The Fallen Sequence (64 page)

“Actually, there was something about his eyes. They were blue, but faded, almost washed out. He had to wear these special contacts so people wouldn’t stare at him.” Shelby tossed her head to the side. “Plus, you know, that third nipple.” She burst out laughing, was red in the face by the time Luce joined in and practically in tears when a light tapping on the windowpane shut both of them up.

“That
better
not be him.” Shelby’s voice instantly sobered as she hopped up from the bed and flung open the window, knocking over a potted yucca in her haste.

“It’s for you,” she said, almost numbly.

Luce was at the window in a heartbeat, because by then, she could
feel
him. Bracing her palms on the sill, she leaned forward into the brisk night air.

She was face to face, lip to lip, with Daniel.

For the briefest moment, she thought he was looking past her, into the room, at Shelby, but then he was kissing her, cupping the back of her head with his soft hands and pulling her to him, taking her breath away. A week’s worth of warmth flowed through her, along with an unspoken apology for the harsh words they’d said the other night on the beach.

“Hello,” he whispered.

“Hello.”

Daniel was wearing jeans and a white T-shirt. She could see the cowlick in his hair. His tremendous pearl-white wings beat gently behind him, probing the black night, luring her in. They seemed to beat in the sky almost in time with her heart. She wanted to touch them, to bury herself in them the way she had the other night on the beach. It was a stunning thing to see him floating outside her third-story window.

He took her hand and pulled her over the windowsill and out into the air and his arms. But then he set her down on a wide, flat ledge under the window that she’d never noticed before.

She always felt the urge to cry when she was happiest. “You’re not supposed to be here. But I’m so glad you are.”

“Prove it,” he said, smiling as he pulled her back against his chest so that his head was just over her shoulder. He looped one arm around her waist. Warmth
radiated from his wings. When she looked over her shoulder, all she could see was white; the world was white, all softly textured and aglow with moonlight. And then Daniel’s great wings began to beat—

Her stomach dropped a little and she knew she was being lifted—no,
rocketed
, straight into the sky. The ledge below them grew smaller and the stars above shone brighter and the wind ripped across her body, tousling her hair across her face.

Up they soared, higher into the night, until the school was just a black smudge on the ground below. Until the ocean was just a silver blanket on the earth. Until they pierced a feathery layer of cloud.

She wasn’t cold or afraid. She felt free of everything that weighed her down on earth. Free of danger, free of any pain she’d ever felt. Free of gravity. And so in love. Daniel’s mouth traced a line of kisses up the side of her neck. He wrapped his arms tight around her waist and turned her to face him. Her feet were on top of his, just as when they’d danced over the ocean at the bonfire. There was no wind anymore; the air around them was silent and calm. The only sounds were the beating of Daniel’s wings as they hovered in the sky and the beating of her own heart.

“Moments like this,” he said, “make everything we’ve had to go through worthwhile.”

Then he kissed her as he’d never kissed her before. A
long, extended kiss that seemed to claim her lips forever. His hands traced the line of her body, lightly at first and then more forcefully, delighting in her curves. She melted into him, and he ran his fingers along the backs of her thighs, her hips, her shoulders. He took control of every part of her.

She felt the muscles beneath his cotton shirt, his taut arms and neck, the hollow at the small of his back. She kissed his jaw, his lips. Here in the clouds, with Daniel’s eyes sparkling brighter than any star she had ever seen, this was where Luce belonged.

“Can’t we just stay here forever?” she asked. “I’ll never get enough of this. Of you.”

“I hope not.” Daniel smiled, but soon, too soon, his wings shifted, flattening out. Luce knew what was coming next. A slow descent.

She kissed Daniel one last time and loosened her arms from around his neck, preparing herself for flight—but then she lost her grip.

And fell.

It seemed to happen in slow motion. Luce tipping backward, her arms flailing wildly, and then the rush of cold and wind as she plummeted and her breath left her. Her last glimpse was of Daniel’s eyes, the shock in his face.

But then everything sped up, and she was falling so furiously she couldn’t breathe. The world was a spinning black void, and she felt nauseated and scared, her eyes
burning from the wind, her vision dimming and tunneling. She was going to pass out.

And that would be it.

She would never know who she really was, never know whether it had all been worth it. Would never know whether she was worthy of Daniel’s love, and he of hers. It was all over; this was it.

The wind was a fury in her ears. She closed her eyes and waited for the end.

And then he caught her.

There were arms around her, strong, familiar arms, and she was gently slowing, no longer falling—she was being cradled. By Daniel. Her eyes were closed, but Luce knew him.

She began to sob, so relieved that Daniel had caught her, had saved her. In that moment, she had never loved him more—no matter how many lifetimes she had lived.

“Are you okay?” Daniel whispered, his voice soft, his lips so close to hers.

“Yes.” She could feel the beating of his wings. “You caught me.”

“I will always catch you when you fall.”

Slowly they dropped back to the world they’d left behind. To Shoreline and the ocean lapping up against the cliffs. When they neared the dormitory, he clasped her tightly, and gently coasted to the ledge, alighting with a feather-light touch.

Luce planted her feet on the ledge and looked up at
Daniel. She loved him. It was the only thing she was certain of.

“There,” he said, looking serious. His smile hardened, and the sparkle in his eyes seemed to fade. “That should satisfy your wanderlust, at least for a little while.”

“What do you mean, wanderlust?”

“The way you keep leaving campus?” His voice held a lot less warmth than it had a moment ago. “You have to stop doing that when I’m not around to look after you.”

