by Anna Santos
“Jo, what are you looking for?” Cedric asked, putting his hand on my shoulder and looking at the mess I was making of William’s things.
“I’m looking for the spell that I’ll perform tonight. You’ll have to put your faith in it as I’m putting mine. And when I become one of you, I will kiss you and bind my soul with yours forever. Don’t you want that?” I asked, unable to fully explain what William had told me. I knew that Cedric had to believe in it as I was. He had to stop his stubbornness and let me do what I wanted for us to be together.
“Jo…”
“It’s here!” I screamed, jumping with the paper in my hands like a hysterical teenager. “It’s here! I need to read it again and explain it to you. We need…” I looked back at Cedric’s puzzled face. “You need to trust me and respect my decisions.”
“You aren’t making any sense,” he said with furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips.
I looked around and saw the couch in the corner of the room, surrounded by stacks of papers and old magazines. I gave him my hand and pulled him along. We sat down, and I explained to him William’s findings.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
ARIA
Despite the dark, I could see Cedric’s wings moving away from the palace. He had someone in his arms, but I was too mesmerized by the silver glow to focus on his companion. It was probably Josephine.
A shiver ran down my spine: fear and envy. I would like to fly like him. I would. But I was too scared of heights to adventure into the void and use the wings that wouldn’t be mine for long. That was unless William was correct, and I was bound to be an Archangel for all eternity.
“I guess we’ve missed them,” Philippe said, holding on to my hand and taking me out of my thoughts.
“Would you fly if you had wings?” I asked, sensing a twitching feeling on my back where my wings were. They weren’t showing, at the moment, though I knew they would appear if I wanted. They felt like a part of me more and more each day.
“I would love to fly. It must be liberating. If you’ll stay as an angel, you will need to face your fears and learn how to fly.”
I sighed and looked at the floor. “I know.”
“You guys don’t seem to be enjoying my party,” a girl’s voice said behind us.
We turned around, finding Charlotte seated on a bench with a vodka bottle by her side and a shot glass in her hand. She smiled, and consumed her drink, grimacing at the taste.
“Care to join me?” Charlotte asked, showing the bottle.
“Are you drunk?” I asked, walking towards her.
“Not yet, but I hope I’ll be before the morning comes.”
“Why are you here alone?” I sat down next to her and refused her invite to grab the bottle and the glass beside it.
“Well, I know I should be happy. After all, it’s my eighteenth birthday, but…I’m scared.” She sighed, folding her hands in her lap and pouting.
I didn’t know what to say. I looked at Philippe who had sat beside me. He shrugged.
“Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m scared?” Charlotte looked at me.
“Do you want to tell me?”
“I might. Maybe you’ll understand me.”
“Does it have something to do with Cedric being in love with someone else?”
“No, not really. I’ve always liked Cedric as a friend, anyway. He’s not my type.” She poured more alcohol into her glass. “I guess I acted like a bitch when we first met. My mother was set on making me his bride, even if… I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Do you want to talk about what you’re afraid of?” I questioned, taking her glass away and preventing her from drinking.
The princess protested, trying to grab the glass.
“You’re no fun.” She commandeered the bottle and drank from it.
“Drinking won’t help you feel better.”
“But it will numb me.”
I gazed at her, intrigued. The girl was a puzzle. She had everything to be happy yet looked miserable. I was out of my comfort zone. We weren’t friends, and she didn’t seem to want my help.
“You probably want to be left alone,” I said, trying to get up.
“No, I don’t,” she assured me, grasping my arm and making me sit down. “I’m…sorry. I need someone to talk to. Someone who doesn’t know me and doesn’t pretend to care.”
“I don’t understand.”
“My parents want me to find someone to marry, to…you know, break the curse.”
I nodded, glimpsing at Philippe.
“It isn’t enough that I’m scared of being turned into stone during the day and…stop existing for more than twelve hours… They also think that I’m being silly, and I’ll eventually change my mind.”
“About what?”
“I like girls,” she blurted out, letting go of my arm and putting the bottle to her mouth, drinking too fast and coughing. “I’m an only child, this means that I want and will probably be mated to a girl. It’s only natural, don’t you think? If I like girls now, then after I’m turned, I’ll continue to like girls.”
“I don’t know,” I replied, not sure if I should be having this conversation with her.
I looked at Philippe. He was quiet, staring into the dark of the night.
“If I don’t marry a guy, I won’t be able to have children, but…if I love girls, I won’t be interested in guys. Do you understand my dilemma?”
“Kind of. Don’t they have anyone else to succeed them?”
“Yes, I have a cousin. He’s an idiot, but he’ll be the next king if I can’t find a husband. Marrying a girl and getting the crown is completely out of the question since I can’t conceive an heir in those conditions.”
“You are stressing about something you can’t control. The fact is that you’ll be a gargoyle, and you don’t know when you’ll fall in love or have a matching soul to face the trial. Your parents can’t force you to be someone else or do something against your will. Your condition can only be broken once you fall in love.”
