Secrets And Sins Part 3: Happy ever after

Chapter 57

~Ava~

The sky above the desolate plains seemed moodier than usual, the clouds almost black with the promise of a storm. Even the wind appeared sharper, whipping up great swathes of bone colored dust. It was an eerily perfect reflection of Ava's mood because something was up, Ava knew it was, yet no one would tell her what.

After a week of non-event, Raphael had come by an hour ago, had a rather tense looking whispered conversation with Gabriel, and left with a grim-faced Halo. Since then, Ava was doing her best to remain aloof, unphased by the sudden tension she could feel emanating from her father, but the not knowing was starting to drive her crazy.

Eventually she couldn't take it anymore.

Ava turned around. "Where's Halo?"

Gabriel didn't look up from the glass in his hand. He had been brooding on the couch since Halo's departure. "How should I know?"

She crossed her arms in front of herself, not impressed. "Well, it's your Halo, isn't it?"

"It's actually your Halo," dark eyes lifted to catch her own, "and if it wasn't obvious, I am, in fact, in exile just like you are. I can't exactly see through walls to watch what it does."

"They."

Gabriel's eyebrows rose in surprise. "What?"

"They. Not it." Ava had no idea why she was defending Halo's honor all of a sudden and swiftly changed the subject, dropping into the lounge opposite her father. "Do all angels have Halos?"

"No."

"No...?" She blinked. Gabriel's answer was completely unexpected.

"The Halo is passed down the angelic line," Gabriel tilted his head as though he was considering something, "or sometimes across it. There is only one."

"How come Michael doesn't have the Halo then?" Ava picked at the edge of the couch cushion. "He's your king, isn't he?"

The angel snorted bitterly at that. "He is not our king, he is the chair of the Council, and he wasn't the next to receive it, I was. Then Reya stole it, and Adriel, but only because it was destined to reach you, and that was the only way for it to accomplish that."

"Them." Ava insisted again and almost instantly bit her tongue.

Gabriel pursed his lips. "The only way for them to accomplish that."

"So if Michael doesn't have the Halo, why is he in charge?"

"Michael is the eldest, and our leader." He shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. "That's the way it always has been."

"Well he fucking sucks." Ava's nose wrinkled as she said it.

"I agree."

Silence fell between them, and Ava watched the angel top up his drink. The amber liquid was whisky despite sharing the same hue, it was oddly thick and the one time she got close enough to smell it; it had the odor of fermented sugar.

Ava's gaze lifted back to her father's, annoyingly passive expression. She had a feeling Gabriel knew more about what was going on than what he was telling her. It was strange how easy it was to get information out of him, though it was always entirely on his terms. If she asked a question that he didn't want her to know the answer to, Gabriel just wouldn't answer until Ava asked something different.

She only knew what he allowed her to know, and that really pissed her off.

"So..." Ava started with a drawl, spite and frustration driving her next words. "You fucked Reya, huh?"