Gabe clenched his jaw as he was forced to watch through a mirror as the glimmering gold feathers of his wings faded and shifted to white. His punishment rode on him, causing every muscle in his body to shake with tension; with the need to rail against what was occurring before his very eyes.

It took everything he had not to shout or to plead for his title to remain in the wake of what he had done. One by one the gleaming metallic feathers that were once interwoven with gossamer white ones disappeared. Gabe’s body shook, and sweat dripped down his brow, and still, he watched on as the change weaved its way through what were once his battle wings. The process was painless, save for the mental pain it brought him to see the fallout from his disastrous decisions.

Just leave one. Let me have one. The nearly childlike thought was useless. When an angel was stripped of their title, they did not get to keep any vestige of it.

His green eyes were glued on his reflection as the final gold feather, the one on the tip of his left wing, shimmered and dissolved to a dull, meek white. He screamed in his mind, almost dropping to his knees as the shame washed over him with the force of a tidal wave.

Until that very moment, Gabe had hoped for redemption.

“It is done.” The words were grave, and Gabriel kept his gaze on the mirror as he spoke. The Archangel’s face reflected back as contorted in a mix of grief and absolvement.

Gabe stared at his reflection, even dared to raise his hands and run them over his wings. He stared into the mirror, desperate to find any trace of a leftover feather. There was none. All that reflected back at him were the pure white feathers humans thought angels bore.

“Your wings are stripped, and your assignment received.”

Fury rolled through Gabe at the words as tumultuous as a volcano readying for an eruption. He grew unstable on his feet as the anger coiled around his body. Gabe’s hands clenched so intensely when he gazed down they were white from lack of blood flow. He was a warrior. That was all he should ever be.

“There has to be something that can be done.” The words escaped on bated breath, he knew nothing could change his punishment.

Massive white wings sprouted from Gabriel’s back as he leaped up from the desk and sent the mirror smashing to the ground with an ear-shattering noise. His eyes blazed with heavenly fire, and the room shook beneath their feet as he spoke. “Your fate is sealed.”

Common sense should have sealed Gabe’s mouth. Unfortunately, his temper washed away any trace of it. “It was one mistake.” The words were growled. Any other angel would be dead for speaking to an Archangel with such a tone.

The chair he sat on tipped backward, and pain shot through his body as his head crashed against the floor. Gabriel’s arm pressed against his throat, cutting off airflow as the Archangel leaned down so close their lips could have touched.

“You were responsible for the death of hundreds. Your battle wings have been stripped; be grateful they will not be cut from your back. Question me again, and you will regret it.”

Sputtering around his blocked windpipe, he was able to squeak. “That would be better.”

Fire blazed white hot in Gabriel’s eyes, but he did nothing. In fact, he lifted up and cursed as he walked away.

Gabe took the opportunity to scramble up from the floor. His hand massaged his throat as he stared at the other angel.

“The life of a fallen is not for my son.” Gabriel’s words shook the very floor they stood on, his eyes glowed a heavenly gold, and his mouth fell into a severe line.

“Then why place me as a Guardian? I am your son; I am a warrior.”

Gabriel folded his wings in with a sigh. “You are a disgrace.”

The words struck Gabe with far greater force than his father had a moment prior, deflating his anger as swiftly as it had arisen. He’d known the damage he’d caused by trusting a Fallen. There had been no denying he’d made a mistake worthy of losing his battle stationing. But becoming a Guardian? That’s work for the weak.

“Father, -”

“Do not ask me again, Gabe. You have sullied the name of our family. Do not soil it further with desperate whining or talk of falling. A Guardian is a fine position, and in time, you will come to understand that protecting and guiding humans of importance is as gratifying as saving them in battle. Being entrusted to guard one of the few worthy humans should not be taken lightly—no matter how distasteful you find this new way of life.”

He was intelligent enough to keep his mouth shut. Three hundred years since he Gabe had donned the mantle of a Battle Angel and his father had never struck him. Three hundred years and his father had never had any reason but to cherish him.

Until now.

“What of the human? Can I not be granted a charge more in line with my skill set?” He’d learned of the fragile female he would protect the moment his fate had been spoken aloud at the last Council of Angels. Responsibility over a valiant soldier or would leader could have made this new lifestyle bearable.

He'd been granted neither. Further punishment, regardless of whether his father would admit to it or not.

Gabriel sighed once more and took his seat at his desk. His body no longer bore the tension of fury, but rather sagged in shame or annoyance. “Cassandra Marks has a destiny waiting for her. She must be given the protection to get to it. There is no harm in protecting a human civilian over a human soldier.”

“Except I was made for war!” The words rushed out as a shout.

“As was I, and yet, I have given war up for a chance to guide other angels to their calling. Your wings were only saved because I am your father. If you do not heed your place and heed it well, I will not be able to protect you from having them stripped away entirely. Though you momentarily thought it a fun threat to make to me, I know you do not wish to be a human.”

His father was not correct. Without the gleaming golden wings of a Battle Angel, he felt little need to have them at all. Falling only meant he could never come home. He did not belong amongst his brethren if he could not serve the way he was born too. Exile was not an adequate threat any longer.

“I promise, you will come to see the wisdom in my words. You are my eldest son, my only male offspring, but you are still so very young. Your path can change, and you can still find happiness and worth in it.” Gabriel gently laid his hand on Gabe’s shoulder, though Gabe had not realized dear old dad stood again.

There was little point in arguing with his father and no point in trying to escape his fate. The only way out would be to purposefully fail his charge—and harming a human was not in his nature. Bitter or not, he was born to protect and save, not kill. There were many lines he would cross to see his wings glitter with golden feathers once more, but never the loss of an innocent.

“I do not agree, Father. However, for you, I will try to embrace this life.” The words sounded as empty as he felt, but there was no turning back now.

Gabriel nodded, the fire gone from eyes, leaving them a serene, crystalline blue. “This will be a noble position. Not all humans have Guardian Angels, and not all angels can be one. You will see.”

Gabe nodded, defeat sagging his shoulders low. I highly doubt that, Father.