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Talking about Peter made the pain worse and I pushed the torment far away.
“There’s more,” I said. “Demon soldiers took my mother and sister hostage. I came to see you before I headed to the castle. I might not make it back home.”
Simone knew Peter wasn’t my blood father but that was all. She had kept this secret well, and I loved her even more for it.
Her blue eyes blinked, then they grew wider. “Castle? The king? You’re going to Drevon?”
I nodded and swallowed. I couldn’t unsee the flames scorching through my home. Levia slicing Peter’s throat, and the frightened look on my mother and sister before the demons took them.
She rubbed her crossed arms. “What are you going to do? And what do you mean you might not make it back home? You can’t go after them. They’re likely dead. The soldiers will kill you before you even step foot in the castle. And why your family? Your family doesn’t hold a title.”
I understood her concern for me but her choice of words made me furious: You can’t go and likely dead. Her lack of concern for the well-being of my family hurt like poison in my veins.
Stay calm. Try to understand her.
My Simone would never be so cruel. Our feelings were all jumbled up in that moment. Simone was right on one thing though. The king wouldn’t go after a simple family.
She tapped her feet, her gaze bored into mine, waiting for some kind of explanation. Perhaps it was time I told her the truth about me.
I’d tried telling her before but I could never find the right words. Our times together were few and precious. And if I were honest with myself, I was afraid. I didn’t want her to pity me or think of me as inhuman.
I rubbed the back of my head. “I have something to tell you.”
“What is it? Hurry, I’m running out of time,” she said, her voice clipped.
My brows rose in surprise. She had never snapped at me before. Was she frustrated with me or the situation?
I tugged her deeper into the cluster of trees. “I’ve been wanting to tell you, but—”
“But what?”
“Asmodeus came after my family because he wants me to lead his soldiers.”
Simone’s mouth fell open, then she giggled. “You’re teasing me, right?” When I shook my head, she poked my chest. “Tell me you’re lying.”
I inhaled a deep breath and unfurled my feathers, slowly releasing them through the slit of my shirt so as not to scare her. If my words couldn’t convince her, then my wings would do the job.
Her eyes grew bigger and round as the sun. “Michael. Tell me …” She pointed at my wings. “Those things are fake.”
“Do you remember when I told you Peter wasn’t my father?”
Her gaze darted from my left wing to right, then back and forth as her hands cupped her mouth to suppress … a scream? Was she going to shriek? Did she find me that revolting?
She retreated a step, then more, inch by inch as if she was trying to escape a predator. She was afraid. At that moment, I couldn’t possibly hate myself more.
“You … you have those things like birds. I’ve touched your back and never felt anything there. I thought you were normal.”
Her sharp words cut through my heart and sliced deeper when she narrowed her eyes with a disgusted look. My tongue knotted and I became speechless, standing there and taking her judgment.
“The king took your family because of you. And you came here?” Her tone rose with accusation. “You put me and my family in danger? What if they come for us? I don’t want to ever see you again. Oh, burning stars. I kissed you.” She spat on the grass. “Goodbye, Michael. If the soldiers come here asking about you, I’m going to deny ever knowing you. You don’t exist to me.”
As I watched her run toward her home, my already fractured heart fell into pieces. I had thought our love was so true that she would accept me as I am, wings and all.
Love knows no boundaries. When you love with all your heart, you accept all the flaws.
If a human could love a demon and live in harmony and matrimony, then why couldn’t an angel hybrid like me find love? Perhaps I didn’t know Simone’s true heart. Better to know now than later, but the rejection still hurt for I had given her all of me.
I inhaled a deep breath and launched to the sky. The wind howled in response to the sudden burst of my energy and the leaves tore from the branches. I had time to kill before making my way to the castle, so I decided to take a moment to clear my mind of the person who had failed to return my love.
