Even I didn’t know if that was possible.
“He’s on a mission,” my dad lied. I flinched, but tried to reel it in since I knew every eye in the room was watching me.
My dad was lying to the Council. That was not only unacceptable, but grounds for a trial. If he were caught in this lie, he would be taken away and judged as a Fallen. Warriors and Stars usually had no reason to lie, no reason to keep secrets. This would look very badly when- not if- it came out.
The sick feeling grew to almost an unbearable ache. I hated that my dad was lying, but at the same time so thankful. There was an ulcer brewing in my stomach for sure.
“On a mission?” Celeste asked with narrowed eyes. “Who sent him?”
“He went by himself. We had no idea what he was contemplating and would never have allowed it had we known. He was, he is…. he is a special target by the Fallen that occupy this planet. As you know, his parents, Ethan and Sitara were killed by one of their close friends. Aliah has done nothing but pursue Seth since his identity became known in January. Seth took it upon himself to remove the threat from Stella’s life.”
Ok, so he wasn’t so much straight out lying as he was embellishing the truth- just a little. Go Dad!
“We are acquainted with the Warrior’s history.” Raphael’s voice was deep and melodic, a smooth sound that crested gently before dropping to a low bass that rumbled in his chest. His voice was more beautiful than even his face. But not in the I-could-listen-to-it-for-hours way, more like the intimidating kind of beauty that made me feel insecure and insignificant.
These Angels were awe-inspiring but frightening. Yeesh! I wondered if I was raised in the Lower Realms, if I would feel the same way. Or was this only because they were as foreign to me as they would be to anyone else on Earth?
“But we have also heard that now he is Fallen,” Celeste continued coolly. “There have been those that say he joined forces with Aliah.”
“He hasn’t.” I was adamant, because it was the truth. He was not willfully apart of Aliah’s schemes or plans. He was doing what he thought was best for me.
And sometimes I wondered if it was. I wondered if it was the only way I was still alive.
“You would protect him to death, would you not?” Raphael asked again and it wasn’t exactly a question. “He is your other half.”
“Be that as it may,” I started with the most mature phrase I knew, “I am well aware how dangerous he would be if he were Fallen. As my enemy he would be a threat not only to this planet, but to me specifically. I would take care of him, if that were true.” There, the whole truth. I let out a steady breath and realized how deeply I believed that. If Seth became unredeemable, I would have no choice.
I’d better get used to that idea now.
Because I would have to follow through. If Seth were ever Fallen- truly- I would have an obligation to destroy him.
Gulp.
The very thought of Seth becoming truly evil made my entire body rebel, my head swim, tears flood my eyes. He wouldn’t.
He couldn’t. He couldn’t do that to me.
“It is peculiar though,” Raphael pressed giving me the strongest urge to yell at him to be quiet, “that Seth has left you at all.”
“Well, we’re not exactly married. We sleep at different houses,” I pointed out. “He leaves me every day. I’m only sixteen.”
“We are well aware of how old you are, young Starling,” Ari broke in gently. “What my friend meant by that was that we are surprised Seth left you for this…. quest of his. His place is by you, is it not?”
I did not like how they asked leading questions like that. It felt like they were trying to trap me. Like I was on trial. And other than protecting Seth I hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Technically, we weren’t supposed to meet for another nine years. So, to handcuff Seth to my life now, when only a few months ago I had no expectations of him, or him of me, seems unfair. Seth knows he has my support in whatever he does, in whatever he decides. He will come back to me.” I met each of their other-worldly gazes steadily and confidently. I dared them to defy me, to argue that he wasn’t coming back. I knew that he was.
He had to.
He had to.
“Of course, he will,” Ari grinned happily. He ran a hand through his red mop of hair and the gesture was so normal… so casual, I felt myself relax.
Just a smidge.
I refused to look at the other Council members, just to hold onto that small feeling.
“Is that the entire purpose of your visit?” my mom asked with a furrowed brow. “To inquire about Seth?”
The three of them exchanged a telling glance. It was hard to read their expressions exactly because of the whole glowing eye thing, but that was a pretty tell-tale gesture.
After several moments of heavy silence, Celeste said, “We’ve been…. it would seem…. We’re not exactly sure, but there seems to be a traitor in the midst of the council. We haven’t been able to pinpoint who exactly, but the evidence is there.”
“And you trust each other?” My father sounded skeptical and authoritative. This was the Warrior I knew he was; the man that would stand up to the Council if he had to.
Raphael met my father’s gaze and said clearly, “No, we don’t. But the rumor of a traitor among us isn’t a secret. And with every day that passes the traitor becomes that much closer to upturning everything we have worked for, to disturbing the careful balance of good versus evil on this last planet, to taking this world to its knees and giving the final victory to our enemy.”
“And so we’ve come to speak with you directly,” Celeste continued after Raphael finished his doomsday speech. “This battle that the Starling fights with her Counterpart is more crucial than ever before. The Fallen are spread out throughout the galaxies, their forces are weakened this way, yet the Shadows flock here en masse. As far as our intelligence can tell, Aliah is acting of his own authority. Something else calls their other leaders away.”
“Aliah is a formidable opponent,” my mom said slowly as if she already knew how this conversation would end.
If only I did.
“But there is no one else like him,” Celeste replied meaningfully.
“Azrael,” my father said quickly. “Sammael, Cassiel.”
“All dead,” Ari answered. “All of them.”
I opened my mouth to ask about a hundred thousand questions, but Celeste continued for me, “Aliah left the eastern galaxies with Ethan and Sitara. At the time, he was not Fallen that we were aware but living among us as a traitor, but still Warrior enough that he was effective during battle. Even Ethan was unaware of his change. Aliah chose to fight closer to this planet, the same planet he inherited after his defection. Meanwhile the Fallen forces have only been somewhat successful on their other outposts. We have reclaimed much of what was taken. The battle turns to a more even plane, and this planet remains in the balance.”
My parents seemed staggered by this revelation. I was still looking for the Cliff Notes version.
“But Earth can never be truly turned, one way or the other,” my mom argued. “That is the bargain. Influence only.”
“Yes,” Ari agreed quickly. “But with Aliah gone….”
My dad saw my absolute confusion and took pity on me, “Aliah is second in command of the entire Darkness in this third of the universe. The other three Angels I mentioned were generals under him. Their leadership is a gaping hole right now. Aliah must be holding the entire army together by a thread.”