17. Raphael

17

T he sky is dark when I fly from Power house to Fallen house.

There’s not another soul awake below me, but I’m okay with that. A yawn threatens to escape and I let it out as I land just outside the front house doors, stretching away some of my tired fog. Things have been nonstop in the week since Castiel told us what Hayliel is. Between classes, research, and combat training, none of us have had a moment to relax.

Training has been fun at least, though I hate to admit it with Ezekiel as our teacher. Mira and Castiel have done their own lessons, and it’s surprising how much they know. Castiel makes sense. He’s been around longer than dirt, but Mira is a mystery. We found out recently she’s a Pure—likely the reason she hasn’t joined the Guild herself—and despite her father being a lieutenant, it still shocks me that she knows as much as she does. The forbidden rune, how to disarm someone while barely breaking a sweat. It’s impressive.

Still, I can’t figure out what exactly she’s getting from helping us. Whatever it is will eventually come to light. Secrets don’t stay hidden forever.

I pull out my slate, and there’s a text from Theo telling me he’s on his way. I consider calling Raduriel again despite the early hour. He’s been avoiding my calls, and although my dear mother tells me he’s been pulled away for work and that I should leave him alone, I rarely do what she tells me. I tuck the device away, not wanting to deal with more disappointment when he inevitably doesn’t pick up.

We’re running out of time, and I need his contact. I guess the joke is on me for ever thinking I could rely on him.

Hayliel’s been working hard at trying to summon and harness sunfire, but it’s only made her exhausted. Knowing that, I probably shouldn’t be knocking on her door at the ass crack of dawn, but we practically forced her to bed early last night.

I knock again, and then a third time when I catch sight of Theo coming up the stairs and Mr. Grumps descending them. I have to get over my shit with him, but fucking hell, he doesn’t make it easy. Scowling all the time, like everyone in the world has disappointed him. Get in fucking line, dude. You aren’t the only one.

“She hasn’t answered?” Theo asks, rapping his knuckles on the door three times.

“No. She’s probably out cold. Poor thing is exhausted.”

“She sleeps like the dead,” Zeke says, stepping between us and pulling out a key. He unlocks the door, then opens it, gesturing for us to go inside.

I want to ask him how the fuck he knows what she’s like when she sleeps, but I keep my mouth shut. There’s a history between them. Theo and I haven’t missed it, but until she’s ready to tell us, I have to respect her silence. Even if it kills me.

We sneak inside, and Zeke shuts the door softly behind him, bathing us in darkness. The curtains to the balcony are drawn shut, the bathroom door partly closed, and Hayliel is tangled up in the sheets. One of her feet sticks out from the mess of blankets as she sleeps on her side, arms curled up around her neck. Fucking adorable. I want to crawl into bed beside her and never leave.

Theo and I approach her form on the bed, but Ezekiel stays back. I don’t buy his act though. Something tells me he’d die to slip into bed next to her.

“Wake up, baby,” I whisper, smoothing the hair from her face. She burrows into my hand, mumbling my name on a sigh.

She whispers Theo’s name next, causing a grin to spread across his face. “I’m here, firefly.” He rests his hand on her thigh, and I watch in utter desperation as she lets out a small whine, licking her lips like she wants far more than a platonic wake up call.

You and me both, sunshine.

Letting my urges win, I lean in and press a gentle kiss to her lips, but when I pull back, it’s not my name on her tongue.

“Zeke.” She says his name like a plea, one the asshole house leader doesn’t miss. Theo only smirks, tossing a glance Zeke’s way that screams, ‘do you believe me now, fucker?’

Instead of seeming pleased, he looks stunned, like he has no sweet clue what he should be doing.

Huh.

Maybe he’s not as confident—or arrogant—as I once thought.

He snaps out of it, moving robotically toward the balcony and throwing open the curtains. Not that it does any good, seeing as the sun isn’t up yet. Poor guy just needs something to do.

While Theo whispers words to our girl, my mind wanders to just how much has changed with Ezekiel since our little chat in his room. Or, at least it had until he flipped the switch and went back to his bullshit hot and cold behavior. Theo says the guy is going through more than we realize and I should cut him some slack, but that’s far easier said than done.