“Yes, it’s complicated. I fear death. I’ll die every day until my curse is broken or I’ll cease to exist. It’s scary.”
“It is…” I agreed, nodding and staring at my dress. “You should talk to someone who has experienced that. I can’t help you, Charlotte.”
“I know,” she mumbled. “I’m sorry if I was mean to you,” the princess said, turning to me and holding my hands. “I hope you’ll be happy, even though you’ll be a vampire.”
“Aria won’t be a vampire unless…” Philippe whispered, contradicting the princess and making me understand that he was attentive to the conversation. “Unless she chooses to be.”
“God, damn it!” Camille said, appearing on the balcony. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”
I frowned. “Who?”
“Her,” she explained, pointing at Charlotte. “Your mom wants to introduce you to some rich guy.”
“Guess duty calls,” Charlotte said, getting up and smirking at me. “I’ll leave you the bottle. Maybe you’ll have fun together and bail on this annoying party.”
“Has anyone seen Cedric?” Camille looked around with bulging eyes and a grumpy expression.
“He flew away with his hot date,” Charlotte said, pointing at the sky.
“Babysitting royal pains in the butts is hard.” Camille breathed out, putting her hands on her hips and pouting.
Charlotte giggled at her joke, almost tripping on her dress.
Camille rolled her eyes. “Come on,” she said, grabbing the princess’ arm. “I’ll make sure you’ll go to your mom and don’t get lost in the crowd. First, you might need a strong black coffee.”
They both left. Philippe and I sat there quietly, staring at the void. He looked pensive, and I was unsure of what I should say.
Another couple entered the balcony, giggling and talking. They strolled their way to the opposite side of us, shadowed by the trees and pillars. They were clearly drunk and presumably in love as they star
ted to make out on the bench. Hearing them was awkward. Angel powers had their cons. I tried to listen exclusively to the pretty music coming from the salon.
“Why are you so quiet?” I asked Philippe, resting my head on his shoulder.
He put his arm around my shoulders and caressed my neck with the tip of his fingers, tickling me.
“I’m trying to wrap my mind around something Mara has said to me,” he shared.
I raised my head, nibbling on the inside of my cheek.
“Don’t you think it’s strange that she’s here?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged and looked away.
The moon was beautiful, but my heart had become heavy. I was feeling jealous. It was silly, I knew that.
“No need to pout. I’m not thinking about her like that. I was remembering what she told me last night when she came to the church to talk to me. Think about it,” he requested, turning my face to look at him. “She could have been there to spy on us.”
“It didn’t do any good because you eventually caught the evil specter.”
“Maybe he wanted to be caught. He could know about this party. What are the odds of Mara being here, walking freely around the same palace where her sister’s master is trapped?”
“Hmm.” I was starting to see his point.
“This makes no sense. Why would Mara be one of Kayden’s followers if she left Paris to run away from her crazy family?”
I looked at him, clueless.
He kept talking. “Margaret tried to kill me because she thought I had killed Mara. But why is Mara here? She didn’t want anything to do with the supernatural. She wanted to be normal and only returned because I needed her to prove to her sister that she was alive. But now I’m thinking that it might have been a trap all along.”
“Your thoughts are all over the place. When did Mara’s sister try to kill you?”
“The day you were kidnapped. It’s a long story.”
“We have time,” I explained, eager to hear more. It was better than being silent and staring at the moon.
“Margaret was my first in command’s lover. I always thought that Gerard was using her. It turned out that it was the other way around. The day you were kidnapped, Gerard tried to kill me. He didn’t succeed,” he clarified as my eyes grew bigger, baffled by what he was telling me. “Margaret was able to cast a spell on me before Josephine knocked her out. It prevented me from healing or drinking blood. In a long term, it would kill me. Now that I think about it, she tried to slow me down. She needed me out of the way. It was fortunate that Jo and Cedric appeared.”
“You never told me how you managed to find me.”
“I wasn’t sure you wanted to talk about it. It must have been a terrifying experience for you.”
“It was… It was horrible. But Cedric and you saved me. I’m all right.”
“Well, if you want to know, it was Cedric’s intervention that allowed us to find you. He did something to Margaret. She obeyed all of his orders and found out where you were held. I flew Mara to Paris, so I could prove to Margaret that I hadn’t killed her sister. Margaret was convinced that I had.”
“Now you are thinking that maybe Mara is working with Margaret to free Kayden,” I mumbled. “I don’t know Mara and have no idea why she’s here. I don’t even know who Margaret is. The only thing I know is that they kept me alive until sundown, so the gargoyle girl could hurt me. And no one knows who she is. She wasn’t found. She’s still out there.”
“True. But I don’t think they like the idea of having a traitor amidst their ranks.”
“Whoever she is, she hates Cedric.”
“How secure is the prison, do you know?”
I shrugged. “Camille must know… Although Mara is here, it can be for a less complicated reason. Camille warned us about the power field around the lower floor that prevents any supernatural being of using their powers. She won’t be able to use magic.”
“Maybe I’m being paranoid.”
“Do you want to get out of here?” I asked, smiling. I had the craziest idea.
