“The skies will fall with angels, and demons will rise to power. War is coming, and peace will be no more. Death is a promise to all those who treat angels like gods.”
Have angels acted like gods? Is the light above the god who created angels and was once human? So angels come from humans? No book I’ve read or heard of in this academy talks about that. Closing the book, I rest back and close my eyes for a moment, deciding what I should do next. The seconds tick away into minutes, and I only move when I hear someone turn the door handle.
“Only me,” Myles says as he steps into my room, carrying a basket of food. My stomach rumbles as a hello, and Myles grins as he places the basket in front of me until he sees the look in my eye, which must give everything away. “What’s wrong?”
“The angels murdered thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of vampires and masters all for nothing. To stop an angel and a vampire loving each other. How can I defend the angels against that?” I ask him. “How do I know if I’m on the wrong side?”
Myles frowns and kneels down next to me, cupping my hands in his. Somehow Myles holding my hands just relaxes me, and I trust him to help me like no one else can. Thallon will always side with the angels, and Henry will always side with the vampires. Ren...well, I know that answer. Myles doesn’t have a side in this war, and that makes him perfect to ask for advice. “Angels murdered vampires. Vampires murdered angels...there isn’t a good side in this war. Everyone has taken something too far, but angels think they are gods. You haven’t seen the side that prevails in the city above. Some of those angels have been around since the beginning of the world, and in some ways, that makes them gods.”
“Angels are not gods,” I say, feeling a burning need to make that point. “Neither are vampires. There were goddesses in the world, three of them I think, and they are gone. The power of the gods is gone.”
I don’t mention the light above. I don’t even know what he might be and how exactly he spoke to me.
He nods. “Ren wants war...but do you want that?”
“No...” I whisper. “But I don’t want the vampires to suffer either. I don’t think they are evil creatures like the angels taught me. I know Ren isn’t...and if they are evil, then so am I. I’m half vampire, and that means the angels are no longer my only race.”
“Whatever side you’re on, I’m on too,” Myles tells me, then nervously looks down. “I have to tell you something.”
“What is it?” I question him.
“What do you know about wolf shifters?” he asks me. “Like really know about them?”
“Other than from Twilight, I know a...” I drift off when I see the horror in his eyes. “Don’t you like that film?”
“I have no problem with the film personally, but it made a lot of trouble for wolves trying to hide from the world like me. People became obsessed with wolves and followed me around in the woods, hoping I would be a shifters. I constantly had to tell my wolf not to eat the stupid female humans,” he tells me, and I can’t help it, I burst into laughter.
“Poor wolfy, all those beautiful girls chasing you through the woods,” I say between chuckles. He grins and shakes his head before tickling me. I laugh, begging him to stop as I collapse onto the bed next to him.
“Stop, stop, stop,” I pant, and he pauses, looking down at me. I become very aware that half his body is covering mine, and we are so close. We both smile at each other as he leans down and kisses me. The first brush of his lips is like lightning coursing through my body, sparking all of me to life and drowning me in desire. His body moves to fully cover mine, pressing his hard bulge into me as a low grumble vibrates in his chest. I moan into his mouth, and like a switch goes off, Myles jumps off me and slams into the wall by the door, holding his hands up.
“I’m sorry...I can’t. I have to go.” Before I’ve even had a second to process his words, he is out the door. What is it with guys jumping away from me during a kiss? I collapse to the bed in confusion...and so many thoughts. I need Vesnia more than I ever have, because my love life is turning into a confusing mess.
I’ve kissed four guys now...and each one of them feels like they belong to me in some kind of way. If my parents knew I was almost in a relationship with this many guys, they would have a meltdown of some kind, and most people wouldn’t understand even in the slightest way. What feels natural to me is not something normal in the human world I came from.
I don’t even know if Thallon, Henry or Myles would be okay with the fact I’m falling for them all. I refuse to even contemplate Ren in my mind right now, nor how he makes me feel. Ren took what he shouldn’t have, and I don’t know how to forgive him for that. Knowing I need fresh air, I walk to the balcony and pick up my whistle. I call Ayda, and within moments, she lands on the balcony next to me.
“Want to go for a fly, girl?” I ask, and she neighs, brushing her head against mine. As I mount my horse and disappear into the clouds of the academy, I let myself be free for just a moment, because I feel like my world is going to come crashing down on me sooner than I would like.
Chapter 40
I bang my hands on the door three times before stepping back and steeling my back. The vampire Bryne Maddix opens the door, looking down at me like a bug, and I stare right back at him. In the last day, I’ve made my mind up. I am no longer scared of Ren, of the vampires, of anything in this academy, and I want to see my friend. Ren wants me to be his queen, a leader or whatever, so I should be able to see my friend.
Honestly, I was kidding myself if I ever really feared Ren. Even when he turned me…I wasn’t as scared of him as I am of the angel leaders or the angels in general. They murdered angel students right in front of me, like they were nothing more than oddly shaped fruit they didn’t want to eat. Then again vampires have ripped off angel wings in front of me. Jesus, who is the good guy in all this?
I’m suspecting no one.
“I want to see my friend. Now.” I say it plain and simple, and he rests his shoulder against the frame, not saying a word. “I said now, vampire.”
“Causing trouble I see,” Henry says, walking down the corridor. I turn and eye him cautiously as he comes up to us. “Bryne, we can work something else out later. Less publicly. Thanks.” Bryne nods at Henry before stepping away and slamming the door shut.
“Wait, no!” I shout, banging the door, and Henry grabs my arms, spinning us around and pinning me to the wall. I try to ignore how good it feels to have his hard body pressed against mine, how he smells like mint with a masculine undertone. His eyes burn so much brighter now he is better, and the embers seem to flicker to life when he is close to me, just like my heart flickers to life, banging against my chest. I lick my lips as we stare at each other, drawing Henry’s attention to them, and every memory of us kissing bursts into my mind. Closing my eyes, I remember Vesnia. “Let me go, Henry!”
“Listen to me, darlin’. This isn’t the way,” Henry softly warns me, and I sink a little bit on the wall. I knew this was risky and the chances of me getting to see Vesnia were slim, but I had to try. “I know you miss Vesnia, but this is only going to attract attention to her, and it won’t be the good kind. Come with me.”