Chapter Nine
Our training continued for days on end. Alijah said that we needed to work through exhaustion, and the intense training would condition us. I had to admit he was right, and I woke up every morning eager to learn more.
It was a bonus that I had the chance to see Jonah every day. No matter what we were doing, and even if the two of us weren’t paired up for practice, he always found a way to whisper something in my ear or subtly touch my arm. It was always a small gesture, but it was enough to keep a fire burning inside me.
Most days, we had time enough to learn a new spell and work on our physical attributes. Alijah firmly believed that you had to rely on a vast array of skills and techniques to be able to defeat the darkest of creatures. We practiced on foot and in flight. He drilled us on our spells, introduced numerous weapons, and even made us work on our balance and reaction times.
“You’re quick little shits,” he would say as we timed our reaction speed with the holograms. “But don’t let your confidence make you believe that you can’t be defeated.”
Over the coming weeks, I came to respect our trainer more than I imagined I would have. His looks had no ties to his skills, and he worked us hard. He was determined to make us into the best slayers we could possibly be, and there was nothing I wanted more. Except maybe more time with Jonah.
* * *
“So, are you ever going to make your move?” Trinity asked one day as we honed our skills with wooden staffs. This time, Alijah had given us permission to battle with each other instead of the simulated demons and vampires that came out of the wall of the arena. I was glad for a little bit of hand-to-hand combat; the surge of adrenaline was a high I didn’t get anywhere else.
I swiped the staff at her feet, a move which would have sent her to the floor if I had intended to hurt her. “What? You don’t think I’m trying hard enough?” Trinity was good with the staff, skilled enough that I wondered if she had previous experience.
“Not the weapons.” She blocked my next thrust, and with a swift movement of her wrist, rolled her staff up to tap my shoulder. “I mean with Jonah.”
I attacked a little more fiercely now that she had brought him up again. For some reason, she seemed to take a great interest in whatever it was that Jonah and I did, or didn’t have. “I don’t have time for that sort of stuff.”
Trinity had left her hair down for the day, and it flew out behind her in dark copper waves as she moved. The left half of her mouth remained curled up at me as it always did, teasing me, while the right half was grim and serious. “I know there’s a lot to do as a slayer, and even more as a member of the Legion, but you’ve got your own life to live, too.”
I saw her next move coming and dodged artfully out of the way. My hand nearly slipped on the sleek wood of the weapon, but I regained my grip and lunged at her. “What life is there besides ridding the world of evil? Isn’t that our destiny?” I knew there was much more to it than that, but I would use the rules if they would help my case.
She snorted as she jabbed at me with the tip of her staff. It was covered with a thin iron casing at each end, the better to take demons down with. A curve of my spine and I was out of its path. “If you say so,” she replied, “but I’m pretty sure there’s a lot more to it than that. And you never struck me as one to follow every directive to the letter.”
She had me there, but for a moment I had her. I got several taps in on her shoulders and sides before she managed to fend me off again. “Whatever happens, happens.” This was how I wanted to feel about things.
Trinity smiled fully then, the expression causing playful sparks in her eyes. “Okay. But don’t come crying to me if Hannah gets to him first.” She gestured with her head at the other side of the room.
I turned to see Jonah and Hannah sparring further down the arena. He was smiling as he worked, giving numerous openings for the skinny blonde to strike him. Each one was batted down at the last moment, and I felt the creep of irritation under my skin. Why should he treat her like that? We were here to learn to fight, and demons would most certainly not give Hannah the opportunity to hit them.
A whack across my chest sent me sprawling to the floor. Every molecule of air had been knocked out of my lungs, and I looked up to see Trinity standing over me. Her sly half-smile returned as she reached out a hand to help me up. “You should never let your enemy know your weakness, Rumor. They can use it against you before you even realize what’s going on.”
I scowled at her, but she was right. Jonah was not just weakening my notions about what I wanted out of a man, but weakening me as a fighter. I took a deep breath, and returned to my fighting stance. “One more time.”
* * *
I went up to my room after dinner that night, ready to collapse into my bed, but my sore muscles refused to let me relax. My shoulders were so tight that I wasn’t sure if I could ever get my wings out again, and my thighs and calves cramped every time I sat down.
