𝐈𝐥𝐥-𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 ✔️

5

I try and hit him, thinking maybe he'd be caught off guard. But he dodges easily and says, "Be careful what you wish for, Valeria."

I try and hit him again. And he dodges again. I let out an irritated sigh. 

"You have my book, and I want it back," I say with crossed arms. 

"It's a shame that I don't care what you want."

"Are you doing this just to piss me off?" I ask. 

He shrugs, "Maybe I am."

I try to hit. He moves out of the way. 

"Find somebody else to piss off," I say. I give up on trying to attack. "Like that wolf you got into it with last night."

His dark eyes stare at me. He says, "It's more fun to piss you off."

I use a spell this time. He stumbles back a few steps, but not much. The teacher shouts at us, "Priest and Brookes! Focusing on the assignment rather than bickering."

"Yea, Valeria, focus on the assignment," Adonis nearly smirks. I narrow my eyes at him.

"Suck my-"

My words get cut off by an accountment over the speaker. The principal says, "All students, please report to the auditorium immediately." 

My eyebrows lowered as I wondered what this could be about. Adonis says nothing to me before turning around. I stand there for a moment as I wait for some of my friends to reach me. 

"Valeria, is it?" a voice says from in front of me. I turn around and see Stella smiling at me.

"Mhm," is all I say. 

"It's nice to meet you," she says with a big smile. She suddenly gasps. "Oh, I love your earrings."

She touches my earrings. I just stand here. I say, unsure of her motives, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she says. "You know, Valeria, I'm very influential. Powerful, too. I think we could be friends. So long as you stay away from Adonis."

I tell her, "I don't want anything with Adonis."

"Good!" she smiles. Her smile then completely drops. "Let's keep it that way."

She turns and walks away as Hazel and Cristella reach me. I don't bring it up to them. We walk to the auditorium together and wait for the principal to come out.

Finally, she comes out. All of the students look at her.

"Thank you all for coming so quickly," she says. Her tone already gives away that this isn't good news. "Unfortunately, it's not for good news."

"Finn, a student, was found dead in his room this morning," she says.

People gasp. People look around. My blood ran cold, I knew Finn, I knew he was an angel. I didn't dare to move my eyes in case somebody was watching. 

"How he died is not clear," she says. "There was no blood. Maybe there was no foul play. But, if anybody has any information, please let us know."

I need to tell Gabriel. That's all I can think about. I need to tell him.

"Classes will not resume and will be dismissed for the rest of the day to give some time for processing," she says. "Your teachers are here for you if anybody wants to talk." 

I didn't want to talk to any of them. I only wanted to talk to Gabriel. I quickly left the auditorium and walked to my room. With classes dismissed, we were free to leave, as long as we were back by curfew. 

I quickly leave the school. Since it was daytime, I waited to be further away before I started flying. When I reach the house, I run inside and see Gabriel waiting for me, his face filled with concern.

"Valeria, what is it?" he asks me. "I can feel that something bad has happened."

"Finn is dead," I say. His face turns to shock. "Is it happening, Gabriel? Have they found us? Are you safe here?"

"Shh," he tries to calm me down. He pulls me into a hug. "Do not worry about me, Valeria."

It was hard not to. After losing my parents, I couldn't imagine losing him too. 

"I'm not sure what is going on," he says as he pulls away from the hug. "There may be a demon at that school. It's more important than ever to be careful."

I nod. I promise, "I will be careful, Gabriel. And if there is a demon, I'll find them, and I'll kill them for our people."

Angels weren't supposed to kill. But demons were different. They want us extinct so that they can be free from Hell and rule the world. They believe they deserve it.

I feel a twinge of guilt, and I wish I didn't. Demons were just banished angels, corrupted by darkness. We want to save, to guide, it's in our nature. But demons were too far gone. 

I returned to the school. I went to the library. It was the one place in the entire school I felt safe, I felt like I could escape reality. I stop in front of a book and hold it in my hands. A voice deep enough to give you chills says from behind me, "Metamorphoses. It's a Latin book, by the way."

I turn around and look at Adonis. I also look at the copy of Wuthering Heights in his hands.

I say, "Yeah. I know."

"Nimis nocens linguam non intelligis," he says. [Too bad you don't understand the language.]

"Facio," I reply. [I do.] "Stultus." [Stupid.]

I place the book back and take the book out of his hands. He looks at me. I'd say maybe there was slight amusement behind his dark eyes, but I don't think he is capable of showing that. I walk past him, holding the book, and I feel him watch me walk away. 

Word Count: 1527