Shattering Halos (12 page)

“What do you think?” Mom took a step back and studied her craftsmanship. The windowsill had sprouted a fake miniature jungle. Encircling the room, equally fake ivy curled around white Christmas lights under the ceiling.

She had draped a huge swath of fake fur across my bed. The snow leopard had always been my favorite animal, but Mom seemed to think I adored the stuffed variety too.

“Beautiful as always, Selene,” Dad rumbled.

“Yes, if by beautiful you meant that ‘Faux-Stuff-R-Us’ threw up in my room.”

Mom sent me a singeing glare. Suddenly nearsighted, Lucio seemed overly interested in the innards of my mini fridge.

“In a good way, Mom. I meant that in the best of ways.”

Luna burst into laughter, and Mom huffed and straightened the bedspread. “At least there’s no more ‘Sterile-Dentist’s-Offices-R-Us.’”

Hours later, as I hugged my sister in the parking lot, I realized that a chapter of my life was over. My family would be heading home without me.

“Gaia, don’t miss me too much, because I’ll be visiting super soon.” Luna tucked a silky lock behind her ear.

“No, you won’t,” Dad and I said at the same time.

“Yeah, jailbait,” Lucio coughed discreetly, making me gasp.

Oblivious, Luna pulled her shapely legs into the car. She closed the door and gave Dad an adorable pout.

As Lucio and I waved goodbye, the pang of freedom hit me like a physical blow. No more hiding secrets. No more mood swing cover-ups. I could do anything I wanted!

Lucio held the door for me as we walked back in. “How long are you allowed to have guests?”

Oh, right.
Limited
freedom.

“No male visitors after eleven p.m.”

“All right. Fifteen minutes and I’ll be out of here.”

Despite the restrictions, something akin to happiness began to stir in me. For the first time since December, I felt…good.

****

College life came easy to our Spring Hills crew, and we met up at a student haunt several times a week.

During the day, I dove into my projects. Mom had always encouraged my talents, but I’d lacked inspiration since the accident. Now, the place and time were right, and I picked up where I’d left off.

In my art, I sometimes created angelic images on purpose, but mostly it happened without premeditation. Midway through the semester, the teacher of Drawing 100 asked that I stay after class.

She pulled out my latest sketch. The request had been to draw a landscape, but now she squinted at me, scratching the furrow between her eyebrows.

“Gaia, tell me your thought behind this piece, please. Did I misinterpret your intentions, or have you done it again?”

I studied it.

The shape of the mountains sloped too perfectly. Instead of leaves, the trees had feathers. My drawing revealed an angel’s spine, shoulders grooved by muscle and curving bone as he leaned forward. His head was cocked, and his face tilted toward me. In the midst of an all-green forest, Gabriel’s eyes stared back at me, eerily aquamarine.

The professor didn’t wait for a reply. “You need to concentrate. I cannot have you challenge every guideline I give. Do you understand how you affect the morale of the entire group?”

My hand flitted up, a reflex designed to wipe my eyes as if I still had tears running for him. The professor let out a sigh.

“Angels, always angels? Okay, so you didn’t plan this, but you have to focus, Gaia. Not all you do in my class can be angels.” She shot me a glance and turned to the window.

“There’s more to life than mythological beings. I need you to express what you see around you. The product is good enough, so you’ll get your A, but the next time I will not accept your work unless I get a different motif.”

With stinging eyes, I nodded at her back.

The following night, I buzzed Marina in while I completed my sculpting homework. The teacher wanted a chalk carving of a person, and I was making a face surrounded by flowing hair. Unfortunately, the brittle substance made it almost impossible.

I kept my mind off the three shattered blocks in the appropriately named “dustbin.” Beads formed on my upper lip as I held my breath and laid the finishing touches on the fourth attempt.

“Hey! Whatcha doing, Gaia?”

“Nothing much. I’m almost done. This thing took forever, I swear. Flippin’ piece of—”

“What’s the assignment?” She wore her sunglasses after dark again and pulled them up on her head while she approached the desk.

“Basically any part of a human being. I’m doing a face.” A tense muscle at the base of my neck screamed for attention. I was so close to finishing. I willed the darn thing to remain intact until I got to the classroom.

“Okay…” she tapered off.

“What?”

“Didn’t you say human?”

