by Anna Santos
Philippe brushed his lips against my cheek. He set me down on the floor and gave me his hand.
It wasn’t such a bad idea to go back to the concert. I was listening to the music from the kitchen, but inside the ballroom, the sound was better and the crowd was fixated on the singer instead of dancing.
We managed to find a spot to listen to the music.
The bliss was short-lived.
Somehow, Cedric and Jo found us. Cedric acknowledged and greeted us with a small bow of his head. He also shook Philippe’s hand. Jo kissed Philippe and then me. I was dumbfounded about what to say to them other than hi.
“I’m so glad you were able to attend the party,” Cedric said, staring at me. “I really need to talk to you.”
“We also need to talk to you about something,” Philippe interrupted.
“Philippe, I would appreciate it if we could talk privately,” Jo said.
I stared at her and noticed that she didn’t seem as happy as Cedric. She was rather sad, actually.
She insisted, “It’s important.”
The music stopped, and the singer announced that he was going to take a break and would be back after the interval.
The people started to talk and the orchestra began to play danceable music.
Cedric pulled me to the dance floor, and we disappeared into the crowd.
“They need to talk alone,” he said while my eyes were searching for Philippe. “Relax, I’ll take you back in a bit. We have an important matter to discuss.”
“About what?” I gave him my attention as I concentrated on our dancing moves.
We were completely out of sync. I fought the urge to let go of his hands and complain about him being so authoritarian. I had no urge to dance with him. If he wanted to talk, we didn’t need to go to the dance floor. Besides, I had no secrets with Philippe. There was nothing Cedric could say that Philippe didn’t already know. Maybe Cedric didn’t know that. Perhaps, I should tell him that Philippe and I are a couple.
“Let me lead and relax,” Cedric demanded, looking down at me with a condescending smile.
I frowned at him, straightening up and following the pace. I didn’t want him to think that he affected me in some way other than bringing me discomfort. We had broken up but remained friends. Things were still awkward; more now that we both had our dates and were happy being with them.
Why force me to dance with him, disregarding my will in doing so and taking me away from Philippe?
One thing was clear, I was no longer fangirling over Cedric. In fact, my mind was sharper than ever before. I was getting over my infatuation with him. We had our moments, but he didn’t understand my needs, dreams, and fears. He was too caught up in his own needs and plans to give me the love I wanted.
“What do you want to talk to me about?” I asked since he was only dancing and staring at me.
“You look gorgeous. Red suits you nicely.”
“Thank you.”
“You look…different somehow. More mature.”
“I don’t know if I’ll accept that as a compliment or not,” I muttered, enduring his penetrating stare.
“I love your dress.”
“Did you invite me to dance just to tell me that?” I asked, genuinely confused. Was he trying to win me over? Was bringing Jo as a date a way to make me jealous as Philippe had thought?
“I’m trying to find the best way to tell you something and ask for your help.”
I frowned. The tension between us was real. I wished I didn’t have to handle the pressure tonight, but I knew I was going to see him again. Either he would take what I had to say nicely or he would lash out. After all, he was always right.
I love Philippe, and we are a couple now.
It took a long time to admit my feelings and the fact was that Philippe and I were meant to be, despite his rejection.
We are mates. My previous relationship with Cedric is a pale image of what Philippe and I have.
“I also have something to tell you,” I said.
He kept his eyes on mine, waiting for me to talk again.
“I’ve forgiven Philippe, and we are together now.”
The words came out from my mouth like a feeble whisper. I should have felt a lot more confident when telling Cedric that. However, I knew that he was going to give me the ‘I-told-so’ look. I felt sad because of that. Cedric wouldn’t understand.
“I take it back,” he declared.
I raised my eyes to watch him.
“You are still childish and naïve. Philippe is an egocentric maniac. It won’t take long for him to show his real colors and brag about stealing you from me. It won’t take long for him to grow tired of you and find some other human to feed and cheat on you with.”
Cedric’s words were cold and were aimed straight at my pride. He thought extremely low of Philippe. I knew better than to let myself be angered by it. Yet it didn’t stop me from feeling resentment towards Cedric. I fought the urge to slap his face, turn my back on him, and get out of there. Instead, I kept dancing, my emotionless eyes focused on him.
“Aren’t you going to defend him?”
“Whatever I say, you won’t believe it. It’s pointless. I choose to believe that Philippe can change, that he’s true about his feelings. It’s my option, it’s my life, and he’s my soul-mate. I don’t need your approval. It won’t change my happiness because I’m happy, Cedric.”
He leaned closer, and I shifted back. I didn’t want his lips so close to mine. But I endured his gaze with pride.
“Yes, it’s your decision, and you’ll have to live with it. I guess it didn’t take much for you to get over me and your fear of the supernatural life.”
“Are you being serious right now? You came here with Jo after leaving with her the other night. It doesn’t take a genius to know that something happened between you two.”
“Are you jealous?”
I didn’t like the silver shade that glowed in his eyes or the curve of his lips as they twisted into an amused smirk.
