Essence of the Angels (The Starlight Chronicles #2)

Chapter Fourteen

Lucy's POV

I winced, pushing myself upright and rubbing the place where the angels had gripped my arm. They were strong.

"What are we going to do?" Neo asked, scrambling to his feet. I resisted the urge to snap at him for causing this whole mess.

"Andrew and Kyra will be back for us—hopefully without getting caught. Still, this probably wouldn't have happened if you'd backed off."

Neo frowned at me in the dark.

"You don't understand. These city angels have their heads so far up their asses they can't even see what's really happening around them. We needed to know—"

"Yes, I know," I cut in quickly. "I know we need the sword, but you could have handled that much better. Now we're stuck in this cell."

"I know," he said quickly, and dropped his gaze. "I know . . . I'm sorry. I just lost my temper."

I sighed and shuffled back until I was leaning against the cell wall. He joined me, taking a seat next to me.

"Well . . . we're here now, so you might as well tell me —what's the deal between the sanctuary angels and the city angels?"

Neo hesitated, like he didn't want to say—or couldn't say. Eventually however, he gave in.

"It's just your typical disagreements between cultures. When Titania created us, she was big on equality—you know, a purpose for every being? Some of the sanctuary angels felt there was an imbalance, because more duties and expectations fell on us back then, compared to the city angels, who worked directly with Titania while she was alive. There was talk amongst us that the city angels never did anything while the rest of us were basically running the universe and tending to every need the Starlighters had.

"It all truly fell apart when the Starlight Barrier formed—the sanctuary angels were made to assist the Starlighters, so they had to light the barrier. According to the Council, the city angels haven't been seen outside of the city since it formed. They just . . . didn't help, or didn't care to help. Who knows, but we don't agree with it. That's why there's bad blood between us."

I frowned. "If they worked for Titania, maybe they had special duties?" I suggested. "Secret duties, even? That they had to stay quiet about?"

Neo gave me a pointed look. "Why are you defending them?"

I recoiled. "I'm not—I'm just trying to understand. I mean . . . there's two sides to every story, right?" He shook his head in disbelief, but I wasn't convinced yet. "Think about it—Ivan said that Adlockeve is where the source of Starlight is. It can't just be available to anybody; it needs protecting. What if that's part of their job?"

"Why would all of these angels be needed to guard a lake of Starlight?" Neo asked pointedly. "They're angels— they're fast, they can fly, and let's not forget that Adlockeve is in the very heart of the sun. It's not easy to access, by any means."

Well, he had a point there.

We sat for a long time, waiting and wondering if anybody was coming for us. I even began to nod off at one point—for lack of anything else to do—when the door suddenly opened again and a tall, slender man walked in. He looked between the two of us, frowning. His hair was honey blonde against his dark skin.

"I was summoned. Apparently, you two and a bunch of other outsiders were asking for me?" he drawled slowly as he shut the door behind him. I straightened my slouch and cocked my head slightly.