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I stand and give his hand one more squeeze, but before I walk through the door, I turn back. “They won’t get away with this, Gagiel. I promise you.”
A few days later, Theo and I sit together in the Fallen library, flipping through the pages of old books. The nurse released Gagiel from the infirmary, but he’s mostly been sticking to his room. Cadriel might live in the house of Power, but he has no shortage of friends.
The library is quiet, with only the faint crackling of old paper as we continue our research. It feels like I’ve read every single book in here already — including an entire volume on the strict rules and repercussions of Earth-bound travel — but maybe with a fresh pair of eyes, we’ll find something.
It doesn’t seem to matter where we search. I can’t find a single thing about gray-winged angels. There are a few texts that depict other colors, and while I might find that information fascinating, it doesn’t help me figure out why I’m different. Could it really be just a fluke?
Raphael was with us earlier, but he had a family crisis to deal with. It sounded like his mother wasn’t too happy to hear of our lockdown since he was supposed to go home this weekend to visit his brother. She’d been threatening to contact the principal and demand his release, something Raphael absolutely doesn’t want.
He’d rather stay at school than go home, and after what I’ve learned about his family, I don’t blame him. If that was my home life, I’d probably want to avoid it too.
“I still can’t believe someone would do something like this.”
Theo’s smooth voice jolts me out of my thoughts, and I glance up at his look of utter disgust. He holds a book in his hands, and I recognize it as one of the old texts with pages ripped out of it. “This should be a fucking crime.”
I laugh. “Seriously! What did that book ever do to them?”
He slams it shut and pushes it away from him like he can’t stand the sight of it. “They should have just gotten rid of the whole thing. Tearing out a handful of pages just seems suspicious, doesn’t it?”
I nod, realizing he’s right. Most of the books were rewritten when the Archangels took over, so why wasn’t this one? And why didn’t they just pull the entire book from the collection?
“Maybe we’ll find the full volume in another library.” Theo jots down the title, followed by the wordsripped pages???before reaching for another book from our stack. The last one on the pile.
We both continue our search, but I can’t seem to shake the feeling that I’m being watched. I look up at Theo, whose bright, hazel eyes immediately drop from me to the book in front of him. A few minutes later, I feel the same weighted gaze. Being a little more subtle, I peer up at him from beneath my lashes. Theo watches me, his eyes roaming over me almost appreciatively.
“What?” I ask, wiping my mouth in case I have food stuck there.
“Hm? Oh, nothing. You just … I like your hair like that.”
I bring a hand up to my hair, feeling the smooth strands. Lately, I’ve been getting tired of it always being in my face, so I’ve taken to styling it in a half updo. I twisted it a little this morning, but otherwise it’s the same style I’ve been wearing all week.
It’s hard to tell in the low light of the library, but I think he’s blushing. There isn’t much that seems to faze him, aside from demons, so it’s cute to see this new side of him. I let my eyes wander down his face and over his fitted black T-shirt. His strength isn’t on display like Raphael’s, or even Zeke’s, but it’s there all the same.
“Thanks, Theo. I’ll have to wear it like this more often.”
I watch as he swallows, smiles, and then turns back to his research. Following along, I flip through the last pages of my own book, but I’d rather watch him. In the weeks since we met, he’s never complimented me like that. He always acts so relaxed around me, but now he’s jittery and shy, almost awkward even.
Has Raphael told him of our time together? Is this some sort of weird test among friends to see if I’ll change my mind and pick the other one?
No. Their bond seems far too strong for that.
An image enters my mind, one of me sandwiched between the two of them, and I can’t help the shiver of pleasure that flows through me at the thought. But that’s only a dream. Life isn’t like that. It’s hard to get one happily ever after, let alone multiple.I swear, some days my mind gets the better of me.
After not finding anything useful, I grab a few of the discarded books and head back into the stacks. The first few times I came searching in here, I looked for books with specific titles that might prove helpful, but now I just grab books at random. Who knows what small nugget of information we might find this way? It’s not as if being specific has gotten us anywhere.
Before I can grab a few more books, my skin prickles, the little hairs on my arm standing up. It feels different from when I caught Theo staring, yet familiar.
To the left, I spot Theo sitting at the table I just vacated, still engrossed in his book. Behind me there’s nothing but shelves, but as I look to my right, I find the culprit.
Zeke glares at me from where he leans against the bookshelves. He’s barely a few feet away from me, and I can feel the emotions rushing off him in waves.
“What do you want?” I ask, not bothering to be polite. I’m sick of trying to understand him. Whatever I might have seen in him earlier has vanished, and I don’t recognize the asshole underneath.
“Nothing. Just surprised to find you brought them here.”
“That’s usually what you do with friends. You spend time with them. Not that it’s any of your concern. You’ve made it perfectly clear how you feel about me.” Ignoring him, I pluck another book off the shelf.
“Just friends then, are you? Is that what you call all the guys slobbering after you like untrained puppies?”
