“You brought the new meat. Interesting, my queen,” a dark angel with mousy brown hair says to Jessica, before tugging her away to one of the sofas.
“The light and dark angels certainly have different ways,” I mutter to Vesnia as we move away from the door. Vesnia nods her head to a door at the back of the room, and we both go through it to a game room full of more dark angels. The pool table is now a drink table filled with every kind of alcoholic drink you could find. We carry on through and find the kitchen where Riley is talking with two light angels, the only light angels I’ve seen in here.
“There you are, we gotta go,” Riley states, grabbing my hand and tugging me to his side a little too roughly.
“What’s the rush?” I ask.
“Yeah, asshole. Don’t you like my house or my party?” Henry asks from somewhere very close behind me. I freeze as he places his hand on my waist and his body presses into mine, his breath moving my hair on the top of my head as Riley stares at him. For a moment, I see so much pain and anger in my best friend’s eyes that I want to tell him I will leave...but Henry is right. I actually want to see what dark angels are about, and if this is their way, then for now, I will have to play by their rules.
“No, and let my best friend go,” he bites out.
“What does your best friend want?” Henry sarcastically asks, clear humour in his voice, and Riley’s eyes drop to mine.
I know he is going to hate me before I’ve even spoken. “I want to stay. I want to know what dark angels do as much as you liked learning about light angels yesterday, Riley.” He stares at me in shock for a second before he changes his whole expression and drops my hand like it’s on fire.
“I never had you down for one of those girls,” he growls at me before walking away with his new light angel friends following behind him. Henry doesn’t move from my back nor take his hand off my waist as I suck in a deep breath of air.
“Thank you,” I say very quietly, not even wanting to hear the words myself.
“I don’t like bullies,” Henry whispers to me before letting me go. I turn around, but he is gone, disappearing into the crowds of people, and Ves hands me a drink.
“I knew you’d need one the moment Riley grabbed you,” she explains, and I tightly smile. “Let’s just have fun, yeah?”
“Why not?” I answer, and Ves laughs, pulling me through the house and into the dancers. For a few hours, I forget I’m surrounded by angels or that my best friend is mad at me, and I just dance, but in the corner of my eye, I see Henry always watching me, always letting me know I’m not alone.
“Which way is our room again?” Vesnia asks, and I giggle in response. I don’t have a clue, the academy all looks the same to me. We stumble down a corridor and find a door at the end, which Vesnia opens up, and we peer inside. The room has mirrored walls, and in the centre is a massive black, sleek piano.
“We had a piano at home, and I always loved playing. Watch!” I say, stumbling into the room as Ves follows, giggling away. She sits on the floor by the stool as I press a few keys before I start playing my favourite song to perfection. It’s not a song anyone would know because my mum said she learnt it from her mother, and her mother taught her before that. The song always spoke to me in the way that music can speak to everyone. No matter who you are in the world, good music always links us all. It shakes us to our core, making us feel emotions we haven’t before, and this is why I always loved it. The end part of the song makes me pick up speed on the notes, my fingers flying across the piano faster than I ever thought I could do before. As I press the last note, I sigh, letting out the joy of the memories I have with my mum teaching me that song.
I will see my parents again. It’s impossible to imagine that I won’t, and I can’t wait to see how happy they will be when they know I haven’t died. Clapping interrupts my thoughts, and I turn to see Thallon in the doorway, a big smile on his face. I glance at Ves, only to see she is fast asleep on the floor.
“When did you learn to play like that?” Thallon asks, stepping into the room.
“Erm...I...well,” I mutter.
“Sounds like erm is a good teacher,” he teases, and I blush. “But would you like me to help you carry your friend back to your room?”
“Yes, that would be great,” I say, standing up and feeling a little wobbly. Thallon notices and grins as he picks up Ves and flings her over his shoulder.
“First dark angel party, I’m guessing?” he asks, and I nod. “I always loved learning about the dark angels, and trust me, there is a reason for the parties.”
“I thought it was just to have fun,” I say, as that’s all I saw tonight.
“Then you need to look below the surface,” he suggests as we walk down the corridor. The only sound is our shoes against the stone and Ves’s snoring.
“Why don’t you have wings? Are you human or something else?” I ask, knowing the booze in my system is making me braver than I usually am.
“I never made a choice between the light and dark fire because they both call to me. I said I would choose, but it’s just never felt right over the years. Eventually, I’ve come to understand there must be a higher reason I can’t choose, and when the time is right, the light above will show me,” he beautifully says.
“It must be so beautiful to believe in something you have never seen,” I whisper, but he hears me.
“You believe in love? In trust? In hate and in lust? These are things we can never see, but we know they are real. My belief in the light above and his plan for us is the same,” he gently tells me.
“Then you are stuck here,” I reply, crossing my arms from the chill of the academy in the middle of the night. I’m so glad I can have a lie-in tomorrow and not have to worry about waking up early for class.
“For a reason, yes. Tell me, have you figured out what you want to do with your life yet?” he asks.
“I’m eighteen and currently had a weird year, so nope,” I answer, making him laugh. Gosh, he has a sexy laugh.
His lips twitch in amusement. “Thank you,” he tells me, and I stare in horror as I realise I must have said the sexy laugh thing out loud. To my great relief, we get to the top of the staircase to our rooms, and Ves chooses then to wake up as Thallon carefully puts her down.
“Thank you for the lift, sexy gardener guy,” she mumbles and then walks shakily down the stairs.
“I should go and make sure she gets into bed and there is a glass of water waiting for her to wake up to,” I say, and Thallon nods.
“Tomorrow I need help with the gardens. I know it’s your first day off the academy, so you can say no—” he says.
“I’d love to help you. What time and where do you want to meet up?” I ask, seeing the awkward relief in his eyes.
“Meet me at ten in the morning by the roses,” he tells me before he turns away and starts to walk off. “And goodnight, Miss Lightson. I hope you sleep well.”
“And you, Mr. Cross,” I reply as I step onto the stairs. Against my better judgement, I look back and find his eyes watching mine so closely.
Both of us smile, and I shake my head, knowing I need to get into bed. After all, I have a new job starting tomorrow.