And his wings. They dragged on the ground, half the feathers gone. The half remaining were frayed and ragged, and the pink skin showing between the gaps looked irritated and inflamed.
I gasped in horror, my hand flying to my mouth. “What did they do to you?” Helpless rage balled into a scream in my throat. Tears scalded my cheeks. “How dare they.”
“Hush, cirra, hush.” He crushed me in his arms, heedless of his own pain, burying his face in my hair. “You’re alive. You’re unharmed. That’s all that matters.”
“Let me go,” I cried. “You’re hurt badly already. I don’t want to burn you more.”
“Let your tears burn me,” he murmured, voice savage. “I suffer them gladly. I need you here, with me.”
“You have me.” I pushed against him, trying to put space between my emotions and his scarred flesh. “Gods beyond, Castiel, how badly does it hurt? Does human medicine work on you?”
He chuckled—how, I don’t know, because he looked close to death in my eyes—and let me loose. Stroking my cheek with the back of his fingers, his eyes were soft and tender, a stark contrast to the violence his body held.
“I’ll kill the elders for this.” My eyes tracked over his marred flesh.
“I already did.”
My eyes widened and I stared at his face. “You did?”
He nodded. “They deserved to die for everything they did.”
I was reminded once again this seraph was a warrior, a man whose hands were used to wielding weapons and meting out justice. “I’m sorry I dragged you into all this.” It was all my fault. I should’ve kept my distance. Or gotten him the book sooner. Warned him about the elders, even though I never thought they’d go this far.
But Castiel shook his head. “I’m not sorry. I found my mate, and that is everything.” He filled the word with such reverence it made me flush.
I traced the worst of the scars across his chest, a hair’s breadth away from his skin. “What can I do?”
“It will heal in time,” he said. “Remember the ayim I told you about? It has healing abilities. I need to find the sun and then it will heal.”
“How fast?” I demanded, guilt making me sick. If it wasn’t for me….
A choke caught our attention. We turned to see the other footman standing in the doorway, mouth open.
Castiel growled, making even the hair on my neck stand up in alarm. Violence hummed in the air. “You have two seconds to get out before I kill you, too.”
The man bolted. Part of me wondered why he was still here. But the more pressing worries about Castiel took over.
“We need to get you outside right now.” I twined my fingers in Castiel’s and tugged him toward the exit at the other end of the hall. The belltower, I thought, would be best.
Soon we stood outside at the back of the church, staring up at the tower.
Castiel stood straighter, seemed larger, already. I glanced at his wings. They were mostly intact, but there surely weren’t enough feathers to support both of us in the air. My hawk was struggling.
“I’ll go up the stairs,” I decided. But when I tried to walk away, his fingers tightened around mine.
I glanced back at him.
“You’ll meet me up there?” His face was so vulnerable, so raw, that my heart tried to beat right out of my ribcage.
I forced a smile. I couldn’t keep crying like a watering pot. “I’ll beat you there,” I promised, slipping my hand from his.
In the end, he got there first. He had to help open the trapdoor.
“I’m sorry,” I gasped as the door opened and sunlight shone in my face.
“What are you apologizing for?” Castiel reached a hand down to help me up.
“You shouldn’t be doing anything except healing right now.” I relished the feeling of his strong hand around mine, letting him draw me up beside him. As we sat beside the bell I ran my eyes over him.
