Chaos erupted.
Fluttering. Cursing. Roaring. Metal squelching through flesh. A man’s roar. The hiss of something monstrous. And another blinding flash.
Something small whimpered right next to my ear, followed by warm, tiny fingers tracing my shoulder and lower neck.
Then, a second pair of hands gripped my ankle.
My lungs seized, then inhaled deeply. Vision cleared, pain faded.
Dead? No—not dead. How was I not?
A large figure towered over me, wings spread wide. His face was furious. Robin’s-egg-blue eyes burned with an intensity.
Wait—I know those eyes . . .
It was like being plunged into Arctic water, consciousness walloping me in the face.
“Carwynn.” His voice was low, lethal. “Explain. Yourself.Now!”
David was here.Reallyhere. I lied to him. But still, he came. Ever the lifeline when I was drowning.
But now, all the terror of being at death’s door again surged out of me. The fear, the helplessness, the emotion—it all broke open as I buried my face in my hands, trying to muffle the sob that escaped. Through blurry eyes, I looked up.
His face softened, almost as if in agony. As ifmypain washispain too.
“I’m so sorry, David,” I rasped through tears.
My eyes suddenly locked onto massive snowy wings. They were so bright, soimpossible. For a moment, my thoughts went silent. Completely vacant. Vacuumed out by a black hole.
The luminous wings splayed out behind David, casting a celestial glow across the forest floor.
David. It was…David. He never had wings. Never even mentioned them! That’d be something you would tell someone, right? Especially someone who you’d lived with, who you loved, who you trusted.
My eyes fixed on them again, hoping they were playing tricks. But no, they were still there, undeniable and breathtaking. And his eyes, they glowed too.
This wasn’t David just hiding a secret, this was someone Ididn’t know at all. He held a large rose-gold sword in his hand, sparking with life. Red-hot electricity danced up the blade.
The look was completelybadass. A warrior, a stranger from another world. But why—why hadn’t he told me?
And that power. A force buzzed around him, deep and constant, humming.
This wasn’t the man who raised me, the man I’d come to love like a father. This version of him was completely alien.
“What—what is this, David?” My voice cracked. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I weakly gestured to the wings behind him, unable to convey the weight of my feelings.
Silence. Deafening silence.
Then, a swift look of disappointment. Though, I wasn’t sure if it was directed at me or at himself.
Nausea churned my stomach. The creature’s mangled head laid beside David’s feet. Tar-like blood smeared across the ground, putrid and glistening.
He hadn’t just slayed it. He’d fuckingobliteratedit. The remains were carved into filets. Clean, meticulous slices scattered the earth like butcher scraps.
I pushed to my knees, starting to rise when—small, strong arms curled under my shoulders, steadying me. Golden hair to my left, red on my right. A third set of arms wrapped around my legs, brown ringlets bobbing into view.
My heart stilled.
Huck, Pudge, and Honey. My favorite Cherubs, my sweet friends. I called, and they came. They were here.
