

So, I swallow back every raging emotion in me, trying to ignore them. They are a nuisance right now, but I still don't move from my spot by the window.

Raven saunters into the courtyard, her limp barely noticeable as she balances a tray. Her midnight hair catches the breeze, and Athena's face lights up at the sight of her. My jaw clenches.

"Break time!" Raven sets down glasses of fruit nectar and a plate of honey cakes. "You're doing well. Though your form needs work."

Athena drops onto the grass beside them, cheeks flushed. "I know I'm terrible, but at least I'm having fun."

"You're not terrible." Koros settles his bulk next to her, wings spread wide to catch the sun. "Just untrained."

They look so... comfortable. Like a perfect little family. Athena leans against Raven's shoulder as she sips her drink, while Koros steals bits of cake from their plates. Their laughter mingles in the air, and something dark and possessive claws at my insides.

She never relaxes like that around me. Never gives me those easy smiles or casual touches. When she sees me, she tenses, guards herself - and fuck if that doesn't make me want to break down every wall she's built.

I want her sprawled across my bed, yes. Want to mark every inch of her soft skin. But watching her now, I realize I want more. Want her curled against me, sharing those secret smiles. Want her to seek my company, to trust me with her thoughts, her fears.

The need burns through me like molten metal. It's foreign, unsettling. Humans are meant to be beneath us - prey, pets, playthings. Not equals. Not... this.

My wings snap tight against my back as Athena's golden-green eyes meet mine through the window. For a heartbeat, that warmth in her gaze remains - then shutters closed when she recognizes me. She turns away, pressing closer to Raven, and that darkness in me howls.

I've conquered battlefields, crafted legendary weapons, brought demons to their knees. Yet this slip of a human girl holds more power over me than any enemy I've faced.

And the worst part? Some twisted piece of me loves it.

Eventually, I manage to drag myself away from the window. I lie to myself and say it's because I need to get work done. Not because I saw Athena leaving the courtyard and I no longer have her to stare at.

But my work holds little interest for me right now. I'm sketching modifications to a blade design when I hear the door open. I hate how I look up, expecting Athena, only to be hit with a stab of disappointment when it isn't her.

Raven's distinctive uneven gait echoes through the workshop. My jaw tightens. She only comes to my study when she wants to meddle.

"Brooding alone?" She perches on the edge of my desk, violet eyes gleaming. "How predictable."

I work my jaw. "What do you want?"

"To discuss your obsession with your little human." Her fingers drum against the wood. "The one you can't stop staring at through windows like some lovesick stalker."

"I don't know what you're talking about." The pencil snaps in my grip.

"No?" Raven's smile turns sharp. "Then you weren't watching her train all afternoon? Weren't ready to tear Koros apart for touching her?"

Heat floods my wings, feathers bristling. "She's just a worker. Nothing more."

"Funny. That's exactly what she heard you tell Lord Vassago last week." Raven's voice drops, all playfulness gone. "And it clearly broke her spirit."

Ice replaces the fire in my veins. The memory hits hard - Vassago's staring after her, the words I'd spat to make her seem less interesting to him. Just a human worker.

"I thought you'd want to know." Raven's knowing gaze pins me. "And maybe, just for once, Uriel, talk to her. Tell her what you are really thinking instead of this game you are both playing." Her expression softens. "You are both going to get hurt."

I force a dismissive shrug, though guilt claws at my insides. "What does it matter? She is human."

"Keep lying to yourself." She slides off the desk. "But I see how you look at her. You're not fooling anyone but yourself."

My wings snap out, nearly knocking over a lamp. "Get out."

Raven's smile is pure victory as she limps to the door. "As you wish. But remember - humans may be fragile, but they feel everything just as deeply as we do. Perhaps more."

The silence of my study feels oppressive now that Raven's gone. Her words echo in my mind, refusing to be silenced. I shift back in my chair, my eyes going to the empty courtyard in the dying light.

My hands itch to craft, to lose myself in metal and magic, but even that won't quiet these thoughts. The truth claws its way up my throat like acid.

I want Athena.

Not just beneath me, writhing in pleasure. Not just marked as mine, claimed and collared. No, I want her smiles - the real ones she gives to others but never to me. Want her trust, her laughter, her gentle touch freely given.

How can I, though?

I'm a warrior, a weapon-maker. I've bathed battlefields in blood, broken bodies and spirits with equal ease. Yet this soft, fragile human has somehow wormed her way past every defense, every wall I've built.

The realization hits like a physical blow - I want her heart. Want her to look at me the way she looks at Koros and Raven. Want her to choose me, not because I've forced her, but because she wants me too.

My wings shudder, feathers bristling with agitation. This isn't how it's supposed to be. I took her because I thought she would be entertaining. She shouldn't inspire this... this desperate yearning that makes me want to tear apart anyone who touches her.

And now that I know I was the one who hurt her… It's gutting me. I've never cared before about a human's feelings. Never wanted more than their submission, my power.

But Athena... sweet, fierce Athena with her healing hands and stubborn heart. She's become my obsession, my addiction. And for the first time in my immortal life, I'm terrified.

Because I don't know how to win a heart without breaking it first.