“Everybody is commenting about the way you touch her. You arrived late after disappearing with her last night. She gave you what you wanted, didn’t she?”
“And what did I want?”
“To get laid, apparently.”
He lost his smile. “Whatever happened between Jo and me isn’t anyone’s business. We are both adults, and you had broken up with me. As far as I know, Philippe and you were getting laid yourselves after he took you to his home.”
“Philippe has been a perfect gentleman.”
“I have feelings for Josephine. She’s…” He let out a sigh. “I don’t want her to be gone. That’s why I need to talk to you about us. About our bond.”
“I know we need to reject each other. That’s what I want to demand from you. I want to be free from all angelic ties with you.”
“Well, that may be a bit hard since I was going to ask you the opposite.”
“Why?” I asked. I wasn’t expecting that.
“If you break your bond with me, and I become a gargoyle again, I’ll lose my human feelings and will become almost emotionless. My interest in Jo will fade as will my lust. So, I was thinking, we still have some days before the trial. Even if we aren’t going to subject ourselves to it, I would like to ask you to delay the rejection, so I can figure out a way to…be with Josephine. I don’t want to give up on my feelings for her so soon. Not now that I’ve found them and am experiencing lust and love with someone else. I would appreciate it if you would endure being an angel for a bit longer, so I can understand the type of connection we share.”
His words left me baffled. There was a tangible fear shaking his voice and clouding his blue eyes. Cedric was nervous, a bit shy even.
“You have nothing to lose, Aria. You could help Jo and me. Let us be happy for a bit longer.”
“Is that what Jo is telling Philippe right now? That you two are a couple and want to stay together for a bit longer?” I questioned, searching
the crowd for Philippe and Jo.
I saw them talking, though Philippe didn’t seem angry. On the other hand, Jo seemed miserable. She was too gloomy for someone who was in a new relationship with Cedric. Maybe she was sad because she knew that they couldn’t be together and having more time with him depended on me. I felt bad about it. I wished I could give her my angel. It would fix their problem. If, somehow, I could give her my powers, they could be together.
I faced Cedric. “Do you really like her or is this another whim?”
“She pleases me a lot. We are good together. She’s special, and I don’t want to lose her. I’m afraid of losing her.”
“Does she feel the same about you?”
“She’s complicated. I know she’s into me, but she’s being stubborn about it. I want to convince her that we should give us a try. She doesn’t see a future with me. I can’t blame her. She’s a vampire, and I’m an angel. I can’t turn her into an angel anymore. She had her chance. Yet I can use these days to look for another solution. You were the one who told me that if it’s real love, we can find a way to be together.”
“You were skeptical about it.”
Cedric swirled me around and said, “We are raised to believe that we are destined to be with a rejected soul and that there isn’t any other way to find someone to complete us. When I look at Josephine, when we talk and are together, I know deep down inside of me that we match. Do you understand that feeling?”
I nodded. I understood it all too well. “Maybe if we break our bond and you kiss her when you are a gargoyle… Perhaps true love can turn her into an angel and your new mate. You don’t lose anything by trying.”
“I don’t have that long. I would like it to be true. I would like to be able to choose outside of the gargoyle females and rejected souls, but I’ve never read anything about that being possible.”
“We are Archangels. We don’t play by the same rules,” I reminded him, trying to give him hope. Cedric’s eyes glowed with surprise, and I smiled. “William told me that. If I have the possibility of staying as an angel even after the rejection, why won’t you have the same?”
“William believes in fairytales. It’s an enigmatic message that no one knows the meaning of. He wants to believe that you’ll stay an Archangel because he’s fascinated by the tale.”
“What tale?”
“It is said that Archangels can choose their other half. At least, Archangels born on Earth.”
“What does that mean?”
“An Archangel born on Earth is a former Archangel getting its powers back. Archangels are beings with a pure and kind soul. When those special humans are touched by the power of a Nephilim, they awaken their powers.”
I frowned. His words were puzzling.
He further elaborated, “William believes that human Archangels are reincarnations of dead ones. Many Angels and Archangels were killed in a battle between the two factions that were defending the Nephilim’s existence. Their essence didn’t perish, it reincarnated in human forms. Some became prophets or warriors and others were gifted artists. They don’t remember who they were or have any power unless they are matched to gargoyles and their human DNA is rewritten by the Nephilim’s ability to transform humans into angels.”
“So, what you are saying is that in some far away reincarnation, I might have been an Angel.”
“Yes.”
“A good or a bad angel?”
“A good angel because you have a pure soul.”
“But true angels aren’t incomplete. They don’t have soul-mates.”
“True angels have soul-mates. They are born together and are inseparable. If one dies, the other does, too. Like the humans and supernaturals, they keep trying to find each other every time they are reborn,” Cedric said.
“It’s complicated to believe that. It’s already complicated to understand it.”
“It’s a fairy tale that William likes to tell us. There’s just a small possibility of a Nephilim being matched to a former angelic identity. It would also mean that Philippe had been an angel in his first form of existence, then he became human and eventually a vampire.”