“Oh,” Hayliel says, panic rising in her voice as she shoots up in bed.

“Shh, it’s alright. We’re only here to kidnap you,” I tease, gripping her hand. She looks between me and the guys before her gaze settles on the clock beside her bed. The groan that escapes her throat is almost erotic, and I have to force my dick into submission because a sleepy Hayliel is fucking hot. Every version of her is.

“No one should be awake at this hour,” she mumbles, tossing the blankets off of her like it physically pains her to do so.

“Oh, quit your complaining,” I tell her, helping her out of bed and chuckling when she shoots me a tired, angry glare. She’s fucking cute as hell.

She grabs a few items of clothing before disappearing into the bathroom, keeping the lights off.

While she’s gone, I sit on the edge of her still warm bed. Hung on the wall are new picture frames. The photos inside are from our day at the photo parlor. There’s one of just her, looking like a badass warrior, but the rest are with all three of us.

Seeing our faces mixed in among her family has joy bubbling up in my chest.

Hayliel finally emerges from the bathroom dressed in a pair of loose pants and a tank top. Zeke helps her into her wing jacket. She puts it on without asking where we’re going, and none of us offer the information either.

A yawn forces itself free, which she barely covers with her hand.

Theo taps his bag. “I have a thermos full of coffee. You can have some once we get to where we’re going.”

“Do I have to share? At this hour, I might need the entire thermos to myself.”

Theo only laughs. “We’ll see, firefly.”

We leave from her balcony and fly through the darkened sky, over the beach and ocean. Hayliel follows along in silence, a questioning look on her face, but she doesn’t say anything.

Below us, the water roils angrily, but from all the way up here, it’s almost picturesque. There’s something about the ocean that captivates me. Its depth seemingly endless, full of unknown creatures and hidden secrets just begging to be explored. Still, I wouldn’t give up being able to fly to breathe under water.

It doesn’t take long for the island Castiel told us about to come into view.

Hayliel sucks in a breath when she sees it, the sound stolen by the wind. “What is this place?”

“Paradise,” I yell over the wind whipping by us while we fly. Even though Castiel described it to us, the sight of it amazes me, and I wish I knew what Hayliel was thinking. Does she feel transported to another realm, just like I do? Does it feel like the worries and troubles in her life are somehow diminished out here, as if they’re nothing more than pebbles sinking to the vast ocean floor?

We land on craggy rocks that make up one of the three mountain peaks set in an almost perfect triangle. When Castiel said this would be the perfect spot for us to implement our idea, I didn’t believe him, but now, seeing it with my own eyes, I know he was right. Apparently this used to be a training grounds of sorts, long before the Archangels took over. Now it’s entirely abandoned.

“It’s beautiful,” she murmurs, twisting around three hundred and sixty degrees to get the full view.

Theo, Zeke, and I do the same, taking in the salty air and mixture of green, grays, and browns of the surrounding landscape. “We thought it might help to practice flying maneuvers away from the rest of the world. What do you think?”

Tears well in her eyes, but they don’t fall. She just grins like a fool and nods. “The only thing that would make this better is caffeine.”

“Holy shit. Slow down, sunshine!” Hayliel’s black wing jacket lies crumpled in a pile on the grass. Her golden wings shimmer as the sun crests the horizon, but she’s moving so fast it looks more like a lit sparkler at midnight, leaving a trail of sizzling flares in its wake.

Without the pressure of Uriel and her classmates, she’s much faster. Like wickedly fast. Unbelievably fast. It’s hot as fuck.

She lands beside me with the biggest grin I’ve ever seen spread across her face. Happiness shines from her in waves, surrounding me as she wraps me in a hug so tight it steals my breath.

“Are you having fun, little sun?”

Theo and Zeke land before she can respond. They’d taken up residence on one of the other two mountain tops so that Hayliel always had one of us close by. She gives me one last squeeze before pulling away and looking at the others.

“This is by far one of the best days I’ve had in a long time. Thank you.”

“It was nothing, firefly. We’re just glad to be here with you,” Theo says, returning her hug.

