Wings Of Fire As Humans ~ 3 ~ {GLORYBRINGER}

[5] Unlike Grandeur

~Glory~

It was early in the morning, and Deathbringer and the kids were all still asleep. I strode downstairs, my throat dry and itchy. I walked over to my cupboard, grabbed a cup, and walked over to my refrigerator. I was about to fill the cup of water when:

"Hey, Glory."

I yelped, accidentally dropping the cup and it shattered to the floor. I whirled around, and to my absolute shock, Winter was standing there giving me an apologetic smile.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to startle you." Without a second to lose, I threw my arms around him in a tight hug. He seemed startled but hugged back.

How?

It's been almost 16 years since I last saw his face. The first two years of his departure, he had sent letters, but then the letters stopped coming.

"Hands off," snapped a voice from behind Winter. I pulled away and saw a girl, about the same age as me, glaring at me. Her hair was pale white, like Winter's, but a little blonde at the same time. Her cold gaze pinned onto me and I frowned in confusion.

"Don't worry, Lynx," Winter quickly said. "She's just a friend–and you know she's married and has kids."

"And who's she?" I asked, eyeing her.

"That's my girlfriend, Lynx. We managed to escape from a prison–it's a long story," he said when he noticed my horrified expression.

I'm letting fugitives stay at my place. That's not something I'd have ever expected to happen.

"Who let you guys in?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Deathbringer," Lynx said with a slight nod. "Last night. He said we could stay a couple of days until we could get a hold of a job."

"He certainly did not discuss that with me." I eyed the broken glass pieces on the floor with a sigh and reached for a broom. "Well, make yourselves at home, I guess. I'll call Moon and the others to tell them the news."

"That'd be nice," Winter said with a smile. "It's been so long since I've last seen them."

He's different, I thought. A lot less grumpy and happier. Is it because of Lynx or because he's gotten his life under control?

"Mom?" muttered a tired voice from upstairs as the person walked down the stairs. "Is that you? What's happening?" Jade's eyes landed right on Winter and Lynx before back to me with a puzzled expression. "Um, strangers in our house in the middle of the night? How normal."

"It's actually early in the morning," Lynx interjected with a respectful nod.

"Does Dad know about this?" she asked skeptically as she rubbed her eyes.

"He was the one who let them in," I answered with an eye roll as I cleaned up the broken glass pieces. "Of course, I would've appreciated it if he had asked me first, but no, go ahead and let a stranger into our home." I glanced at Lynx, who frowned down at me.

"I'm too tired to deal with you being mad at Dad," Jade said, turning around and heading back up the stairs. "Good night."

"It's actually morning," Lynx called before sighing. She turned back to me.

"So, what happens around here?" she asked as she leaned onto the island.

"We've got annoying neighbors, so get ready for that," I said with an eye roll. "Um, we're just going through a lot at the moment but other than that, this place is so great." I tried not to make that last part sound sarcastic.