Grey

Chapter 15

"She was fated to die," Riel sighed in disdain and I frowned.

I was supposed to die then. My life was supposed to be over.

I immediately suppressed the emotions that began to well up inside my chest. That was something to deal with later.

"You did this to me on purpose? Put me in mortal danger on purpose?" I growled at Grey, who eyed Riel in frustration.

"Riel, your inability to shut the hell up never ceases to amaze me," Grey frowned severely at Riel, who merely rolled his eyes, turning to look in my direction.

"Anyways, my point is- you're in danger until you can defend yourself. Not to mention the prospect of your soul," Riel shook his head and let out a heavy sigh, his pale green eyes flicking back and forth between mine, "you've got a big target on your back now."

My soul?

Wait.

Was Grey being serious when he told me he wanted my soul?

Now that I knew angels and demons were real, and that I had two of them in the same room as me, I guess it wasn't out of the question. But why would he want my soul? Why would anyone want my soul?

"What about my soul?' I raised an eyebrow slightly and Riel shot Grey a glare.

"I know Grey already told you he was after your soul. He kind of broke about 25 rules when he did that, but since you thought it was a joke, he didn't receive any punishment for it. Anyways, Grey is actually after your soul. And, well- so am I. Neither of us wants to take it from you, per se, we just want you on our side," Riel explained softly as if his soft voice could soften the blow of his words.

"On your side for what?"

"The day of Reckoning. You may know it better by the name of 'Judgement Day'. The day that all the souls are judged, Heaven and Hell will lock in an epic battle to determine the fate of the souls sent to Hell. The souls from Hell think they deserve Heaven for their eternal suffering, but God insists on eternal damnation for the souls sent to Hell. If you're sent to Hell, it is because there is no salvation possible for your soul. And that is why I'm here. I'm here in hopes you'll fight for Heaven on the Day of Reckoning," Riel explained, his back straightening a little in obvious pride.

I turned to Grey, acknowledging what he must be hoping for.

"I was paid to do this, don't look at me for some inspiring speech to fight for Hell. I'm not fighting for Hell, I don't care what you do," Grey rolled his eyes.

"Grey is what you'd call a mercenary. He was paid by Lucifer to recruit your soul for the day of Reckoning," Riel explained with a heavy sigh, eyeing Grey slightly. Something I couldn't discern flashed in Riel's eyes but faded as quickly as it had arrived.

"Why me? What's so special about my soul?" I narrowed my eyes at Grey, somehow hating him even more if that was possible. Of course, he wanted to send my soul to Hell. I couldn't believe I had begun to trust him. He had betrayed me more times in the past 12 hours than I can count.

"Your soul is one of the strongest we have ever seen. If trained properly, you'd be unstoppable on the battlefield when Judgement Day is upon us," Riel smiled slightly at me, his eyes twinkling a little.

My eyes widened slightly.

Not only were angels real. Not only were demons real. Heaven and Hell wanted my soul to fight for them on Judgement Day.

This was absolute insanity.

I sucked in a deep breath and nodded, trying to slow down my mind in a futile attempt to process all that was going on. I appreciated Riel's patience with me as he explained everything, but it was so much to take in. Normal college students don't have to deal with this stuff. They don't have an angel and a Fallen stalking them, hoping to recruit them for some supernatural battle that occurs at the end of time. Normal college students only have to worry about their next midterm, their essay due tomorrow morning that they haven't started, not the fate of their soul.

"So, you guys aren't only going to train me to defend myself against demons, you're also training me to fight for whichever side I choose?" I asked, my eyes flicking back and forth between Riel and Grey. They both nodded and I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"I'm sure this is a lot to take in. Just take your time processing all of this, and then tomorrow we'll start training. Once you've reached proficiency in defending yourself, you can move back into your dorm. But for your protection, you're going to have to stay here until you can defend yourself," Riel's brows furrowed slightly and I scowled. Moving into Grey's house? No. Absolutely not. They had said I could leave once we talked about this. Now we've talked. They need to let me go.

"No. Absolutely not. I'm not living here with-" I cast Grey a cold glare, "-that."

Grey smirked and rolled his eyes, a strand of his midnight hair falling across his cerulean eyes as he ran a hand through his wavy locks. "Relax, sweetheart, neither of us can hurt you. That'd work against our favor in recruiting you. You'll be fine here. Even if it is with me," his smirk curled up into a devious grin, mischief twinkling in his silvery eyes.

"Are you going to be staying here too?" I asked Riel, but he frowned.

"Unfortunately, I have to return to Heaven at sunset every night to ensure that I remain angelic. If I stay down here for too long without returning to Heaven, my wings will begin to turn grey, like your friend's. I'd become a Fallen if I remained too long," Riel glanced briefly over at Grey, who seemed a little confused.

"No way. There's no way I'm living here with him. He'll kill me in my sleep," I shook my head, glaring angrily at Grey, who seemed quite amused about all the fuss I was making. He had betrayed me God knows how many times in the past 12 hours. There was no way I was trusting him to keep me safe while I sleep.

"No, he won't," Riel shook his head and chuckled, flashing me a pearly grin. He stopped and turned to Grey. "Will you?" I rolled my eyes in disbelief and began to pace back and forth in the kitchen. Riel was leaving me with this guy. This guy that not even he trusted. He's an angel, therefore, he should know who is trustworthy. If Riel can't trust Grey, then how can I?

"Relax, Greene, I'll keep you safe," Grey smirked at me slightly, narrowing his eyes at Riel. Riel sighed and shook his head.

"Grey, I swear, if you don't keep her safe, I will personally rip your wings from your shoulders," Riel threatened and Grey chuckled. Apparently, Riel's threats weren't as credible as Grey's were.

"Yeah yeah, whatever, Goldilocks," Grey turned his attention back to me. "I'll take you back to your dorm to grab whatever you need for a few weeks here."

"I'd rather Riel took me," I crossed my arms across my chest and frowned. Grey scowled and Riel smirked proudly.

"We'll all go then," Grey insisted, grabbing his keys off the kitchen counter and sauntering out of the kitchen, leaving Riel and I. Riel let out a heavy sigh, his sympathetic gaze flickering between mine for a second before following Grey.

After all that had happened today, there was only one thought crossing my mind when it came to Grey.

Lord help me.