After changing out of my training clothes, opting for a pair of track pants and a tank top, I sprawled out on the floor to stretch out my muscles. Alijah had a lot to teach us, but the humans had come up with some pretty awesome moves of their own that would help relieve the ache. I had started doing yoga shortly after I had begun slaying, when several nights of battling had left me stiff and sore. There was nothing like it to get the body feeling good again.
A knock at the door interrupted my exercise, just as I moved into my last stretch. “Come in,” I called, certain that it was Ember. We usually met around this time to discuss the day and how things were going.
With my ass in the air for the final stretch, I looked between my legs to see the door swing open and Jonah standing there.
“Well, hello to you, too,” he said.
I collapsed to the floor, embarrassed that he had seen me in such an awkward pose. “What are you doing here?” I asked, curiously.
He closed the door behind him before putting his hands up defensively. “Hey, you told me to come in. I can’t help it that you didn’t ask who it was first.”
“I thought only women were allowed in this building?” My face burned with humiliation, but that only made him smile.
“I think that just makes it easier for them to keep track of everyone,” he replied with a shrug. “It’s not like it’s a law, or anything.” Jonah’s lips undulated suspiciously, and I knew he was trying not to laugh at me.
“Well, what do you want?” I was suddenly conscious of what I was wearing. The outfit was great for stretching, but not so much for hosting a guy in my room.
A quick shake of his fingers and a bottle of wine appeared in his hand. The glass was thick and green, nearly obscuring the liquid inside. The inscription on the label was written in a cursive script in shimmering gold, and I couldn’t quite make it out.
“I thought, after all this hard work, you and I should celebrate.” Jonah winked, his lips curving into that sexy smile of his.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Where did you get that? I didn’t think alcohol was allowed here.” There had been a few rules floating around, and most of them I didn’t pay a lick of attention to. That one, I had.
“I swiped it from one of the Elders.”
Standing awkwardly in the middle of the room and painfully aware of the bed behind me, I suddenly felt as though the intensity between us might ignite into a blaze of fire if he moved any closer. “Michael’s son? A thief? I never would’ve thought it.”
He moved toward me, closing the distance slowly, as though I was nothing more than a wild animal that he was quietly moving in on, careful not to frighten me into running off. I met his gaze, but inside I wanted to skitter away. I could face down demons and vampires and gargoyles, but not this man.
“A thief, huh? And yet, I still haven’t been able to steal your heart.”
The words sent my heart into overdrive. The way he looked at me, with his eyes glued on my lips and his head slightly tilted as though to provoke a response with his flirty words, made me want to give myself to him right there and then, regardless of whether it was right or wrong.
His eyes scanned my face, then fluttered down to the curves of my breasts and hips, and I found I could barely breathe. He took another step forward. He was now so close, I could almost taste him.
“Who’s to say you haven’t?”
The pounding of footsteps in the hallway startled me, but it was just a few Angels moving along as they headed back to their rooms for the night.
Still, it was enough to interrupt a moment that I wasn’t sure I was that comfortable with. I took a deep breath and let it out, letting some of the fire escape my lips. The desire I had for Jonah was stronger than anything I had ever felt before, but now just wasn’t our time.
“So, um, did you bring any glasses with you?”
With the bottle of wine still in his right hand, he conjured two long-stem glasses with his left. They clinked together softly in his fingers. “Of course.”
“Well,” I replied with a smile, “let’s get this party started.”
Every room in the building was equipped with a bed, a nightstand, and a small table with two chairs. It was situated just beneath the window, which looked out over one of the many plazas near the dorm. I pulled out a chair and gestured for him to take the other one.
Jonah poured us each a generous helping of wine, the dark red liquid swirling in the glasses. I kept my eyes on the table as I took my glass, anything to keep from looking at him. I took a drink, letting the wine sit on my tongue for a moment and warm my mouth.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.”
I didn’t mean for it to, but it sounded snarky. After all, Jonah and I had been here together at High Command for almost two months. If he was going to come to my room, then why hadn’t he done it before? We had flirted back and forth every day, and yet it had taken him this long to do anything about it. I didn’t understand.
