White cleared his throat and looked away.
“Don’t you know?” I muttered under my breath as I turned away from them. White’s hand slipped off my shoulder. “You’re to be a parrot in a zoo.” It was so obvious now, though I doubted the reverend had reckoned with the knowledge that these seraphim would be no man’s parrot.
“What’s a parrot?” Castiel’s voice rang out, echoing off the nearest glass panels.
My heart skipped a beat as alarm prickled across my skin. How did he hear me? My mouth twisted. Perhaps I, too, needed to reckon with the fact that Castiel was a force of nature.
White glanced between us. “A glorious bird, one of the most noble creatures the gods have blessed us with. They are full of vibrant colors and even speak human words.”
The trained ones do. I pressed my lips together. Because they’re pets for rich men.
“We’ll see how this goes.” Castiel gave White a toothy grin, and I knew he was going to be trouble.
Five
Castiel
My wings itched as I paced the luxurious prison, waiting for supper to be delivered to me. This was quickly growing tiresome, and I’d been here less than a day. The door to this room had a heavy lock on the outside—something the elder probably hoped I hadn’t noticed.
I was both amused and alarmed by the glass structure they’d created for Gabriel—or whoever they could catch. There was no way something as flimsy as tempered glass could hold a seraph. I could break that with my bare fists if I needed. But the idea they thought they could—what was a Herald? A supernatural being to worship, or a puppet for the elders?
I thought back to what Gabriel and his mate, Eve, had shared about this community. Eve had once mentioned she’d had to attend a set amount of services every week or she’d be punished. It really was a cult, I agreed.
A knock sounded at the door.
“Enter,” I barked, straightening and putting my hands on my hips. I should probably learn more about their religion. But perhaps I’d be done tomorrow, the mission complete. I could hope, anyway. What could humans hide from a seraph?
The door swung open, revealing Lilith Meadows’s expressionless face. She held a tray in both hands, white porcelain and silverware clinking on it. A small silver pitcher held wine, judging by the scent.
Wine was one of the human things I greatly enjoyed. We didn’t have the fruit called grapes on Rundis, my home world, though we’d learned to ferment and drink other things. But wine—it was sharp and thick and tart and sweet all at the same time. Probably one of the best human inventions, I often mused.
Lilith stared over my shoulder, perhaps at one wing arch.
I bit back a smirk. She was doing her absolute best to pretend I didn’t exist. She also kept hiding that sharp wit, though I couldn’t fathom why. This cult clearly operated on the basis of power, and knowledge was a type of power.
She stepped forward, nearly tripping on the hem of her dress, to set the tray on the wooden table nearby. “My apologies for the delay.” She looked at the ground as she performed a short, perfunctory curtsy. “With planning the funerals, normal chores got jumbled tonight.”
I nodded. “I understand.”
She glanced up quickly, through her pale, blonde lashes. I caught a flash of light blue irises, then Lilith looked back down.
I tucked my wings tightly along my back, crossing the primary feathers to shorten them as much as I could before sitting on a tall stool. Any self-respecting seraph hated their wings trailing the ground. I sniffed the food as I kept my eyes on her.
Smelled like…braised pork with steamed vegetables. Nothing special, but I had been somewhat unexpected, and everyone likely was busy with funeral planning, as Lilith had said.
She, on the other hand, was glorious. Even with exhaustion creating brackets on the sides of those rosebud lips and shadows under her sky-blue eyes. Her shimmering golden hair fell from the severe bun she’d put it in this morning. The loose waves made my fingers twitch as I wondered what texture her hair had.
What did it look like, down around her face? How far would it fall? Would it cover her nipples? Shadow her lower back?
I gritted my teeth and pushed past the nonsense. So she was a beautiful human woman. So what? I’d seen plenty of beautiful people before, especially beautiful seraphim. I’d slept with all genders of seraphim when I first joined the military, excited to become a warrior and a part of warrior society.
It would be easier if Lilith was beautiful by only human standards. Humans could appreciate those thin, arched brows and the short, rounded nose and the long lashes because she was human. I clenched my jaw. It was just so annoying that I found her wildly attractive, too.
She cleared her throat, and I glanced sharply at her.
“Are you—are you truly a Herald?” Her face was smooth, not letting even a ripple of emotion across. But I could see that spark in her eyes—that spark I hadn’t seen since our last conversation while still at Mirkwold, Gabriel’s home.
I turned to face her, giving her my full attention. Would she shy away? Or would she be all spite and bite, like when we first met? My skin prickled with anticipation. I won’t let you hide, even if you do hate me.