I narrowed my eyes at her, trying to figure out her game. Marina was serious.

“I did,” I said. My stomach shifted, guessing what she was getting at before my brain did. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I thought…Shit.”

“Dammit, Marina. What?”

She puffed out a breath. “Why are you carving Gabriel?”

I stepped back. Even though I hadn’t captured the full extent of his features, she was right. The bust was clearly of him. I examined my work.

Eyelashes—really? As important as the silky, black fringes were to his face, how did they even take form on a chalk piece? No way did I have the skill for that.

Loose curls slinked down, blowing in the winds of a Botticelli painting. Lush, pouty lips somehow appeared pink
on a white block of chalk. The suggestion of shimmer…

Oh no, what in the world?

No colors had been used, no metals. Why did the chalk give off—?

“Gold, Gaia? But chalk’s white, right? Were you supposed to paint it?”

I hadn’t.

Jesus Christ, I’m off the deep end.

Hiding in my hands, I slumped down on my bed. For once, Marina remained silent until I could speak.

“Hey. An angel’s face, a human’s face, whatever, right? Not like the professor will recognize him and confront me. Can you imagine? ‘Gee Gaia, I’m sorry, he’s too drop dead gorgeous to be human, so you’re getting an F.’”

On the verge of panic, I burst into nervous laughter, but Marina didn’t join in. Instead, the mattress sank under her weight, and her voice was quiet when she dropped her head to my shoulder.

“Why haven’t we talked about this—for real, I mean? You sacrificed big time back then, huh?”

“Yes.” I didn’t want to rip into how unsupportive she’d been.

“Are you going to let him go, you think?” Despite the bluntness of the words, the tone was soft. Maybe I wasn’t the only one maturing.

The bed shook a little as I slid down and turned on my side to face her. With my chin supported in a hand, I looked her full in the eye when I answered.

“Are you up for the truth?”

Nodding, she met my gaze, but the corner of her eye twitched.

“Nobody else compares. I look around and nothing. Nowhere. And how can you let someone go when you know they’re with you night and day? There
is
no letting go, Marina.” After a year of silence, the need to share with somebody who believed overwhelmed me.

“You still think he’s your guardian angel.”

“I’m pretty sure, yeah.” The dam split open. Every detail from Angel Oaks burst free. I revealed everything Gabriel had explained at my house, how I’d demanded his invisibility. I told her about his pain—
my
pain. And most of all, I did not hide that I’d done it all for the peace of others.

At 3:00 a.m. on a weeknight, Marina lay curled up next to me in the darkness, her eyes glinting as she chewed on her bottom lip.

“Do you believe me?” I ventured, daring her to give me an answer untainted by tradition and religion.

“Crap. It’s mind-boggling. What he said about fallen angels makes sense, and so does the part about his name being common. Just think of all the
regular
guys called Gabriel out there? Plus, he’s kept his word to you for a long time. I mean, what would he gain by staying away?”

Staying away? Calm down. No need to get upset.

“Gabriel is here right now.”

“I know, but the whole not being visible to you part, I mean.” A small frown appeared as she changed the subject. “You’re not in love with Lucio, obviously.”

“No. He knows I’m not.”

“Yeah, I figured. You guys have always been weird anyway. No hugs, no nothing. Just that silly, cutesy hand-holding.” A sad smile moved over her face.

“Sorry, I can’t fake something like this, Marina. I know you want the best for us, but—”

“I know.”

“I’m super happy for you and Cody, though,” I said, perking up in an attempt to change the mood.

“Yeah, we’re lucky to have each other.” A slight smile lifted her lips before they fell again. “Are you gonna break the news to him soon?”

“To Lucio? I can’t imagine him wanting a formal breakup any more than I do. We’re great friends, but we never really existed as a couple.”

“I guess not.” Marina’s voice sounded resigned.

Then, she reached out for me. She stroked my cheek so tenderly that my throat thickened. The way my grandmother used to.

“Thank you, Gaia,” she whispered, “for telling me.”

Chapter 14 — Cut The Dazzling

Cassiel

I couldn’t stand by and watch the destruction unfold any longer. I burned with hate as I scrutinized the delicious specimen. All caramel locks and firm breasts, she sauntered toward the bar. Of course her seductive walk gave rise to the lust in me, but it’d be fine. They were all there for the plucking.

