Above the Winter Skies [English Version]

8

After the whole ordeal, Cassiel had disappeared, and I hadn't seen him in the hall. The rest of my shift passed in a daze behind the bar, and when Nova and I returned to our floor around two in the morning, I suddenly felt terribly lonely, though I didn't understand why. Nothing had changed. Or had it?

"Now come on, tell me, what did you do with Cassiel?" she asked, now for the third time. I sighed.

"The usual."

"Oh no, I'm not letting you off that easily!" She giggled like a schoolgirl. Clearly, she had indulged in a bit too much wine.

"Why is it so important?" I asked as I unlocked the door to my room. "You've had plenty of private bookings too."

"Yes, but not with him," she replied. She followed me into my room, apparently determined not to give up, and flopped down on my bed. "Cassiel is the most attractive of them all, and he hardly ever goes into the private rooms. Did you dance for him? Did he have any special requests?"

Oh yes, he did, I thought.

"Mhm," I replied vaguely. My cheeks flushed as uninvited images appeared in my mind. I felt sorry for not being honest with my new friend after we had already shared so much, but I just couldn't bring myself to tell her what had really happened—and what I felt.

"It was actually pretty boring," I said instead. "I danced a bit, he drank wine, that was it."

Nova looked so disappointed that I had to laugh. "What?" I said. "What else did you expect to happen in the private room?"

"Well, exactly that," she said. "I guess I was hoping it would be more exciting... You know they can touch you if you allow it, right?" Her eyes sparkled. I hadn't seen her this curious before.

"Nova!" I exclaimed. "Why would I want that?"

Lie, lie, lie! And yet, I did want it. I felt ashamed for lying to her face like this and resolved firmly to make it up to her someday, to eventually tell her everything, but first I had to sort things out with myself and figure out why the angel was confusing me so much.

She laughed. "I'm just saying. It's probably wise to stay away from the Seraphim and not get too close to them, but you can't deny they have a certain effect on us humans. Especially him." She furrowed her brow, twirling one of her dark curls thoughtfully between her index finger and thumb. "I can kind of understand Avah."

"Did Avah go to the private room with Cassiel?" The question slipped out before I could stop it, but I didn't regret it. I had sat down on my bed next to Nova and was now looking at her with wide eyes, anxiously awaiting her answer.

"Not that I know of," she said. "Maybe before my time."

I let out a breath.

"You've been on the ships for six months already."

"Yes, but Avah has been doing this for three years. Before her time on the Aetheria, we were on the Zephyria together, but before that, she worked on the Aurora for over two years."

"Three years!" I exclaimed. I knew the stories of the other girls, but not Avah's. She had not been on deck for a single afternoon. What prompted a young woman to stay in the service of the angels for so long? Did she have no life to return to, or at least the dream of a life outside the ships?

"That's a long time," Nova agreed, "and I think she's afraid of being let go soon. She's almost twenty-five, and you've surely noticed that all the dancers here are very young. Daria is only eighteen. No one talks about it, but that's certainly not a coincidence. I think the angels prefer young women."