Forbidden Angel

Chapter Nine

POV Ariel:

I had dinner with another guard watching over me. He didn’t talk to me at all. I kind of felt like a prisoner again. I wondered if I asked to stay in the glass sell if Rafael would still guard me or would they assign someone else? I actually enjoyed Rafael’s company, it was nice to have someone to talk to.

By the time I finished dinner, Ajax entered the room and dismissed the guard. He stood next to the bed and took out the red piece of fabric.

“Caius has asked to see you and Rafael in his office,” he explained.

I held out both my hands, when he touched my hands, my eyes lit up. He stared at my eyes for a minute and continued to wrap my hands.

“Why use material when you can use cuffs?” I asked curiously.

“This material is special, the more you resist the tighter it pulls.” He explained while pulling tight on the material.

“Oh…… by the way, I’m sorry for hitting you in the face.” He frowned like he had to remember what happened. Then he smiled.

“Probably my own fault, I have a short temper, plus I underestimated you and thought I was going to tackle you to the ground.”

I laughed softly.

“All set, we can go if you are ready?”

I got out of bed and looked down at my feet. My feet were bare, I still had the grey sweatpants on and the white T-shirt, and my hair hanging loose down my back. The hoody got ruined during the attack.

“We can go.”

He smiled and led the way.

We reached his office at the same time as Rafael did. He led me inside and offered me a seat in one of the two cup chairs on the opposite side of the big antique desk. Caius’s office was dark with dimmed lights, the furniture was all made of dark wood and leather. There were blackout curtains hanging from the ceiling all the way down to the wooden floors. Ajax left the office and closed the door behind him. Rafael sat on the seat next to me, he leaned forward and asked for my hands.

“Here, let me take those off.” I leaned forward and he started unwrapping my hands.

“How was your dinner?” he asked.

“It was good, I haven’t had fish in a while.” I smiled. He had finished unwrapping my hands when Caius came into the room.

We both sat back for a moment like we had done something wrong. He addressed Rafael first,

“Can I talk to her first, then I’ll call you back in?”

With a nod, Rafael left the room to wait outside. Caius turned the cup chair to face me and sat down. Our knees were a few inches apart and I felt nervous suddenly. I crossed one leg over the other, trying to seem calm about him being so close. He finally spoke and my eyes shot at his.

“Have you made a decision about my offer?” he asked, waiting for my response.

“I have,” I answered. There was a moment of silence as I examined his face. I was trying to see what he was thinking but had little luck.

“I have decided to help you.”

His face was serious, but his mouth curved a little, like he was pleased with my decision.

“Before we worked out all the logistics, I thought it would be well for us to get to know each other a bit. Would you agree if I asked you some questions?” He waited.

I took half a breath and nodded.

“Remember, I want us to build trust. I want you to feel safe and I want us to work together.”

I made myself comfortable in my chair and readied myself for whatever it was I was about to share with him, still wondering if I could trust him.

“Why can’t we find any record of you anywhere?”

Wow, straight to the point. Okay, here goes nothing.

“Because I don’t exist. My identity has been sealed from the world since day one.” I said plainly.

He looked intrigued, he shifted in his chair and leaned a little forward.

“Who hid you from the world? Was it Rebecca?”

“My father was the one who brought me to Rebecca, he saved her life in battle once and he knew he could trust her with me.”

“Why are they hiding you?”

And there it is. I was holding my breath again. It took me a little longer to answer the questions.

“Because I’m the only one of my kind.” I said, avoiding his eyes.

He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and ran his hand through his hair.

“Ariel, why is it so important that no one knows what you are?”

I closed my eyes for a second and planted my face in my hands. With a big sigh, I leaned forward and, like him, I pressed my elbows on my knees. Now looking him straight in the eyes.

“If the wrong people know about me, this war that’s going on right now will end badly for you.”

A deep frown rested on his forehead. I could see the wheels turning in his head. He obviously didn’t expect me to have any part in the war going on. He took both my hands in his and my eyes lit up again.

Knowing he did this on purpose, I tried hiding my eyes by closing them.

“Don’t close your eyes,” he said softly. His voice was deep but sensual. “You don’t have to hide from me, I promise no one here will harm you. I’ll make sure of it. Please trust me, I will keep your secret as long as you need me to.”

I bit down on my lip. I was nervous and scared.

“I am………. an Angel.”

I opened my eyes and searched his eyes for a reaction, but there was none. Maybe he froze? Or maybe he didn’t hear me? I moved a bit to see if his eyes would follow and he did.

“Aren’t you going to say something?” Panic flushed my face, and he started laughing and put his hand on my cheek and with his thumb he rubbed against my skin.

“I’m just processing, I have so many questions.” He chuckled. “So that’s how you burned the demon, and that’s why your eyes glow. If the demons are hunting us for angel blood, that means-”

“Yes. If they know about me, they’ll start hunting me for my blood- “

“And then they will be able to make stronger demons.”

“Yes.”

He called Rafael and told him to make arrangements for me to stay in a room. After he left, Caius and I talked throughout the rest of the evening. I told him about my childhood, and he told me about his. I’ve never shared this much with someone other than Rebecca. He made me feel safe, and he made me feel normal for a change. We laughed a lot, and there were some serious moments as well. The big clock in his office reached the midnight mark with a ‘dong’, and we both jumped at the sound.

“I should let you get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow, then we can go over logistics with Rafael, but for now, I’ll take you to your room. There should be clothes ready for you as well, so if you don’t mind, I’d like my sweatpants back.” He said with a smile on his face.

“Thank you, I appreciate that. And you can forget about the pants, they are mine now.” I teased.

We reached my room, and he opened the door. It looked a lot like his room. It was dark with dim lights. All the furniture was made of wood and the bedding was black. I turned around to see Caius was leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed watching me. My heart almost skipped a beat.

“What?” I felt my cheeks go red.

He smiled, “Nothing- “he ran his hand through his hair- “its nothing. Sweet dreams.”

He closed the door behind him. Oh my gosh what a night. I walked to the closet to see if there was anything I could wear. Nearly every piece of clothing was black. I went through them to see if I could find something comfortable to sleep in. I found a tight t-shirt with loose soft black Aladdin pants. I took a shower, dressed, and got into bed. I hope I sleep well tonight.