“Oh, come on, it was just a stupid field trip. Everyone was there. Francesca, Steven—” She broke off, thinking about the way Steven had reacted to what had happened to Dawn. She didn’t dare bring up her road trip with Shelby. Or running into Cam under the deck.

“You’ve been making things very difficult for me,” Daniel said.

“I haven’t been having the easiest time either.”

“I told you there were rules. I told you not to leave this campus. But you haven’t listened. How many times have you disobeyed me?”

“
Disobeyed
you?” She laughed, but inside she felt dizzy and sick. “What are you, my boyfriend or my master?”

“Do you know what happens when you stray from here? The danger you put yourself in just because you’re bored?”

“Look, the cat’s out of the bag,” she said. “Cam already knew I was here.”

“Of course Cam knows you’re here,” Daniel said, exasperated. “How many times do I have to tell you Cam is not the threat right now? He won’t try to sway you.”

“Why not?”

“Because he knows better. And you should know better too than to sneak off like that. There are dangers you can’t possibly fathom.”

She opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say. If she told Daniel she’d spoken with Cam that day, that he had killed several of Miss Sophia’s entourage, it would only prove his point. Anger flared up in Luce, at Daniel, at his mysterious rules, at his treating her like a child. She would have given anything to stay with him, but his eyes had hardened into flat gray sheets and their time in the sky felt like a distant dream.

“Do you understand what kind of Hell I go through to keep you safe?”

“How am I supposed to understand when you don’t tell me anything?”

Daniel’s beautiful features distorted into a scary expression. “Is this her fault?” He jerked his thumb toward her dorm room. “What kind of sinister ideas has she been putting in your head?”

“I can think for myself, thank you.” Luce narrowed her eyes. “But how do you know Shelby?”

Daniel ignored the question. Luce couldn’t believe the way he was talking to her, like she was some kind of badly behaved pet. All the warmth that had filled her a moment ago when Daniel had kissed her, held her, looked at her—it wasn’t enough when she felt this cold every time he spoke to her.

“Maybe Shelby is right,” she said. She hadn’t seen Daniel in so long—but the Daniel she wanted to see, the one who loved her more than anything, the one who’d followed her for millennia because he couldn’t live without her—was still up there in the clouds, not down here, bossing her around. Perhaps, even after all these lifetimes, she didn’t really know him. “Maybe angels and humans shouldn’t …”

But she couldn’t say it.

“Luce.” His fingers wrapped around her wrist, but she shook him off. His eyes were open and dark, and his cheeks were white from the cold. Her heart was urging her to grab him and keep him close, to feel his body pressed against hers, but she knew deep down that this wasn’t the kind of fight that could be cured with a kiss.

She pushed past him to a narrower part of the ledge and slid open her window, surprised to find that the room was already dark. She climbed inside, and when she turned back to Daniel, she noticed that his wings were trembling. Almost like he was about to cry. She
wanted to go back to him, to hold and soothe and love him.

But she couldn’t.

She closed the shutters and stood in her dark room alone.

NINE

TEN DAYS

W
hen Luce woke up on Tuesday morning, Shelby was already gone. Her bed was made, the handmade patchwork quilt folded at its foot, and her puffy red vest and tote bag had been plucked from their peg by the door.

Still in her pajamas, Luce stuck a mug of water in the microwave to make tea, then sat down to check her email.

To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, 11/16 at 1:34 am
Subject: Trying Not to Take It Personally

Dear L,

Got your text, and first things first, I miss you too. But I’ve got a really out-of-left-field suggestion: it’s called you-and-I-catch-up. Crazy Callie and her wild ideas. I know you’re busy. I know you’re under heavy surveillance and it’s hard to sneak away. What I don’t know is a single detail about your life. Who do you eat lunch with? Which class do you like the most? What ever happened with that guy? See, I don’t even know his name. I hate that.

I’m glad you got a phone, but don’t text me to say you’re going to call. Just call. I haven’t heard your voice in ages. I ain’t mad at ya. Yet.

xoC

Luce closed the email. It was next to impossible to piss Callie off. She’d never actually done it before. The fact that Callie didn’t suspect that Luce was lying was only further proof of how distant they’d become. The shame Luce felt was heavy, settling right between her shoulders.

On to the next email:

To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, 11/16 at 8:30 pm
Subject: Well, honey, we love you too

Luce Baby,

Your emails always brighten our days. How’s the swim team going? Are you drying your hair now that it’s cold outside? I know, I’m nagging, but I miss you.

Do you think Sword & Cross will grant you permission to leave campus for Thanksgiving next week? Dad could call the dean? We won’t count our chickens yet, but your father did go out and buy a Tofurky just in case. I’ve been filling up the extra freezer with pies. Do you still like the one with the sweet potatoes? We love you and we think about you all the time.

Mom

Luce’s hand hung frozen on her mouse. It was Tuesday morning. Thanksgiving was a week and a half away. It was the first time that her favorite holiday had even crossed her mind. But as quickly as it had come in, Luce tried to banish it. There was no way Mr. Cole would let her go home for Thanksgiving.

She was about to click Respond when a blinking orange box at the bottom of the screen caught her
attention. Miles was online. He’d been trying to chat with her.

Miles (8:08): Mornin’, Miss Luce.
Miles (8:09): I am STARVING. Do you wake up as hungry as I wake up?
Miles (8:15): Wanna get breakfast? I’ll swing by your room on my way. 5 min?