I was getting close. I found my balance on a conveniently square rock, but when I looked up, Merrit was all in my face. I couldn’t see past him. I placed a hand on his chest, either for more balance, or to push him away – I could decide later.
“What’s wrong with you, Merrit? Who abused you as a child?” I realized I was being extra mean, but sometimes that was the only way to talk to people like him.
“Fuck off, Mila,” he said through gritted teeth. “You shouldn’t be here.”
I rolled my eyes at him, utterly unimpressed. “Move, idiot.” I pushed him hard. His right foot slipped, he lost his balance and fell on his side, finally allowing me to see what he’d been trying to hide from me. I gasped.
The blond man on the ground was Sariel. His shirt was torn, revealing the wide plain of his back. His wings… His wings were no more. All that was left of the large feathered beauties were two bony stumps covered in caked blood.
I stood frozen in place. Merrit cursed under his breath, scrambled to get back on his feet, but I couldn’t hear him, nor see him. The other three VDC guys stepped away from the archangel. Is he still an archangel if his wings are torn? Raziel went past me, mouthing “sorry”. Sorry? Was he really sorry? He grabbed Merrit and pulled him toward the beach. Five minutes later, Sariel and I were alone on the rocks. He was kneeling, his back turned to me.
“Ar
e you… are you okay?” My voice was barely a whisper. I forced myself to move. When I got close enough, I reached out to touch him. He sensed me and pulled away.
“Leave,” he said.
“Are you insane? I’m not leaving you. What have they done to you?” I looked around, trying to find his wings. But I knew I was being irrational. The wounds along his shoulder blades were old.
“Nothing.” He sat up and wiped his hands on his wet trousers. His shirt had been torn wide open on his back but was quite intact in the front.
“Let me help you up.” I took hold of his arm, but he pushed me away.
“I don’t need your help. Leave.”
“For fuck’s sake, Sariel!” I was losing my patience. “Just tell me what they did to you and how I can help. You saved me once. I owe you.”
“You don’t owe me a thing.”
With a grunt, he stood up and started climbing over the rocks to reach the beach. I followed him. The sight of his torn wings broke my heart.
“Who did this to you? Who…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. He knew what I was talking about, though. “Is this why you’ve been avoiding me and the guys?”
“You’re smart. You tell me.”
Once on the beach, he started to walk faster. I tried to keep up with him. When he wouldn’t stop, I grabbed him by the arm and didn’t let go until he halted and turned to face me.
“What?! What do you want from me?”
There was pain in his blue eyes. His hair was messy and disheveled, and I realized this was the first time I saw Sariel Gracewing in such an… unusual condition. Unusual for him. His clothes were soaked, his hair was far from perfect, and he even had a few wrinkles around his eyes and mouth that I’d never noticed before. I knew he was way older than me even though he looked young, but I could swear he’d gained a few years in just a couple of months. Or, maybe… Could it be a side effect of losing his wings?
“I just want you to talk to me, that’s all,” I said in a gentle voice. “I… I had no idea. I’m so stupid.” I closed the space between us and placed a hand on his cheek. “When I saw you at the Academy on the first day, I was so happy for you. Morningstar didn’t expel you, you are in the Merciful Death Cabal now… I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I was so blind and I couldn’t see that you were hurting.”
“I’m not hurting,” he murmured. He was obviously lying. “He didn’t expel me, and I am in the MDC.”
“Then… what happened? When did it all go so wrong? What happened to your wings?”
He sighed. “Francis didn’t tell you… I’m shocked, really. He’s so infatuated with you. I thought he tells you everything now.”
“He doesn’t tell me shit. Also, he’s not infatuated with me. We’re just friends.”
“Right.”
“Well?”
“You really want to know what happened…”
“Yes! I know this might come as a surprise to you, but I do care about you, Sariel.”