Gaia, daughter of Selene, stirred the Heavens. A mere Earthling teasing the goddamn universe. And here I was, reduced to seething with lack of control.

Gabriel should’ve let her die at the accident—nobody knew better than him how due she’d been. But the weakling couldn’t stand the thought and broke Heavenly Rule number one in the process. It was absolute B.S.

See, I liked my world. The infinite collection of black Prada shoes and silk Armani shirts. The expensive champagne with a single, squeezed strawberry, so curiously similar to a crushed heart. The sprawling penthouses I claimed within minutes of arriving in any city.

I furnished all my silver-and-black bedrooms with an oversized bed. I favored firm, circular mattresses surrounded by mirrors since I needed to appreciate my females from all angles.

Being a Fallen had definite perks. I’d never been tied to one miserable human for the entirety of her life. A taste, a lick. Earth was a playground giving up what I craved in abundance.

Until now, I hadn’t been on
their
radar. Gabriel’s mess was about to change that. My loyalty to him annoyed the hell out of me. Dude was a damn fool, but he was also the only Celestial who hadn’t cut me off as his brother. Because of it, he’d weaseled his way in as one of my few weaknesses.

If the archangels came, there’d be no pardon. My existence on Earth would be destroyed once they exposed the chaos a simple guardian could create. Yes, I appreciated my brother, but losing my exquisite lifestyle scared me more. Would they even allow Fallen Ones to stay afterward?

Gabriel had hampered my plans of flying to Stockholm. Thanks to Gabriel, I wasn’t off to New York, Rome, or Paris any time soon. Instead, my brother had my ass planted firmly in the quaintest, most boring little town in the world. Shades freaking Run. And all because I had to clean up after him.

I needed to get him back on his wings too, but first I had to take care of
her
. My future—and Gabriel’s—depended on the elimination of this daughter of Eve.

I’d existed for as long as Heaven and Hell, and I’d be damned if I wasn’t going to find a way to revert my world to what it used to be.

****

Gaia

Friday nights pulsed at Johnny O’s. Its owners added flavor by letting local bands loose on their customers. The bar was already packed with students when we arrived, and the waiters squeezed between us with drink trays held high.

“They check IDs as if their jobs depend on it!” Cody groaned after a failed attempt at ordering a beer. We ended up with Cokes and Shirley Temples, and I sighed in relief over another week gone by.

Across the table Kyle had Lucio in a headlock and was attempting to tie him to the barstool with his own belt. “Dude’s strong!” he laughed as Lucio elbowed him in the stomach.

“I’m off to the bathroom. Too bad I’ll miss out on the action here,” I screamed over the music.

Marina giggled. “Don’t worry, Gaia—I’ll take notes.”

On my way to the stairs, I noticed the outline of a man. He leaned lazily against the banister, and the way he stood reminded me of someone. He was too still, too focused. His gaze followed me, and I recognized the odd perfection of his beauty.

Tousled, thick hair of the blackest night caressed broad shoulders and framed an immaculate face. When he turned fully, I caught the cobalt gleam of the inky strands before my stare drifted down a deific dancer’s body.

Entranced, I slowed down and stopped. He had a full, scarlet mouth, too sensual to dwell on. A nose to be envied by any Greek god, and a pair of gorgeous, almond-shaped eyes lined with thick, black lashes. His irises shifted between lime and gold, and his skin was…oh, please.

Shimmering.

My breath caught as he crossed his arms, narrowing cat eyes into a sardonic smile. “Well, well. Took you a while.”
He tilted his head and studied the ceiling in mock deliberation. “Maybe neon signs would be better for future run-ins?”

“Who are you?”

My question was a squeak, and he smirked, rolling his eyes. “Oh hell, you’re predictable.”

Barely crouching, he did a small panther leap toward me and kissed my hand. “I’m Cassiel, and believe me, the pleasure can be all yours.”

His golden eyes penetrated mine, undressed me down to my soul, and made my abdomen contract.

“Cut the dazzling.”

My voice sounded breathless, and his eyebrows shot up in fake surprise. “Oh my, she knows her angel tricks, doesn’t she?”

The molecules in the air compressed as if mirroring my distress, and Cassiel chuckled, “Easy, bro.”