V A L E R I A
I'm an angel. I'm supposed to guide people to do the right things, to prevent people from corruption, and yet I let the corrupted lips of a vampire kiss mine.
This was my first time breaking a rule. I expected it to be different. I expected there to be pain, to be consequences, to be drowning in a sea of guilt. Yet I breathe. I don't feel guilty, all I feel are imagined kisses as I think about it in the cafeteria while trying to appear unphased.
I smile. A real one, not a fake one like I've been showing the world to hide the fact that I'm one thing away from breaking. Adonis Priest, the one person I know I should run from, I'm seemingly in my head running to for happiness.
I move my eyes up. I think maybe I'm not the only person thinking about it. His dark eyes look at mine from across the room, but it's with a completely different look than usual. I rub my lips together to hide my smile as I look down. Nobody knows why he looks at me like that, only me.
"Do you agree, Val?" Hazel asks me. When I hum in response, she repeats herself. "That the killer is gone? There have been no murders in a while."
"Oh, I don't know about that," I say. "I'm sure they're somewhere."
I know they are. The demon must know I'm the only one left. They aren't just going to let me live, especially when they know my face, I don't know what the delay is, but I know the moment is coming when I'll need to fight them off.
I think about telling Adonis. I had nobody else left that I felt like I could trust besides him. I felt as if he would protect me, but I was nervous about him seeing me differently once he knew I'd been lying to him.
The bell rings. I stand up and put my bag over my shoulder to head to class, but when I turn, I bump into somebody.
"Sorry," I try to laugh it off, but that stops instantly when I look up and see whose in front of me.
"Hey Valeria," Azriel smiles.
I force a fake smile and step around him. I began walking to class, trying to get away from him as I remembered what Adonis said to me. Adonis didn't trust Azriel. So I was on edge.
"Running from me?" he says teasingly, but when I don't respond, his eyebrows lower. "Or maybe your psycho boyfriend told you to stay away from me?"
"Not my boyfriend, and not psycho," I say while looking forward. "Now, go walk with your vamps."
He's still following me, he opens his mouth to say something, but I say to a teacher I pass, "Ms. Vines? This new guy needs some friends. Set him up with one?"
She quickly stops him from walking to tell him about the 'friend program' offered by the student council. I smile as I enter the classroom.
As usual, I sit in front of Adonis. But I sigh to myself seeing Azriel enter the room.
He takes a seat next to me.
"You must be our new student, Azriel, is it?" the teacher says to him as all the students take a seat.
"Yes, vampire," Azriel answers. "Catch me up. What have we been learning?"
My teacher began explaining the history we had been learning about angels and vampires, he talked about the place we went for a trip, and he explained how other species were involved. I didn't really pay much attention, I just played with my pencil.
"Don't you think that it was selfish of the angels?" Azriel says. Everybody turns to look at him except certain vampires who don't care about anybody.
My teacher asks, confused, "What do you mean, Azriel?"
"I mean, banishing 'corrupted angels' to Hell simply because they wanted something different than them, bit harsh, no?" I want to look over at him and give him a death glare so bad. But I don't. Instead, I bite the inside of my mouth while trying to ignore him.
"Are you serious?" Cristella asks from across the room. Witches and fairies liked angels a lot. "They were given anything they could ever want. Endless love, a safe place in Heaven, and they decided to throw that away for a dark witch to make them stronger so that they could take over. They deserved to be banished."
"Did they, blondie?" Azriel crosses his arms.
Cristella opened her mouth to probably insult him, but the teacher ended the conversation. I could see Azriel staring at me out of the corner of my eye.
Once class ended, I turned and whispered to Adonis, "Meet me in the library."
I then collected my things and began walking there. The demon already knew who I was, there was no risk in telling anybody. And I needed to tell somebody I trusted. I needed advice on who it could be, I needed his help.
I stood near the corner, waiting for Adonis to come. I didn't doubt that he would, and he did, I let out a deep breath. Vampires were the only ones that did not appreciate angels. They don't want somebody to try and make them better, they want to stay how they are.
"Can I tell you a secret, Adonis?" I whisper as he reaches me. Usually, he'd be sarcastic, but not right now, he nods.
I played with my hands as I confessed to him, "I'm an angel."
His head tilts. I quickly follow it up with, "I've been lying because I've had to. The killer, they were targetting angels, and now I'm the only one left."
He looks down at me. It feels good to finally tell somebody, but my stomach floods with anxiety. Part of me is worried he will feel betrayed, maybe drain me of all my blood for lying to him.
But he doesn't. Instead, he nods, "Okay. They've killed every other angel?"
"Yes," I tell him. I go on to tell him everything that's happened for the last few months.
"I need help, Adonis," I say. "I don't know who it is. But I need to find out, I need to get revenge for all my people."
I look up at his dark eyes, I need his help, I need him to tell me who it is. He runs a hand through his hair before slipping them into his pockets and leaning against the bookshelf. He asks me, "Who do you think it is, Valeria?"
My lips parted to answer, but I didn't have one. I let out a frustrated sigh. I told him, "I don't know. But whoever it is - this person has taken everything from me, Adonis. They killed my parents, all my friends, and even my mentor. I want to kill them."
His dark eyes move around my face. I knew he wasn't judging me, I wasn't worried about that, from the stories I've heard he isn't afraid to kill somebody if necessary either. It just felt so good to finally have somebody I knew I could trust.
"I'll help you," he says. I instantly smile. "I'll help you find them, Valeria, and I'll help you kill them."
It wasn't murder, it was retribution. As angels, we are not to kill, only protect, but this was different. I worried about killing them myself. Angels are strong, but so are demons. An angel's strength is natural, but demons aren't. They've had dark witches put spells on them to make them so much stronger than they would be on their own. But Adonis, with him helping me, I was far more confident than I would be on my own.
He takes a step toward me. I look at him.
"Why are you always stuck in my head," he whispers.
I swallow. I whisper back, "What we did was forbidden, you know."
"Forbidden and worth it," he says. "I'll answer to The Devil for it if necessary."
A smile slowly forms on my lips. I ask, "Do you believe you were going to go to Heaven beforehand, Adonis?"
"No," he's quick to say. He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "But I don't want to be somewhere I can't touch you, anyway."
A group of students suddenly walked into the library, I quickly moved away from him as I cleared my throat. I said to him, "I'll see you tomorrow?"
He nods. I pick my bag up off the floor and begin walking to my room. Despite everything I was going through, having nightmares of a demon who knew my face and killed everybody I loved, I had one good thing.
As I walk down the hallway, I pass Stella, who shoots me daggers. There is something different about this look compared to the other times. She looks angrier and whispers something to the person she walks with.
But I ignored her, kept walking, and went into my room.
Word Count: 1504