He looked away, his eyes distant and slightly hard for a moment. “Things have been…chaotic.”
“I know. I’m in training too, remember?” I knew what it was to work all day and then want to come home and collapse, but Trinity had been right, we had to live our own lives, too.
“I’ve been doing other things after training.” It was his turn now to look at the table. He slowly tipped his glass, watching the dark liquid spin lazily in response. “My father has many things in mind for my future.”
Suddenly, I felt like a jerk. Of course, he had family things going on after training. Of course, Michael would want to see him, even if it was only just to spend some time with him.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that.”
He waved off my apology and smiled. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Maybe just a medium deal?” I joked.
He laughed softly. “Yeah, something like that.”
A thick silence descended between us, and I couldn’t stand it. Things should be easy between us, like they used to be, yet something was bothering me—something I couldn’t shake free from my mind.
“So, how about you and Hannah?”
There was something like a smile on his face, the lift of one eyebrow.
“What about me and Hannah?”
“It seems you guys have gotten along rather well in training.” I buried my nose in my wine glass to keep from saying anything more as a jolt of jealously ran through me.
“Well, we work well together, if that’s what you mean,” he said slowly. “But there’s nothing more to it.”
I’d already drank most of my wine, and it was going to my head quickly. I could easily pull the alcohol out of my system as Jonah had taught me to do, but I didn’t want to. It was easier to be slightly detached from reality, held to it only by strands, instead of a solid wall.
“Look,” I said, setting my glass down with a thump. “I see how you look at her. I also noticed how easy you were going on her during practice. Why would you do that if you didn’t have any interest in her? And I’m not trying to attack you here. I just think we need to be honest with each other.”
In the back of my mind, I yelled at him for leading me on when he was truly interested in Hannah. I couldn’t blame him. She was tall and slim, with a sleek body that even Angels hoped for. I had my curves, true, but nobody had ever called me thin. Throw Hannah’s sweet personality in on top of that, and I had no chance with the son of Michael.
His eyebrows shot up, and for a minute I thought he was going to growl at me. “You can’t be serious?”
“I’m very serious.”
“Woah. Hold on.” He held up his hands, unable to suppress a chuckle. “There isn’t anything going on between me and Hannah. We’re training partners, but that’s it.” He reached across the table and set his hand on top of mine.
It was warm and heavy, and I didn’t want him to take it away. But somehow, I couldn’t get my mouth to quit. “If you say so.”
“I only have one woman on my mind, Rumor.” He rubbed his thumb over the side of my hand before pulling back.
I didn’t know what to say to that, and I took another long draught of wine. I caught his eyes flickering to the bed, and I wondered if he was imagining the same things I was. The air between us in that moment was tense, like the spark of the Lightning we had mastered in class, flickering between us and never letting up.
But he was here, in my room, and this was what I had wanted all along. But I was not the temptress. It was his job to get me into bed, to gently pull the hair away from the nape of my neck and sprinkle kisses down my skin until I melted inside. It was his job to make the first move no matter how much I fought him, to break down my walls and let me admit to myself that yes, I wanted this.
My core warmed at the thought, and the heat in his eyes let me know that I was not alone. But we couldn’t do that, not there, not now. There were too many other things going on, and there was that massive ball of doubt that swam around in my stomach like a ship on the stormy seas.
“It’s beautiful out tonight. Why don’t we take a walk?”
“I’d like that.” I stood up, reeling slightly as the wine caught up to me. I was too eager to get out of the room and away from the bed.
“You sure you’re okay? I can get that out of your system for you if you’d like.” He lifted his fingers to touch my temples.
I batted them away gently. “No. That’s okay. It’s just…a little stronger than I’m used to.” Normally, I could hold my alcohol just fine, but the stuff they made at High Command was something else.
As we stepped outside, I realized why I had been so sensitive. I wanted Jonah, but I wanted him to chase me, as old-fashioned as that sounded, and it was frustrating when he didn’t do that. But he was here with me, walking alone with me in the moonlight, and that had to be enough for the moment.
