King of Locusts | ✔

Chapter 17

The pair stayed in their embrace for a while. Lunan extricated himself from Elena when the tears on his shirt finally dried. She looked up at him, silently questioning the determination she saw in his eyes.

"Can I stay here until my birthday?" he asked her.

"Yeah, of course," Elena said. "I just need to tell my parents."

He rose from the bed and stretched his arms over his head.

"I'm going to grab what I need from home first. I'll be back afterwards."

Her brow wrinkled in confusion. "Why not just summon the things you need instead of going back home?"

"I want to talk to Gabriel. No, Gadreel. I'll eventually contact Azrah, too. I'm livid, El, but I swear I won't do anything reckless," he explained.

"Alright. Want me to drive you?"

"Nah, I don't live too far," he said. "I could use the walk, anyway."

Lunan ruminated on Elena's revelation as he walked home. He felt like such a fool. How could he have not known so much of his life was orchestrated? Upon befriending Elena and learning that her mother revealed their magical nature from a young age, Lunan always wondered why his parents kept him ignorant. He chalked it up to his parents practicing darker magic, but that wasn't always the case, either. While Elena's magic progressed and grew as she matured, Lunan always had a masive well of energy to draw from. He shuddered, his gaze unseeing, as he thought of his time at the orphanage, of Michael in the gym. How could he have possibly deluded himself into thinking he was remotely normal?

Who was he, anyway? Lunan, the vessel, or Abaddon, the angel? The prophecy frightened him. He promised Elena their friendship would remain intact no matter what, but he didn't know if that was his decision to make. He feared what would become of him when he made his decision and the angel awakened in entirety.

Lunan's thoughts trailed to a halt when he came to a stop at his house. After opening the door, he ignored his guardian and went to his bedroom to pack his things. He paused when he saw the bracelet Gadreel had bought him.

Just more lies, he thought as he set it back on the side table.

Lunan hoisted the duffle bag on his shoulders and marched down the stairs. He went to the living room where his guardian sat. Lunan scrutinized him, taking in his olive skin, blond hair, and burnt sienna eyes while wondering if that remotely resembled his true appearance. His fists clenched.

"Is everything alright? You look a bit tense," he said, noting his ward's rigid frame.

Lunan scoffed. "You can cut the bullshit, Gadreel."

Gadreel's brows raised in mild surprise. "Elena, I presume?"

Lunan felt his nails dig into his palms as he glared at him in earnest.

"That's it? You lie to me for years about who you are, who I am, and that's all you have to say for yourself?" he shot back. He felt power burn through him bright and hot and let it feed his anger.

Gadreel's eyes narrowed. "You need to calm down, Lunan. Your powers—"

The living room light bulbs breaking cut him off and bathed the room in darkness. Gadreel sighed, and a moment later, his face was illuminated in a hazy glow from the fire burning in his palm. Lunan stared at the flames before meeting his eyes.

"Are volatile," he continued. "It will only grow in intensity as your birthday nears. You need to be careful with your temper, Lunan, or you'll risk hurting yourself."