When they separate, she immediately beelines for Zeke, who looks shocked that she’d include him in her thank you tour. His face settles into something serene when he rests his chin on the top of her head. Shit. I can’t deny the hold she has over all three of us. Not that I’m willing to just accept him into the fold and forget all the fucked up stuff he’s done. At least not yet. He’s got a lot of shit to make up for.

Hayliel stretches, and I have to stop myself from drooling. Her eyes light up for a second before she turns to Zeke and says, “Hey, I meant to ask you something earlier. Why don’t you ever use weather manipulation? They would have taught you last year, right? We all saw what Seraphina’s little stunt did to me, and apparently I was lucky to get off as unscathed as I did. I bet a little lightning strike would help a ton in our fights against demons.”

She makes a valid point. Why wouldn’t he use every power at his disposal?

He shrugs. “It’s not a power I feel particularly gifted in, given the lack of practice. Besides, the guild advises us not to use it. It’s unpredictable and volatile, and has caused more harm than good in the past. Honestly, the fact that Seraphina managed to strike you dead on is surprising. It’s a lot harder than it looks.”

“Ugh. I hate that she’s skilled,” Hayliel grumbles, and I must admit, my girl looks awfully adorable when she’s annoyed. “Still. I don’t think we should rule it out entirely. Maybe we can add it to training once a week?”

The three of us share a look, but I don’t even know why we bother. It’s not as if any of us will deny her.

A thought grows in my mind until I’m practically vibrating with excitement. “Fine. But we came here to get away from reality for a bit so I was thinking. Now that you’ve got a good sense of the island, how do you feel about a race?”

She pulls away from the grumpy bastard and looks at me, her eyes lit up and damn near glowing. “I’m in!”

“Winner gets to have whatever they want. A favor of their choosing from the losers. Does everyone agree?”

Zeke looks like he wants to disagree. Hard. But he nods along with Hayliel and Theo. Perfect. I’d kill to have that asshole owe me a favor.

I motion everyone toward the starting line we’d drawn on the rocks for Hayliel. “We start here, wind around each of the mountain peaks, and the first angel to touch down back on top here, wins. If no one objects, Theo can count us down.”

No one pipes up in disagreement, so I rub my hands together with glee.

“We’ll go on three,” Theo says as everyone gets into position. “One. Two. Three!”

With a leap and a flap of my wings, I’m in the air, racing toward the first mountain. The others keep up with me easily as we zip around the first peak, but by the second peak, Hayliel and Zeke are pulling ahead.

Fuck!

In a burst of speed, I push myself to catch up with them, but it’s no use.

Shit. I didn’t think this through enough. I don’t want to owe Ezekiel a damn thing.

Theo and I are neck and neck, neither one of us having even the slightest chance of winning, but we don’t give up. Even when Hayliel and Zeke, both looking determined as hell, make their final circle around the last mountain peak.

We’re watching with fascination, both of us holding our breaths as the pair hurdle toward the top, just about to land, when Zeke pulls back and Hayliel wins. I share a glance with Theo, wondering if he caught the same thing. What the hell is that grumpy fuck up to?

We make it to the top where Hayliel is looking smug as hell. Rightfully so.

“You’re fucking fast, beautiful!” I pick her up and twirl her around, dropping a light kiss to her lips.

“Seriously,” Zeke adds, looking at her like she’s the purest form of treasure. “I’d kill to see you race a few members of the guild.”

Theo leans in close, pressing his lips to her hair and says gruffly, “You’re a sight to behold.”

She bows, taking in our astonishment with a blush on her face.

A question burns in my mind that I can’t hold in any longer. Through my bond with only the guys, I say, Why’d you pull back?

Zeke’s eyes flash to mine, annoyed. I don’t think he’s going to respond until he shrugs and pushes one word through our mental connection.

Cramp.

He’s full of shit, but in this case, I don’t care. I’m glad he pulled back for more reasons than just me not wanting to owe him shit. But I’d rather he stop doing these nice things that make me hate him less. It’s annoying.

“Do you know what favors you want to ask from us yet?” Theo asks, and none of us miss the blush that deepens on her cheeks.

Interesting.

“I have some ideas, but nothing I’m willing to share yet.”

I grin wolfishly as ideas for a certain kind of favor flit through my mind. “Take all the time you need, sunshine. These favors need to be good .”