Sinful Things

31

She grins. "If it gets to be too much, we can ditch class and hide in our room.”

I raise my mug to her in a salute. “Good plan.”

There’s a knock on our door, and Araceli runs over and opens it. “Mom!” she squeals, and then throws her arms around a woman who looks like a slightly older version of her, but without the purple streak. A pang of jealousy hits me as I watch them hug and smile and catch up. I’ve never had that kind of relationship with my mother, and in fact, I haven’t heard from her in years. Even if I wanted her to come today, she wouldn’t be welcome at Seraphim Academy.

I thought that once I was no longer hiding what I was, she would feel comfortable reaching out to me, but I guess that’s not the case. She taught me to be a succubus when I was eighteen, and then she just…vanished. I miss her. A lot.

"Hello, dear." Araceli’s mom, Muriel, holds her hand out. "I'm glad to meet you again. Araceli has told me so much about you."

With a nervous grin, I shake her hand, hoping Araceli hasn't told her too much. “It's nice to see you again also.”

Araceli grabs her bag. “Ready to show off our weapons training?”

“Definitely.” I get my things and hold open the door for them. “Araceli is a natural with a sword.”

“Is she? I was never very good at fighting, so she must get that from her father’s side.” Muriel puffs up with pride, and that annoying jealous pang is back. I’m not sure Mother’s ever been proud of me.

We chit-chat all the way to the gym, and Muriel tells me about how she’s recently opened a wildlife rescue in Arizona, where she heals animals and rehabilitates them before re-releasing them in the wild. It’s a great use of her angelic powers, since it doesn’t attract too much human attention either.

“That sounds amazing,” I tell her.

“I got to help out over the break, and it was really great,” Araceli says. “Archangel Ariel came by too at one point. I’d never met her before, but she was sweet, although a little odd.”

She quickly glances at me, probably because Ariel is Jonah’s mother. I’ve never met her, but from what I heard from Jonah and Gabriel, she’s very quirky and flighty. She’s a Malakim, like Araceli and Muriel, but spends most of her time in nature, healing plants and animals. She has always given Jonah tons of love, but tends to flit in and out of his life like a colorful butterfly. Much of his childhood was spent either traveling with her on various wildlife excursions, or living in her little cottage in the middle of a forest. The rest of it was spent with Gabriel living in an angel community, growing up among his peers. Pretty much the opposite of my childhood spent in human foster care, with no real family or friends, but I try not to let that bother me.

“Yes, Archangel Ariel has been a great supporter of my work,” Muriel says, as we reach the gym. “She actually gave me the funding to get started in the first place. She’s a good soul, although she’s been miserable ever since her son disappeared.” Muriel shoots me a quick frown, as though she’s just realized I’m connected to Jonah also. “Oh dear, I’m sorry, that must be tough for you also.”

“It’s fine,” I say quickly as I open the door to the gym, hoping we can drop the subject. And then I freeze.

Gabriel stands against the wall in his perfectly tailored suit, radiating power and authority without even trying. But like Jonah, he also looks approachable, like a friendly neighbor who always waves at you from his front lawn.

His eyes light up when I walk in. "Olivia," he calls out, and my heart leaps a little as I notice how happy he looks to see me. I split off from Muriel and Araceli and go to him.

Father hesitates a moment, before giving me a quick hug. "Surprised to see me?"

It must have shown on my face. "A little. I thought you might be too busy."

He clasps a hand on my shoulder. "No, you’re my priority now.”

I'm saved from replying by Hilda clapping her hands. "Let’s get started, class. Pair up, and show your parents what we’ve been working on.”

“I’ve decided to choose daggers as my weapon to focus on,” I tell Gabriel, as we walk to the table with all the weapons on it. I pick up the knife I like to practice with, a small one with a black hilt that fits nicely in my hand.

"You’re focusing on daggers?" He sounds so surprised that I glance over at him, worried I’ve chosen wrong somehow.

"Yeah, why?"

"It's your mother's favorite weapon, too." He rubs his arm absently with a distant smile. "She got me one time. I teleported behind her in her bedroom once, and she was so startled she reacted by stabbing me in the arm with a dark-infused blade. Hurt like the devil, but what did I expect? I learned after that to never sneak up on her.”

I stare at my father with my jaw slack. He's rarely mentioned his time with my mother, and never with any kind of fondness. I always thought I was the lucky—or unlucky—result of a one-night stand or a short affair, but maybe there was more to it than that. “Wow. What was your preferred weapon?”

“I prefer to avoid combat when I can, but in the old days I used a spear. You don’t see too many of those around now though.” He chuckles softly as he picks up a spear from the table.

As the leader of the Ishim, Father commands a large number of messengers, spies, scouts, and assassins. He also oversees the guardian angel program, which is used to protect important people around the world. He’s definitely not a warrior, but more of a hide-in-the-shadows type, only fighting when absolutely necessary. Jonah was—no, is—the same.