Secrets and Sins Part 2: Finding Mary

Chapter 56

~Ava~

Today was Bea's first flight test and Ava was beyond excited.

"Are you ready, Bea?" She grinned, bouncing forwards a few steps before spinning to face her girlfriend.

The sister warrior was looking far less enthusiastic, a frown tugging the corners of her mouth down as she scanned the deserted roof space.

"What if someone sees us?" Bea muttered, deep brown eyes settling on the younger woman.

"Bea…" Ava let out an exasperated sigh, "It's barely sunrise, no one is going to be up and if anyone does see us, it will just be the others."

It had been almost a week since they had escaped Rome and, as expected, the Vatican hadn’t been completely stoked with the late Pope Agusto's murder. Though they hadn't exactly issued a warrant for their arrest, Mother Superior had thought it prudent that the Halo bearers go into hiding until things were ironed out with the Church. The solution, she had decided, was hiring out an entire resort on the Palamos, a small town right on the edge of Spain's border with France, in which the inner circle were now staying alongside Ava and Beatrice as another layer of protection. Having the run of the entire place allowed Beatrice to test the limits of the second Halo's powers without ending up on the local news.

Speaking of the sister warrior, she still didn't look convinced and still hadn't moved from her spot by the locked door they had just phased through. Instead, Bea nervously bit at her lip as she shifted her weight from leg to leg. Ava changed tack, closing the distance between them so she could reach out and interlace their fingers.

"Come on baby, I've got your back. I won't let you fall. I promise." She murmured, offering her girlfriend a reassuring smile as she squeezed her hand.

Bea's resolve crumbled at Ava's words, and she finally nodded.

"We don't even know if I'll be able to bring them out." She grumbled while the younger woman led her to the roof edge.

"Sure you will Bea!" Ava chirped, excitement building again, "If I can do it, you can!"

"You definitely can't be any worse than Ava was anyway…" Halo interrupted smugly.

Bea snorted a laugh while Ava answered the relic in mock outrage.

Hey! I wasn't that bad! You weren't exactly full of helpful hints by the way…

Halo didn’t respond, leaving the younger woman to stew in her irritation. Bea squeezed her hand, refocusing the Halo bearer.

"Are we doing this or not?" The sister warrior smiled.

"Yeah…yes." Ava nodded, still feeling a little put out.

Streaks of orange were just starting to spread across the sky as the sun peeked over the horizon. Ava took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she concentrated on what she wanted. There was a low whoosh, and she felt the familiar weight of her wings pulling at her shoulder blades. Stretching and flexing the feathery appendages a few times, Ava turned to see Bea watching her with an awestruck expression.