“It really is nice out here,” I commented. The path below our feet shone in a different way than it had during the day. Instead of the grounds being filled with light, everything was limned in silver. The sidewalks glowed against the dark expanses of grass, and the trees bore silver leaves against their inky trunks. The buildings, most of them unoccupied now that everyone had gone back to their room, were silent edifices that blocked out the stars.
“Just wait.” Jonah took long steps as he headed slightly downhill toward the arenas. We passed the big circular buildings quickly, as though we were worried that if we lingered too long we might be pulled into training.
After a few minutes, we moved away from the more developed area. There were still definitive paths, but they were composed of tamped earth instead of pavement. The trees were thicker and fuller out here, and the grass grew longer. It was quiet except for the soft rustle of the wind through the trees.
“I didn’t know this existed,” I breathed as tiny fireflies made stunning light-shows over the surrounding fields. When I looked up, I saw that the stars were brilliant, thousands and thousands of them, brighter than any diamonds I’d ever seen.
As I watched, one flew across the sky, a comet with a bright tail streaking behind it. Before it disappeared, I closed my eyes and made a wish. A wish for Jonah, a wish for a future together.
“It’s so peaceful out here. It really puts things in perspective, sets your mind free…and your heart.” Jonah’s voice was soft in the darkness. When I opened my eyes again, the comet was gone. Somehow, I felt different, as if the world had moved a few degrees in my favor. As if whatever deity riding the comet had heard my secret wish.
Our arms brushed against each other, and then I felt his hand reaching out for mine. I was grateful for the darkness, so that he couldn’t see my cheeks burning once again.
Why did he make me feel like I had never been around a man before? He punctured right through the warrior’s armor I had worked so hard to build around myself and dug straight down into my heart and soul.
“I see why you like it out here. You feel like you’re far away from everything…the pressures, the demands, the people.” As a slayer, I reveled in the moments when I didn’t feel any other presence around me. I cherished Ember’s company and now Jonah’s, but there were times when I wanted to be completely by myself. No psychic messages from other Angels, no beacons of evil from demons. Just me.
“It seems that way, but I promise you, we’re far from being alone.”
I turned my head slightly, tuning into my psychic senses in case I had missed something. “What do you mean?”
“You’ll see.”
The path split and Jonah immediately turned left. The rugged path turned uphill, but the incline was no problem for our well-trained legs. I felt myself starting to relax, to let go of all the stress of training and worrying. My shoulders unclenched, my teeth stopped grinding together, and I let my guard down.
But a rustling in the brush brought it right back up again. I dropped Jonah’s hand and immediately took on a fighting stance, with my feet shoulder-width apart and my fists up and ready. I knew things must truly have been getting bad in the world if enemies were here.
Jonah wrapped his hands around my biceps and pushed them back down against my sides. “Easy there, slayer. There’s nothing that can hurt us here.”
The grass parted, and a dark shape moved slowly onto the path in front of us. It had bushy fur and a long tail, and it appeared to be carrying something in its mouth. The creature skated around us, the tips of its fur grazing my leg before it disappeared into the darkness.
“A shadow cat.” I dropped my fists and relaxed. I felt like an idiot, which seemed to be happening a lot lately. “I should have known.”
“You’ve been fighting for so long on Earth, I can understand why you are always on guard, Rumor. I’d be, too. That was the one thing about visiting my father here throughout the years…I could relax, knowing there were no enemies here, waiting in the shadows.”
“What was it like? Growing up as the son of Michael?”
Small creatures croaked and chirped in the distance, filling the few seconds that it took for him to answer.
“I spent most of my time on Earth, with my mother.” He glanced over his shoulder at the glow of the city behind us. “But we always came here, at least once a year.”
“It must have been difficult to know there was something so fantastic here, yet you were stuck on Earth.” I had never resented my time among the humans, but I had never known how wonderful High Command was.
“Not really,” he replied. “There’s plenty of beauty to be found there as well. And I had my mother.” He laughed softly. “Besides, I was terrified of my father for most of my life.”
Reflecting on the Archangel I had seen in the throne room, I couldn’t say that I blamed him.
“Was he kind?”
“Yes, very.” In the moonlight, I saw him smile and it set my heart fluttering like a bird’s wings against my ribcage. “But, even at a young age, the weight of what he had achieved and his importance in this world wasn’t lost on me. I was terrified of the Angel who had defeated Satan. But I was also proud, and as I grew up, that overpowered my fear. There’s a lot of pressure on me to live up to being his son, but I think I’m doing a pretty good job so far.”
