""Where am I?" I look around curiously, my eyes locking on every boy in the room.
Everett steps forward, a slight smile on his face. "You're in hell."
I stare at him for a moment before shaking my head, "No, seriously..."
"No, seriously," Everett...
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I EXPECT TO finally die, but then air is back in my lungs. I heave and cough, my eyes widening to their full extent as I notice Gabriel be pushed away from me. My eyes turn toward a body beside me, their wings out in protection. I turn, expecting Ryder, but freeze when another angel flowers at Gabriel.
Gabriel stands up, ready to rip whoever it is apart, but freezes when he takes in a man with brown hair looking softer than anyone else's, and dark brown eyes. His wings are out, his chest puffed out.
"Raphael," Gabriel whispers as if in disbelief. I'm still gasping and coughing to realize what he says, but then I don't have to worry anymore. The man with brown hair--Raphael--turns to me.
"Everleigh," his voice is hard and yet smooth. I try to remember who this guy is. I had heard of this angel "Raphael" but cannot seem to remember where from. I also recognize his voice. It's deep and ominous. "I know you are scared of your abilities controlling you," Raphael says before taking a step toward me. I take a big step back. He notices and freezes, his big, white wings looking like clouds beside me. "But if you use them now, your the only one who can finish this maggot-pile once and for all. Trust yourself." A hard tone comes to the man's voice as he turns around and narrows his eyes at Gabriel. Gabriel is in a complete and utter state of shock.
"How are you out?" Gabriel asks him.
Raphael doesn't answer, just turns to me, gives me a nod, before turning and soaring up in the sky. My throat dries. A full second of silence passes between Gabriel and I before he lunges for me.
"What a fucking idiot. Leaving you here alone with me again." My eyebrows lower in confusion. "Now I'll be able to kill you."
Gabriel stalks toward me, but I remember Raphael's words. He told me to trust myself--something I hadn't really thought about. Trusting myself is like trusting a raccoon not to dig in my trash. I just didn't think it was possible. I was so busy focusing on the negatives of my powers I was too scared to use them when I need them the most. And that is right now.
My eyes shoot up to Gabriel as he marches over to me. His hand presses against my arm just as I tentatively reach out. His hand wraps around mine before yanking me down onto the ground. I cry out loud as I get shoved on a particularly hard stick, pulling my body up to see it stuck in my rib cage a little bit. I feel like balling, a fresh set of tears springing to my eyes, but then I notice Ryder. His lifeless body sags against the tree, his broken wing behind him.
Wings.
My eyes lock on Gabriel's disgusting wings as he walks toward me again. I swallow down the nerves in my stomach, forgetting about the stick in my side, and just reach up and yank out a bunch of feathers in Gabriel's wings. He lets out a loud, painful groan before his whole body follows my hand around. I pick each feather out as if they are pin needles stuck in a pin-sack. I yank and rank and yank until I have a handful of soft angel feathers. Gabriel tries to get away, but I just keep on grabbing them. If he moves away from me more, I'll tear out a whole bunch. He looks down at me with surprise--surprise that I actually hurt him. Once his eyes meet mine, I give him a slow smirk.
