Page 34 of Hunted by the Fallen
Lukas smirks. Both he and I know he freezes time whenever my services are needed. I wonder if the time I’m spending with him will add up and make me older than I should be. Does his time freeze keep my age locked in time? Or am I subject to time’s will since I am not under hisfreeze?
“Indeed,” Lukas rises. So doesCharles.
“Until next time,” Charles extends a hand. I place mine in his and give him a firm shake. Gone is the stoic angel from the warehouse. Ever since I’ve healed him, Charles has gone out of his way to treat me with nothing but kindness. He’s even been so bold as to step between Lukas and I whenever my training became particularly volatile and I almost sent a bolt of Angel Fire to decapitate the insufferable angel. What can I say? Though he no longer uses physical pain as motivation, Lukas has decided taunting me is an effective way to get desired results. It can get annoying,fast.
With my completed goodbye, Lukas reaches out and touches my shoulder, returning me to my house full of unsuspectingFallen.
Fourteen
Seconds later,my room appears before me. Everything is as I left it, including Periwinkle snoozing at the foot of my bed. Startled, she leaps up onto all fours and barks emphatically. I’m surprised. I expected her to still be trapped in Lukas’magic.
“That’s my cue to leave,” Lukas murmurs. I spin around just in time to see his form fade. Literally not two seconds later, my bedroom door swings in and bounces off the door stop, almost hitting Joseph on its way back. His hand snaps out to hold the door. Concerned, wild eyes scan the room from wall towall.
“Are you alright?” The deep vibrato makes my knees weak. I force them tolock.
Unfortunately, another side effect of removing the ward has been a heightened awareness of the four Fallen Angels. I didn’t realize the change the first day the ward was removed. I’d been so angry at the Fallen, I couldn’t feel anything but distrust and fury. But now, that’schanged.
I can sense when one of the angels is near, and I can sense when one is coming. I know when they are worried, and I know when they are happy. I can feel their concern for me, and I can sense their dislike of one another fading with each day that passes. It’s the strangestthing.
Seeing Joseph’s worry fills me with a desire to alleviate the negative emotion. I hate the gnawing sensation his concern causes in my stomach, but I stay put and force myself to not run up tohim.
Convinced the room holds no threats, Joseph looks at me. Goosebumps pucker my skin as his eyes trail over me. “Are youalright?”
My throat is dry. “I’m fine. Peri must’ve had a bad dream.” It’s a lame excuse, but I can’t think of a betterone.
Joseph moves his attention from me to Peri. She leaps off my bed and trots over to his side, sitting patiently as she waits for a pet. Joseph obliges her by scratching her ears. I don’t know what it is about the Light Fallen, but Peri sure does likethem.
“Would you like somelunch?”
Joseph’s question catches me off guard. “What?”
He stops petting Peri. “Lunch,” he repeats. “The meal after breakfast.” His lips lift in a crookedsmile.
My cheeks pink. I’m not use to my ex-teacher’s playful side, but I am use to the warm affection his expression stirs within me. I’ve had a small crush on the man before I knew he was a Fallen Angel. It was innocent enough, just a starry-eyed high school senior enchanted by her intelligent and educated physics teacher. But now that the ward on my power is gone, the feelings I am experiencing are morphing into something not so innocent. I need to get a grip.Fast.
“Lunch sounds good.” I walk to the door, careful to not brush my arm against his as I pass. If his smile has such an effect on me, I don’t dare find out what a touch willdo.
We walk down the stairs and enter the kitchen. Adrian sits at the table, his feet propped up on the chair beside him. I stop in my tracks. Joseph barely keeps from running into me. I feel his breath on the back of my neck. My body shivers. I step forward, crossing my arms to hide myreaction.
“What are you doing here?” My question sounds harsher than Iintended.
Adrian lifts a dark eyebrow. “Well, hello to youtoo.”
I shake my head. “What I mean is, why are you two guarding me today?” I look back at the Light Fallen before returning my attention to Adrian. Normally, Adrian guards me with his brother. He has a nasty habit of instigating arguments with the LightFallen.
“Zeke and Gabe are busy today,” Adrian answers. His expression gives nothing away, but my newfound connection with him allows me to sense a general sense of unease. Whatever Zeke and Gabe are doing, Adrian isworried.
My arms fall to my side. “Has somethinghappened?”
Adrian’s shoulders stiffen. If I wasn’t looking for it, I would’ve missed the subtle reaction. Now, I know there is something they aren’t tellingme.
Surprise,surprise.
“What makes you think something has happened?” Joseph asks, stepping forward to put himself in view of my face. He, too, has underlying concern within him. The emotion is accompanied by suspicion. I remind myself to tread carefully. I don’t know how the Fallen haven’t realized the ward is gone, but I don’t want to be the one to ruin my advantage. The moment they figure out I can sense what they’re feeling or thinking, I don’t doubt the Fallen will find a way to hide their internal musings fromme.
“Gut instinct,” I tell Joseph. “It’s weird for you two to be workingtogether.”
Adrian snorts. I look at him and my eyes narrow the moment I see his smug expression. What does he have to be smugabout?