“If I was an angel, he was an angel,” I whispered, feeling my heart pound faster. “If he’s a bird, I’m a bird.”
“What do you mean?” Cedric asked me with furrowed eyebrows since I was smiling like a fool.
“It’s a quote from a book. If you are a bird, I’m a bird. It means…”
“I know what it means.”
“I love that book. I cried like a baby at the end.”
“What’s the name of the book?” Cedric asked with a smile.
I curled my lips into a smile, glad that the uncomfortable feeling around us was wearing off. I wanted to remain as his friend, but he had to accept Philippe and stop being so stubborn.
“The Notebook.” It was Philippe’s voice I heard behind my back. “May I interrupt? You two have been here forever. Jo is gone,” Philippe said to Cedric who immediately searched for her among the crowd. He panicked by what I could understand from his expression.
“She’s on the balcony,” Philippe explained. “Have you said everything you needed?”
“Aria hasn’t given me her answer yet,” Cedric said as he focused his attention on us.
The three of us were in the middle of the dance floor, immobile, while the other couples danced and watched us.
“I’ll think about it. I’ll answer you after talking to Philippe,” I told him, letting go of his hands and turning around to face Philippe.
“Please don’t forget what I’ve told you,” Cedric said. “It’s important to me.”
I looked back at him. “I’ll answer you before I leave the party.”
“I need your answer before midnight,” Cedric explained.
I nodded.
“Thank you.”
Cedric left the dance floor, in a hurry. I didn’t pay much attention afterward because Philippe had taken my hands, and I found myself getting lost in his eyes.
“If you are a bird, I’m a bird, no doubt about that,” he whispered tenderly, leaning his forehead against mine.
I giggled, happiness flooding every fiber of my being and soul. If only we had been angels. If only I could have him forever. Everything would be perfect, and I wouldn’t need to worry about the future.
He asked lovingly, “Do you want to be a bird with me?”
“I do.”
His lips brushed my cheek while his fingers held mine tighter, and I relaxed against his chest.
“Are you okay? You seemed tense. Was he making you uncomfortable?”
I shook my head, caressing his face. “Did Jo tell you?”
“That she was leaving? Yes, she did.”
“She’s leaving!” I exclaimed. “To where?”
“I don’t know, somewhere where she can find herself. She was secretive about everything. I thought she was going to tell me that Cedric and she were dating. Yet she didn’t seem to be taking their fling seriously. I guess it was a one-night stand.”
“What do you mean?”
If Jo wasn’t taking Cedric’s interest as deep as he was, then Cedric was going to have his heart broken. It upset me. Cedric wanted to spend more time with Jo, but, apparently, Jo was talking about leaving.
“I asked her if she was serious about dating the Prince of Cockiness also known as Cedric,” Philippe explained.
I rolled my eyes and suppressed my laughter. Those two needed to accept their differences and get along. They would probably be best friends. “But she told me not to worry and that they weren’t meant to be.”
“Oh, I need to talk to her,” I said, worried about what was going to happen. Jo was giving up, and Cedric didn’t want to. I wanted to help them somehow.
“Calm down. There’s nothing you can do. Just stay here with me and dance. Cedric is looking for her, and maybe they are planning to elope. Who knows?”
“There is something we can do, but you need to agree with
it.”
“What?”
“Cedric wants to postpone the rejection. He wants more time as an angel…to be with Jo. It’s complicated. Once Cedric rejects me, he may become a gargoyle again, and gargoyles don’t feel as angels and humans do. They don’t lust.”
Philippe stared at me with puzzled eyes. I became worried. Was he mad at me? Meanwhile, someone bumped into us while we were dancing.
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Someone said to us.
It was Mara, dancing with a tall, dark-haired man. I had no idea if she had done that on purpose. Philippe had dismissed her apologies, barely paying any attention to her. He grabbed my hand, so we could leave the dance floor and go outside to the balcony.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him, following him willingly. I was sure that he was looking for Cedric and Jo, but I didn’t know why he had become so solemn and pensive. “Are you mad at me?”
“No, I’m not mad at you, honey. I’m mad at Cedric. He keeps throwing his problems at you, so you’ll feel sorry for him.”
“It’s not like that, Philippe.”
Stopping, he turned around to face me. “Do you want to give him more time?”
“I don’t mind waiting. It doesn’t stop us from being together. And you said that you wanted me to stay here longer, so you could show me the town.”
Philippe’s gaze softened and his thumb caressed my palm. He seemed to relax with my words. “I didn’t think about that. Do you want to stay?”
“Do you want to show me Paris?”
“Aria, your wish is my command. Tell me what you want to do, what you want to see, and I’ll make it happen,” he answered, putting his arms around my waist and pulling me near him. “As long as you don’t mind doing it at night.”
“I don’t mind. There are plenty of other things we can do by day,” I whispered, teasingly. My heart was erratic inside my chest. I was crazy in love with him. “If you’re awake at night, I’ll be awake, too.”
He grinned, his eyes sparkling. “There are monuments we can visit during the day as long as I’m inside those buildings and am not exposed to direct light.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
