"Chaste...Seraph?" Alec questions, recognizing only the second half of the word.
Alane nods, seeming to find the word distasteful, "Chaste-Seraph. For people, it is Fallen Angel."
Alec stares at her, once again assaulted with doubt, and for the second time the proof falls into place.
"The... the marks, on your back...?"
Alane seems heartbroken to have the subject brought up, "The rending of my wings." She turns away from Alec, pulling her shirt up just enough to show the marks clearly.
Alec once again feels remorse for her, gently running his fingers over the jagged, angry scars.
Alane takes a shaky breath, seeming to by precariously balanced between tears and violence. Alec instinctively wraps his arms around her, holding her close with the need to protect her.
"Is there any way... to get your wings back?" Alec asks softly.
"No... No Chaste has ever risen again."
Alec feels Alane's trembling, a furious surge of determination rushing through him. I will help Alane fly again, somehow.
He rises, holding Alane against him and carrying her back to the house. After pushing the door open and walking into the living room, Alec sets Alane on the couch.
Heira, pretending not to notice Alane still, scowls from the kitchen, despising the connection between her step son and Alane. Heira could see the curse of cupid consuming Alec, taking all chance of her arranging a marriage for him from her grasp.
Alec looks up, feeling Heira's gaze on him, and sees something in her eyes that makes him sick to his stomach.
"Alec," Alane whispers, "do not tell the woman."
Alec could understand her mistrust of Heira, and nods in agreement.
"His father would not have wanted this," Alec overhears Heira muttering to herself. He scowls, knowing her statement to be untrue.
Alec's father had been a kind, honorable man. Why he had married Heira had always been a mystery to Alec.
The last conversation with his father rings through his mind, the words sharpening in to a sudden, clear understanding.
'You will find a need for this some day,'
YOU ARE READING
Inheritance
Fantasy"You will find a use for this some day," the blacksmith had said to his son, gesturing around to the many tools needed for his profession. "Promise me that some day you will complete my most prized project, if I do not get the chance to." The son h...
