House Of Legions (The Angel Descendants book 1) novel Chapter 59

Kalbreal didn’t need to know that she was obsessing over William. She had many unanswered questions, to which Angel-boy seemed to have most of the answers, and so did her brother.

The wicked gleam and sudden broad smile that etched his face had her narrowing her eyes, “What’s the joke?”

“Do you still want to see my wings?”

She tilted her head, a grin playing on her mouth, “Will I die?”

“No, I can show it to you under the water, the lake’s blessed with healing properties, it’ll protect you as long as you stay emerged.”

“Okay.”

“Take out your clothes and get in the water and I’ll show you.”

She coughed out, “Angel-boy has seriously lost his mind.”

“Angel-boy? You couldn’t have chosen a better name, maybe hero or prince.”

She snorted, recalling a similar thing he said to her in his room the day before, “Prince, huh, that’ll be the day. ANGEL-BOY is much better.”

Face flushed as thoughts of William assailed her again. Mind drifting to the faceless man that had touched her and comforted her, as one would their lover. What’s wrong with me, she cursed her brain, cursed her skin, as it tingled with the urge to be touched by him. So lost in her mind, not hearing as Kalbreal spoke, his voice a background sound.

Coldwater splashed on her face, bringing her back to reality, she screeched, “What the hell.”

“You mind gazing AGAIN, you want to see my wings or not?”

She turned her back to him and started removing her t-shirt first, “And I’m not getting naked, I’m wearing underwear, turn around.”

He didn’t respond to her, so she halted in her quest, and turned around to face him, but he wasn’t there. She moved carefully toward the water.

Hair clinging to his face, curled around his cheekbones, his eyes blazing hot, looking more of a crimson red than orange, as he swam closer to the shore, his voice deep, “Hurry up,” he called from the lake.

She discarded her clothes and at the last minute she had remembered her back, she didn’t particularly trust him that much, so she slipped the t-shirt back on, she hadn’t thought of why she hid the barely-there mark on her back from anyone, but her instincts seemed to take over when it needed to.

Kalbreal didn’t seem to mind much really, he deliberately refrained himself from the temptation at looking at her legs. She touched the water with her barefoot, expecting, well she didn’t really know what she expected but the water of the lake was warm under her feet and remained so.

The deeper she got, the warmer it felt. She swam closer to Kalbreal, who was now in the centre of the Saltril lake, she swam further in until he stood opposite her, “You okay?” at her nod, he said, “Count to seven and come down.”

She nodded again, her hair wet floating in the water. Some of the water touched the inside of her mouth, it was clear and sweet, she was tempted to swallow, but rethought it. After seven anticipated seconds were up, she took in a lungful of air and swam down toward the lakes bed. Half down, she could see the sparks of fire, milky, blurry lava, she went further down, swimming deeper, holding her breath. Her eyes stayed open, not willing to lose a second of this, as excitement coursed through her, when she was less than ten feet away from him.

The heat from his body made the water hotter, her lungs getting heavy, she focused on the brightness, and she saw it, his wings. They were expanded about two meters wide and a little over three in length as it spread out. She blinked, water burning her eyes. She saw his face was normal like he was breathing, his body flamed up in wrappings of fire, his eyes, it was so bright…

Her owner couldn’t handle looking much longer. She peeled them open just a tiny bit to see his wings one last time, but the water got too hot in the instant and she couldn’t hold her breath any longer, she signalled him, that she was going back to the surface.

She swam up, and vacuumed in a large amount of oxygen, freeing her lungs, as she broke free from the water. Feeling exhilarated as fresh air soaked up into her lungs, her breathing barely regulated when the water scorched her skin.

She swam as fast as she could to the shore of the lake. Her hair barely covered her black panty as she ran out of the water.

She had just caught her breath, when she heard footsteps from behind her, she slipped on her jeans, “I could see it, but not for long, water was too hot.”

“Pity, since you’ll probably never get your name back.”

He's said it so bluntly like it was definite, but parts of Clare refused to believe it, she didn’t say anything more about it.

“How did your wife die?” Her eyes widened by her loose tongue, turning to face him, and winced. Clare hoped she hadn’t treaded too dangerously and was about to apologize when she found herself muted by the sight of him shirtless. His muscles ripped, wet with droplets of water, she almost didn’t catch his words,

“She didn’t.”

She lowered her voice, “but you said..”

“I didn’t say she’s dead, I said she’s gone, you should listen more attentively next time, words can be very deceiving.”

“But it sounded like you loved her, or love her.”

“I do, but love is a broadened emotion.”

“There you go again.” She bowed at him sarcastically, “Sometimes you speak like a person, and other times you just shut a person out, your tone changes, do you even hear yourself sometimes, is that how all Angels are.”

“I’ve been on earth for a while, but I am not a person, I am superior, an Angel, to answer all your questions would be to betray sacred laws. But I can tell you that there are limits to every emotion. My wife crossed those and paid a price far more treacherous than simple death, and that’s all I’m going to say about it.”

Clare saw that look in his eyes, as he stood there, not moving, not blinking, unreadable, guarded by something too solid to break or crack. A tear fell from her eye, a single tear for a Broken Angel, a tortured soul.

She wanted to press for more, but her heart couldn’t give her courage to hurt the Angel, not now, and if she did, it would be as if she’d killed him a little inside.

She heard her name been screamed, “It’s Nathan.” She said quietly, “I think we should go.”