That much I understood. “You’re doing an awesome job. I only hope I can do the same for my parents.”
“You already have.”
As we crested the hill and looked down into a valley, my breath caught. The center of the meadow was bathed in a silvery light. It took my eyes a moment to adjust well enough to see that it wasn’t moonlight. The creatures, who had stamped out a circle in the grass to bed down for the night, were creating their own illumination. Long, spiraling horns protruded from their foreheads and emitted a luminescence that outshone the moon. Their hides were sleek and pure white, and they were easy to see, even at a distance.
“Unicorns,” I breathed. The creatures had disappeared from Earth so long ago that they were thought of as purely mythical. There were several adults mingling in the circle of trampled grass, brushing their cheeks against each other and swinging their silky tails. The young ones, tiny versions of their parents with stubby horns, frolicked in and out of the circle but never strayed far.
Slowly, Jonah’s hand slid around my waist, reaching down, resting on my hip. He smiled, his fingers tensing against my skin. We remained at the top of the hill, just watching. I felt my body ease against his warmth, just like it always did, and I never wanted the moment to end. I could have pulled him right down into the grass, shadow cats and all, and done everything I had fantasized doing with him, but in that instant, it felt right simply being together and sharing such a tender moment. Maybe it was the magic of the unicorns, or maybe I was just tired, but I was satisfied just being in his arms.
He reached up and gently touched my cheek, then ran his fingers across my lips. I felt a streak of fire run down my spine at the softness of his caress, and from the way he looked at me, ever so intently.
“You never have to worry about any other woman.”
He leaned forward, eyes locked with mine, and then his lips were on my mouth, the rest of his words lost, as he kissed me. For a moment, I held back, but the sweet longing that rose inside me was too strong to resist.
I lost track of the time we stood beneath the stars, the moonlight shining above us, his mouth on mine, devouring me, as if I were the only woman in the world. And I believed him.
I gave back equally, my lips and tongue meeting his in that dance of fire.
Dizzy with desire, I finally took a step back. In the faint light, his eyes were luminous, hazy silver, and heavy-lidded as he looked down at me. One corner of his mouth curved into a smile so knowing that it felt as if he were looking right through my clothes and my skin, right into my heart.
He wasn’t ready to let go or stop kissing me. Not just yet.
He closed the distance between us with one step, pulling me into his strong arms, weaving his fingers through my hair, tense against my scalp. His lips found mine again, crushing and passionate, his kiss searing, leaving me breathless.
Every sense was alive, every touch of his fingers on my skin left a trail of fire, fanning the flame of desire deep that I had for this man.
“I want this to work, Rumor. I really do.” His forehead was tilted, resting against mine, his hands wrapped tightly around my waist as though I belonged to him.
Perhaps I did.
“I want this too, Jonah. More than anything.”
His lips curved into a knowing smile, and he stepped to the side, bringing my back and shoulders against his chest this time, so we could look off in the distance, at the wondrous unicorns who now held our secret.
It was so comforting and so peaceful, standing cradled against him, his arms wrapped around me protectively, my head resting against him. I felt safe for the first time in many years, and it occurred to me that despite being a slayer who could hold her own on the battlefield, I needed this more than I ever thought possible.
After some time, I stepped away. It was growing late, and we needed to get some rest before our final day of training. He walked me to my door, sprites lighting the way along the path, guiding us home.
“I’ll see you in the morning?” His face was wreathed in shadow, but his voice carried the rough pitch of desire.
“Of course.” A smile tugged at my lips, and I longed to see the intensity in his eyes.
I stepped forward, and pressed my lips to his. He drew me into his arms once more, his lips softening under the pressure of mine and his arms binding around me, pressing his hard body against my curves. I felt the muscles in his arms and shoulders as my fingers moved over him, and when he pulled me even closer, I could feel the hardness beneath his jeans.
I had no idea what would happen tomorrow after training, or where we would be sent for our first mission, but somehow in that moment, I knew that we would always find our way back to one another.