Page 14 of Uriel
Emilia nods, then looks up at me with those impossibly wide eyes. “My hero,” she says, her tone teasing but with an undercurrent of... something else. Something that makes my breath catch.
“Let’s get you to bed,” I say, then immediately regret my choice of words as Emilia’s eyebrows shoot up. “I mean, to your room. To sleep.”
She laughs, the sound light and carefree. “Whatever you say, boss.”
I guide her carefully through the house, hyperaware of every point of contact between us. Her arm is looped through mine, her body occasionally brushing against me as we walk. It’s... distracting, to say the least.
When we reach her door, Emilia turns to face me, still standing closer than strictly necessary. “Thank you for dinner,” she says softly. “It was... nice. Really nice.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” I reply, my voice equally low.
For a moment, we just stand there, neither of us quite willing to break the spell of the evening. Then Emilia sways again, reminding me of her inebriated state.
“You should get some rest,” I say, reluctantly stepping back. “We have a lot of work to do tomorrow.”
Emilia nods, a small smile playing at her lips. “Goodnight, Uriel,” she says, reaching up to pat my cheek lightly. The casual touch sends sparks through me.
“Goodnight, Emilia,” I manage.
As I watch her disappear into her room, I’m left with a maelstrom of conflicting emotions. The evening was... pleasant.Morethan pleasant. And therein lies the danger.
I am an archangel. I have a duty, a sacred vow to uphold. These... feelings, whatever they are, have no place in our mission. And yet...
As I make my way to my own quarters, I can’t shake the memory of Emilia’s smile, the warmth of her touch. For the first time in my long existence, I find myself questioning everything I thought I knew.
Sleep, I suspect, will be a long time coming tonight.
CHAPTER 10
Uriel
The cool nightair whispers against my skin as I pace the length of my bedroom’s terrace. The stone is smooth beneath my bare feet, still warm from the day’s sun. I’ve shed my suit jacket and tie, the top buttons of my shirt undone in a rare moment of dishevelment. My fingers run through my hair for the hundredth time, leaving it in disarray.
I can’t settle. Can’t find that center of calm that has been my constant companion for millennia. Every time I close my eyes, I see her. Emilia. The curve of her smile, the warmth in her eyes, the way that red dress clung to every...
No. I shake my head violently, as if I could physically dislodge these unwelcome thoughts. This is madness. I am Uriel, Archangel of Chastity. I do not have these... feelings. These wants. These utterly human desires that threaten to consume me.
And yet.
I pause at the balustrade, gripping the cool stone until my knuckles turn white. The grounds of the estate stretch outbefore me, a sea of silver-bathed trees under the full moon. It’s beautiful. Peaceful. Everything that I am not in this moment.
How did I get here? How did I go from barely tolerating Ms. Thornton’s presence at the hospital to... this? This ache in my chest when I think of her. This ridiculous urge to go to her room, to see if she’s sleeping peacefully, to brush that wayward strand of hair from her face...
“Enough!” I growl, the word echoing in the still night air.
I close my eyes, forcing myself to breathe deeply. In. Out. In. Out. I reach for that well of celestial calm, that divine purpose that has guided me for so long. But it feels... distant. Muffled. As if something is interfering with the connection.
Or someone.
The thought sends a chill through me. Is this part of the prophecy? Some nefarious plot to distract me from my duty? To make me... feel things I have no business feeling?
But even as I grasp at this explanation, I know it’s a lie. The way Emilia affects me... it’s too real. Too raw. Too... human.
And that terrifies me more than any demonic horde ever could.
The sudden vibration of my phone nearly startles me out of my skin. I fumble for it, grateful for the distraction, until I see the name on the screen.
Raphael.
