Above the Winter Skies [English Version]

26

"Ca ... Cass?" My voice trembled so much that I couldn't pronounce his name properly. But I was also so quiet that he might not have heard me anyway.

I got up— the spell was broken—pulled up my pants, and crawled into a dark corner. My body hadn't quite realized that the danger was over—at least for now. I was still shaking and trembling, and I couldn't stop crying, no matter how hard I tried.

I curled up with my legs drawn up and my arms wrapped around them, trying to make myself as small as possible.

From my hiding spot, I watched what happened in the next few minutes. Having been so scared for my own life, I now feared for Cassiel's.

He had pulled Ezrael off me, but was then attacked from behind by Gabriel and Hariel. Even though they were two against one, they couldn't bring him down, and soon Ezrael joined the fray. I quickly realized that Cassiel was stronger than all three of them combined. An intense battle unfolded before me on the deck, with the three Cherubim not playing fair. They kept attacking Cassiel from behind, trying to bring him down, their eyes filled with grim determination.

But Cassiel was no less determined, and although they attacked him from all sides and barely gave him room to defend himself, he held on bravely.

I felt paralyzed, wanting so much to help him, but I knew I wouldn't be able to, that I would only get in the way if I tried to assist—likely making things even worse and diminishing his chances further. So all I could do was watch anxiously and hope they would soon leave him alone, while making myself as inconspicuous as possible to avoid drawing attention.

After Ezrael took a hard blow to the face and turned away with a bleeding nose, Gabriel and Hariel were momentarily alone.

The two Cherubim obviously realized they had no chance without Ezrael and withdrew. Cassiel turned away.

"I hope you've had enough," he said. He sounded exhausted. "Get off my ship and don't ever show yourselves here again."

And then I saw it, just for a split second: something silver flashed in Hariel's hand, then he lunged at Cassiel from behind.

"Cassiel! Watch out!" I shouted. My voice was loud and too shrill, but it didn't matter at that moment. Cassiel reacted immediately and spun around, so Hariel's knife landed in his shoulder instead of between his shoulder blades where it would have shredded his lung.

I brought my hands to my face and let out a scream.

But Cassiel only staggered briefly. Then he pulled the knife out of himself and drove it with full force into Hariel's heart.

The Cherub's eyes widened in shock and he pressed his hand to the bleeding wound.

"You miserable ...!" he gasped, which sounded half like a gurgle. The sound made me shiver. Then he collapsed.

Almost at the same moment, something happened with the Aetheria. It tipped backward, rearing up with a deafening tearing and crashing sound. I clung to one of the sunbeds, which were firmly anchored to the floor, but Hariel wasn't so lucky. In his death struggle, he slid down the deck and eventually fell over the railing, plunging into the depths. Gabriel and Ezrael put their arms around each other and shouted something into Hariel's ear that I couldn't understand. Then they pushed off from the deck and rose into the air, with Gabriel supporting his injured friend.

Within moments, they had disappeared into the darkness, and now Cassiel was with me.

"Lumi," he said. He sounded breathless, his face twisted in pain. Blood was still seeping from his shoulder. "We need to get out of here."

Despite his obvious pain, he lifted me almost effortlessly, carried me in his arms, and let his wings burst forth. Then he pushed off from the deck with all his strength.

We shot into the sky.

And in the blink of an eye, I could see below us how the Aetheria plummeted into the depths.

"Where have you been?" he asked me as he flew through the air with me in his arms. By now, I was only barely conscious. I kept nodding off, and when I was awake, everything seemed like a crazy dream. A crazy, cruel, and very, very painful dream.

But I was in Cassiel's arms. That was all that mattered.

I mumbled something I didn't even understand. Then I realized that I was seeing his wings for the first time, gigantic golden feathers shimmering beautifully in the moonlight.

"Your wings are beautiful, Cass" I mumbled dazedly. "Just like you."

Once again, I had used the informal "Cass," something humans were never supposed to do under any circumstances, but if it bothered him, he didn't show it. Probably the whole situation was so extraordinary that this small detail no longer mattered.

He laughed, but it sounded more like a sob.

"I searched for you everywhere, Lumi. I told you to wait for me in my quarters!"

"I ..." I started, but I didn't know how to finish the sentence. I was so unbelievably tired and speaking was so exhausting. And what could I have said anyway? That I had lost trust in him? That I had been terrified after seeing the Seraphim fleeing?

He could surely figure that out for himself if he hadn't already felt it.

"Thank you," I murmured instead. "For everything."

Cassiel pulled me closer.

"We're almost there," he murmured. "Hang in there. Once we're in Araboth, I can help you. I can heal you."

You really want to take me to Araboth? I wanted to ask him. To the place that no human was ever supposed to enter?

But a sentence of that length seemed far too exhausting. So I just nestled closer into his comforting embrace and buried my face against his chest. I inhaled the familiar scent, felt the rhythm of his heart.

And then I slowly drifted away. The last thing I heard was his voice. That rough voice that meant everything to me, the one I would never distrust again, the one I would always obey from now on.

"Everything will be alright, snow kitten."

The End