Angels of a Feather

Chapter 4

It took awhile for sleep to finally catch up to me. Nick had seen my bruises. I got off the couch and went to the bathroom, turning on the light. It was bright compared to the darkness of the apartment. I pulled the shirt off and actually looked at myself in the mirror.

We didn’t have mirrors in the Angel Realm. Adalyn told us that Mother had banished them so we wouldn’t be too vain. I never knew what I looked like until now. I had black hair and skin almost the color of snow. I enjoyed seeing myself for the first time. 

Then my eyes traveled lower, seeing the black and blue bruises on my chest and arms. It made me look even paler. I softly touched it. 

At least... at least these wounds would heal... unlike my wings. I would never see my wings or learn to fly... I quickly put the shirt back on, down with seeing the damage they had inflicted upon me.

Never again would they harm me. That was why I had left. I was going to live in the human realm and learn everything and be happy here. I was already happier in the few hours in the human realm than my whole life in the angel realm. 482 years... and a human made me happier than the whole Angel realm. 

I crawled back onto the couch and under the warm blanket and after a while, sleep overtook me.

“Morning,” I heard Nick say as he nudged me awake on the couch. “I have breakfast.”

“Breakfast? It’s not gruel... Is it?” I asked, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

“No... eggs, bacon, and toast,” he said. “With hot tea to drink. Gruel is peasant food anyway.”

I blinked as I was given a plate. It was yellowy white and dark brown. Much prettier looking than gruel or porridge. “Gruel and porridge was all we ate,” I said, picking up one of the dark brown strips. “This is bacon, right?”

“Mhmm,” Nick nodded, munching on his own bacon. I happily ate all of my food. I spread strawberry jam on my toast and added honey to my tea until it was sweet. Everything in the human realm was so delicious. Nick was quietly eating as well. 

When we finished, I helped Nick bring the dishes to the sink. “That was delicious,” I told him, smiling. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” he grinned. “So Ari... I have to know, where are you from?”

I froze, unsure how to answer and Nick just had soft, understanding eyes. “I-I’m from... somewhere far away from here,” I told him.

Nick nodded. “Maybe this will help,” he said. He turned his attention to the dishes and I watched as a spoon started stirring itself in its cup. 

“How are you...?” the question unable to finish forming.

“I’m telekinetic,” he explained. “I can move stuff with my mind. I don’t do it often because it’s more effort than it's worth, but it does come in handy when I can’t reach the remote.” I nodded. “I got the gift, as Kanai calls it, because I’m a halfling.”

My eyes widened. “A halfling?” I repeated. 

Nick nodded. “Yeah, one of the big three,” he explained. The big three were the most powerful Angels in the realms. No one knew what happened to them, but they were whispered about in the angel realm. Adalyn punished any she heard talking about them and none of our books spoke of them.

“They exist?” I asked, eyes wide.

“Well, that’s what Kanai’s told me anyway,” Nick said. “So you aren’t human then.”

I shook my head. “No... I’m an angel,” I said.