Wicked Wings

2

Chester comes barreling outside at that moment and yanks the guy off me. “What the f**k, man? You think you can come into my house and touch my girl?”

“We were just talking,” I say.

“Looked like a lot more than that,” Chester snaps. He shoves a green beer at my chest, and a little of it foams over. “Here, take your damn drink while I kick this guy’s ass.”

I grab the beer from Chester. As I do, I brush against his hand and unleash a little more of my power, heightening his emotions.

“I’d like to see you try,” Trey scoffs as I take a sip of the green beer. It’s disgusting, but I gulp a bit down anyway.

Chester gets right up in Trey’s business and he’s so angry now his face is bright red. “Stay away from my girl.”

Trey takes a step closer and actually lets out a growl. “What are you going to do if I don’t?”

Chester throws the first punch at Trey’s face, unable to contain himself between his overwhelming lust and anger. Fighting breaks out between them, and I rush in a little late to try to break it up. As I do, I’m shoved backward, hard. My beer falls to the ground with a loud c***k and my back hits the side of the balcony—and then I’m over it.

Falling.

Falling.

Falling.

Wings unfurl from my back with a loud snap, breaking up my screams. For a second I hover over the pool, black feathers flashing through the air, while everyone down below and on the balcony stares at me. Then I plummet toward the water again. The second I hit it, everything goes black.

Exactly as I planned.

Chapter Two

Olivia

I

wake in a hospital room with no idea how I got there and jerk upright when I realize I’m not alone. It’s an honest reaction. No one likes to wake up and find a stranger has been watching them sleep, even if I expected a scene like this.

“Who are you?” I ask as I sit up straighter. “What’s going on? Where am I?”

“You can call me Jo.” The woman appears to be in her mid-30s with pale skin, shoulder-length honey blond hair, a sensible white blouse, and a black pencil skirt. Everything about her is professional, from her shiny nails to her closed-toe pumps to her black briefcase, but there’s something about her that makes her stand apart from an average businesswoman. The symmetrical perfection of her face. The lustrous shine of her hair. The way the sunlight streaming through the window seems to gather around her. “Do you remember how you got here?”

“Not really.” I place my hand on my forehead, trying to ease the ache there. I’m wearing a hospital gown, there’s an IV in my arm, and my head is pounding. I stare at the IV and my jaw falls open. “Why am I in a hospital? What happened to me?”

“That’s what I’d like to find out.” She crosses her legs, her skirt swishing as she moves. “I’m here to ask you a few questions about what happened at the party tonight. Don’t even bother trying to lie to me—it won’t work. As long as you speak the truth, we’ll both get along just fine.”

I reach up to touch the necklace around my neck, relieved it’s still there even though my clothes are missing. It’s gold and heavy, with ornate curls and a big aquamarine gem that changes color depending on the light. As soon as I realize what I’m doing, I drop my hand, but she’s already seen it. I swallow and begin talking. “I was at a party and a fight broke out. We were on the balcony and I got knocked over, I think. I fell?” My eyes widen. “There were…wings. Feathers?” I shake my head. “No, that can’t be real. Was my drink spiked or something?”

“Your drink wasn’t spiked, and I can assure you that what you remember was real.”

Fun fact: my drink was spiked. How do I know? Because I spiked it myself when Chester handed it to me. I needed to pass out, and I knew the drug would be out of my system by the time anyone tested me thanks to my angel-demon metabolism. But Jo doesn’t need to know that.

“No, it’s not possible,” I say, getting increasingly upset for her benefit. “I fell from the balcony, but I’m not injured. And the wings. Oh s**t, the wings…” I press my palms against my eyes. “I must be dreaming. Either that or I’ve totally lost my mind.”

Her perfect ankles cross as she leans forward. “You’re not dreaming, and I believe your mind is perfectly intact, though you may be in shock.”

“Who are you?” I sit up a little straighter in bed so that I’m fully upright. “What are you doing here?”

“You were brought to the hospital after you passed out. I was sent to find you after a video was uploaded to YouTube of a girl falling off the balcony and suddenly sprouting wings.” She scowls a little. “This video was seen by no less than three thousand people online, not to mention all the people who witnessed it happen in person. We were able to get the video taken down without much trouble, but the partygoers are more of a problem. My team is still trying to track down everyone who was there so I can wipe their memories. You’ve caused quite a bit of work for us all.”