I blushed. “Oh, I don’t think so. That would be a prideful thing for me to believe.”
“Certainly more practical,” he argued, giving me that delicious smile I dreamed of. “And much faster at getting things done. You will tell me where to go?”
That smile was infectious, and boldness overtook me. “I will take you there myself,” I said. “It’s in the heart of the city.”
Castiel squinted at the sky. The cloud cover, though gray, was thin today. “We should go tomorrow evening,” he decided. “When I can fly undetected. The last thing we need is some religious riot in the city if someone sees me.” He rolled his eyes. “It will be impossible to get what I need with the humans clamoring all around me.”
My mouth dried. “Uhh, fly?”
He gave me an amused look. “How else do you think I would travel?” His wing stretched behind him, long enough for the brown feathers to draw my eyes, then returned to his back.
My mind slipped back to the afternoon we’d met, when he’d grabbed me up in his arms and soared into the air. “No flying,” I said stiffly.
He eyed me as if I’d gone mad. “What?”
“I don’t like flying. I’m a human, Castiel. We’re meant to be on the ground.”
He muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like “Eve likes flying with Gabriel.”
I glared. “If you recall, our first meeting was you snatching me up and shooting into the sky. I thought you were going to drop me!”
He snorted. “You were beating my chest with your fists and trying to crawl down my body.”
“Because I had no idea who you were or why you grabbed me! And I belong on the ground!” I gestured wildly. “How would you feel if someone grabbed you and made you run? No warning, just jerked you around and forced your body to do things it wasn’t made to do?” I could guess how heavy those wings were—they might make the seraphim fly, but running and distance walking would take its toll on their bodies.
He sobered, taking a breath. “I’m sorry I did that. I didn’t know if you were safe or you were a part of the people trying to harm Gabriel’s mate. We were trying to find her before that reverend of yours killed her for fleeing.”
I hated that he was right. Reverend Grimshaw had frightened me that day with his savage glee while trapping Eve with him. Still, I glared. “You frightened me.”
Castiel stood, his eyes as serious as I’d ever seen them. His feathers rustled against the bench as he stepped toward me.
I stiffened. My feet shifted backward, but I forced myself to stand still. Years of habit made me want to duck my head, maybe even apologize for my insolence. But I didn’t want to anymore. And I certainly didn’t want to do that with Castiel.
But he stopped in front of me, his mouth turned downward. He gently reached out and gripped my arms below my shoulders. “Lilith,” he said, and the way he said my name made my heart yearn. “Lilith, I am sorry I frightened you. I never wish to frighten you.”
I forced a laugh, suddenly embarrassed by this whole exchange. “You’re a warrior, aren’t you? Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do, frighten people?”
But he didn’t laugh for once. He shook his head, his thumbs stroking my arm through my clothes. “Not you, Lily. Never you.”
The look on his face hurt me. It was so tender, his gaze the softest caress, and I could not bear it.
I looked away from him, unable to hold his stare. “It’s fine,” I mumbled. “It’s over.”
But he touched my chin with his thumb and index finger, gently tilting my face back to meet his eyes. “It wasn’t fine. And I hate I made you fear the thing I love most. Would—would you ever consider letting me try again?”
My brow wrinkled. “Try again?”
“I would take you flying, if you allowed it,” he said formally, nearly stiffly. I didn’t realize my seraph could be so formal.
“Erm,” I said, wanting to wriggle out of the conversation.
“When you trust me,” he clarified. “I think, if I share this properly, you will love it nearly as much as I do.”
I hesitated. “Gabriel takes Eve flying?”
He nodded, his lips twitching. I decided I didn’t care if I made him smirk, it made me happy to see his smile. “Well…perhaps. If the opportunity presents itself. And you promise never to drop me,” I added hastily.
Castiel leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to my forehead, stopping my heart from beating. “I will never let you fall, cirra,” he whispered, his breath hot against my skin. Then he pulled away and smiled gently at me. “Now go to your mother. I’ve kept you far too long.” He pushed me backward, toward my house.