“Where do you want to go? Do you feel like dancing again?”
“No, I mean out of here. Going back to Earth, to Paris, and going for a walk in the city. We could see the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame.”
“In that dress?” He smirked, and I melted at his smile.
“First perk of being an angel when our wings appear, we can turn ourselves invisible to the human eye. Another perk, we can teleport around. I could also fly, but I’m afraid of heights so…that’s not a good idea.”
Philippe chuckled. “Okay, let’s get out of here. We need to warn Camille first.”
“Deal,” I agreed, ready to bail on that party and do something I had always wanted to do—visit Paris at night with the bonus of doing it with Philippe.
“And Cedric?” Philippe reminded me.
“He knows where we live. He can call me when he finishes his Lois and Superman’s flying experience.”
Philippe burst into laughter as did I.
I looked at Philippe with a sobered face. “Do you realize that if Cedric dates Jo, and they eventually get married, he’ll be your stepdad?”
“Damn, that’s like a whole new level of a nightmare coming true,” he joked, turning around and kissing my forehead.
I closed my eyes momentarily, feeling his cologne hit me and make me shiver. He must have understood my reaction to his closeness because he lowered his face and took possession of my lips. It felt as if a tidal wave smashed against my rationality. I had to put my hands on his chest to keep my balance.
“We must get to a higher floor to teleport out of here, but first we need to find Camille,” he said, breaking the kiss and hiding his face against my shoulder. His voice was hoarse.
“Are you okay?”
“My fangs have a nasty habit of appearing when they aren’t invited. I don’t want to scare you.”
“You won’t,” I assured, caressing his face with my hand and raising it, so I could stare at him. He had his eyes closed. “Show me.”
He opened his black eyes and parted his lips. It didn’t frighten me. It was actually fascinating.
“Are you hungry?”
“Not hungry,” he said softly, eventually smirking and making the blackness ripple and flash.
I swallowed hard, trying to wrap my mind around the fact that he lusted for me. I cupped his cheek, reality momentarily absent from my mind. My thoughts were spinning around inside my head, making it impossible for me to tell Philippe everything I was thinking about. Like, how much I loved him, wanted to be with him and, at the same time, how scared I was. I was just an awkward eighteen-year-old virgin girl. What could I offer him? What did he expect from me?
“Why are you gloomy all of the sudden?” His eyes became brown once again. He had a perfect angel face with kissable lips.
This wasn’t the place to have that conversation with Philippe.
“I need to tell my parents that I’m not going to marry Cedric. I need…to tell them about us.”
“That wasn’t what you were thinking about.”
“How do you know?” I asked with my best poker face.
He smirked, not calling my bluff. “Just tell them you are going to marry me,” he said, holding my hand and entering the ballroom.
My gaze blurred with his words. “What? Hold on. What are you saying?” I asked, breathless.
“Don’t you want to?”
I halted, forcing him to stop. We stood in the middle of the crowd of angels. He turned around to face me.
“Don’t you want to?” He moved closer, putting his hands on my hips. The dress ruffled up and puffed around.
Speaking softly, he said, “I’ve been thinking about a way to restore our bond. It occurred to me that making new vows, wedding vows, may be the answer.”
“But do you want to do that because you want to marry me or because you are feeling guilty?”
“You are my whole world and the
only way your parents will let me be around you, all the time, is if we are married. I can take care of you and make you happy. We can go anywhere you want, live anywhere. You can finish your studies, then we can travel around the world.”
My heart wanted to leave my chest. “Okay,” I said before he thought that I was rejecting him. “We’ll get married, but only after this mess is over.”
He kissed me. My head was spinning with the roller coaster of emotions, but I was happy. I knew I was. I was on cloud nine.
“We need to get out of here.”
I nodded, agreeing.
He gave me his hand, and I followed him.
“Are we still going for a walk in the city?” I questioned him.
“Of course.”
“Then can we go home, so I can change clothes and grab my camera. I want to take pictures.”
“We’ll do everything you want,” he said, surrounding my shoulders with his arm and kissing my cheek. “I like seeing you happy.”
“I’m so happy that I’m afraid that something terrible is going to happen,” I mumbled, aware that I was being dramatic.
It was hard to believe that everything was going to work out for everybody. Cedric could be happy with Jo, and I could be happy with Philippe. I was wondering what the catch was. What would happen to ruin that?
“I love how positive you are,” Philippe said, smirking. I knew he was being sarcastic. I should probably lighten up and enjoy the moment.
“Let’s get out of here,” I begged.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
ARIA
I couldn’t believe that I was willingly walking on the top of the roof of the old, decrepit church. I was scared and trembling, fully aware that I would panic if I looked down and saw how far from the ground I was. Despite my fears and praying to all the gods to not fall, my legs kept obeying.
“Don’t look down and keep walking my way, honey,” Philippe encouraged me, stepping back while showing his hands for me to grab if I thought I was losing my balance.
How on earth had I put myself in this mess? I couldn’t say no to Philippe, and he was extremely persuasive.
