Page 15 of Uriel
For a moment, I consider ignoring it. But I know my brother. He’ll only keep calling until I answer. With a sigh, I swipe to accept the call.
“Uriel! There you are!” Raphael’s voice booms through the speaker, far too cheerful for this hour. “What’s this I hear about you taking a leave of absence? Are you dying? Wait, can we even die? This isn’t like that time in Pompeii, is it? Because I told you, brother, sometimes a volcano is just a volcano...”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, feeling a very human headache building. “Raphael. Breathe.”
There’s a pause, then a chuckle. “Right, sorry. But seriously, Uri, what’s going on? Michael said you just up and left the hospital. That’s not like you at all.”
I lean against the balustrade, looking out over the moonlit landscape. How do I even begin to explain this? “It’s... complicated,” I say finally.
“Complicated?” Raphael’s tone is incredulous. “Uri, you alphabetize your sock drawer. You color-code your calendar. You once spent three days reorganizing the entire angelic filing system. You don’tdo‘complicated’.”
I can’t help but smile at that. He’s not wrong. “Things change, brother.”
“Things change?” Now he sounds truly alarmed. “Okay, who are you and what have you done with our Uriel?”
I sigh, running a hand through my already disheveled hair. “Raphael, I... I can’t explain everything right now. Just know that I’m dealing with a... situation. It’s under control.”
Even as I say the words, I know they’re a lie. Nothing about this feels under control.
“A situation,” Raphael repeats slowly. “Does this situation have anything to do with a certain feisty social worker? Because I couldn’t help but notice she’s taken a leave of absence too...”
My grip on the phone tightens. “How did you?—?”
“Please,” Raphael scoffs. “You think I don’t keep tabs on my favorite troublemaker?”
I close my eyes, cursing silently. Of course he knows. Raphael always knows. “It’s not what you think,” I say, knowing how weak it sounds.
“Oh? And what exactly do I think, brother dear?”
I can practically hear the smirk in his voice. “Raphael, I’m warning you?—”
“Relax, Uri,” he cuts me off, his tone softening. “I’m not judging. I’m just... concerned. This isn’t like you.”
The genuine worry in his voice catches me off guard. For a moment, I’m tempted to tell him everything. About the prophecy, about Azrael’s visit, about the way Emilia makes me feel things I’ve never felt before...
But I can’t. Not yet. Not until I understand it myself.
“I appreciate your concern,” I say carefully. “But I assure you, everything is fine. I just... needed some time away.”
There’s a long pause on the other end of the line. When Raphael speaks again, his voice is uncharacteristically serious. “Uri, you know you can talk to me, right? About anything. I mean, who better to understand the whole ‘falling for a human’ thing than your dear brother?”
I nearly drop the phone. “I am not—” I sputter, then lower my voice, glancing towards Emilia’s wing of the house. “I am not ‘falling’ for anyone. This is a purely professional arrangement.”
Raphael’s laughter rings out, loud enough that I have to hold the phone away from my ear. “Oh, brother,” he says when he finally calms down. “You’ve got it bad.”
“Goodbye, Raphael,” I growl, ending the call before he can say anything else.
I stare at the dark screen for a long moment, my brother’s words echoing in my head.You’ve got it bad.Is he right? Have I... fallen?
The very thought is absurd. I am an archangel. I don’t fall. I don’t feel. I don’t...
But even as I try to deny it, I know something has changed. Irrevocably. Terrifyingly.
I turn my face to the star-strewn sky, feeling more lost than I have in all my long existence. “I’ve done nothing but serve you,” I whisper, the words barely audible even to my own ears. “Why must you punish me so?”
The silence that follows is deafening. No divine revelation. No heavenly guidance. Just the quiet rustling of leaves in the night breeze.
“Ouch. Bit dramatic there, don’t you think?”
