Shadow Beings

40. Secrets and Time

"Hey Galen," I said in a soft voice, breaking the silence, and he turned towards me with a nod. "sometimes, I hear another voice within me. I always thought it could be my inner thoughts, but..."

"You think it's your spirit, as an angel?"

Galen smiled and I nodded, the thought suddenly feeling so natural. It was so indistinguishable from my general thoughts, but perhaps the raspiness that accompanied it was the sign of something else within me...

As an angel.

"It's pretty nice how a sentient creature is the spirit of an angel. I wonder how that's decided, perhaps something similar to our abilities?"

"Maybe. But anyway, a raven's spirit really suits you, little raven."

Galen seemed particularly proud of that and he wore a smug smile, though it did display a flicker of pride. I chuckled until that odd realisation dawned on me and I narrowed my eyes towards my friend.

"How do you know that my spirit is a raven?"

A nervous smile slipped onto Galen's face as he frowned, thinking hard. I waited anxiously as he waited for moments before finally speaking in a confused tone, something unexpected from him.

"I'm...not sure. I think..."

He frowned, and I could see that it was genuine. A patient expression came on my face, and I let him take his time.

"I think... it was around sixteen years ago? I was looking for you, and I went to...your mother. And..."

Galen's eyes slightly narrowed as if suddenly remembered something, and an apologetic expression came on his face.

"I heard your mother mention that you were an angel."

My eyes widened in surprise and I gasped gently, looking at Galen in disbelief. My focus converged on him, my thoughts wary.

"I almost remember it now. Your mother had convinced me to not talk about it, and I was a child back then, so I listened to her because I felt she was right. It was an accident, and it just wasn't my place to even know about it.

"I'm honestly sorry, Audrey. I don't know, and still don't think it would be right for me to say anything. But I'm sorry to keep such an important thing from you."

Galen's hands gently rubbed his neck, and his small smile spread awkwardly on his face. Truth sparkled in his eyes, and I knew that dishonesty was not his trait in the slightest, especially secrets from me, which is why this hurt me... somewhat.

Stop lying to yourself. Hypocrite.

I sighed. He was right. My mum was very convincing and even Jay didn't know about me for a while. There was no one Galen could talk to. Ava was far too young at the time and Galen didn't like burdening others - the fool didn't realise he could never be a burden. Besides, he was six; this wasn't fair to him.

But twelve years is a lot. Was it really worth the wait? What if everything could have end faster? After learning about that however... time's passage isn't as simple as it may seem.

My mother was where I got this part of me from, ultimately she knew when the time was right. And Galen was only a child; me having angelic blood has nothing important to do with the world, does it? Everything depends on Vlad. 

I looked down at the grass briefly, taking a deep breath. "You're right, Galen. It's just hard to believe... I don't know. You could've told me sometime in those twelve years?"

My voice came a bit louder than I intended it to be, but Galen maintained a calm expression. He didn't flinch or show any signs of annoyance. For that I was grateful, but something burdenous pulled my gut down. The tiniest moment of anger can be uncomfortable for me, even if I disliked direct dishonesty. This was just something unexpected from him.