Ethereal

Chapter 38

"Emilia!" A voice called out, pulling me away from the haze of disorientation the bright light had caused. My ears felt as though they were ringing, though it seemed to fade once a warm hand grabbed mine.

The brightness seemed to clear – or perhaps I had just become accustomed to it. Andrew was the one tugging at my hand, pulling me across the cloudsoil.

"We need to get to safety." He told me, looking anxious. "This isn't your fight – you shouldn't be hurt because of it."

In the sky above us, I could see them fighting. Flashes of silver against flashes of gold, equally matched, as bright as they were. It was almost like nothing was happening, many of the angels were fighting hand-to-hand, though this strange light erupting from them seemed to be their greatest weapon. All of the angels were equally as strong as each other it seemed, no one was getting the upper hand.

"We'll go back through the portal." Andrew said hurriedly, still tugging me along. We were running away from the fight now, to the other side of the island. "We'll go to Earth, I know a place we can hide until it's over."

My gaze wandered back to the fight, but they were so evenly matched – how could I possible be of help? The fallen believed that the angels would be distracted trying to protect me, so without me there to distract them they're on even footing – that was the best that I could give them.

"Wait!" I pulled Andrew to a stop, a sudden thought occurring in my mind.

"What's wrong?" Andrew's eyes were blazing with fear, though I wasn't sure what he was so afraid of. The angels and fallen were all evenly matched, no one would be able to defeat him in a fight.

"My father." I said quickly. "He's locked up... we have to take him with us. He can't defend himself in there..."

Andrew looked torn, but he nodded his consent. "Okay." He agreed, "Although I have no idea how we are going to get him out."

"There will be a way." I promised him. "There has to be."

"Put your wings back." Andrew told me, I widened my eyes, didn't I need to fly to get back to the portal? Seeming to sense my confusion, he continued "Your wings are a give-away, I'll carry you up, that way we'll be less suspicious. Hopefully they're too busy to notice, but it'll be less risky."

"Okay." I nodded, reluctantly taking my wings back inside my shoulders. I itched to let them back out, but he was right – they stood out.

Andrew stretched out his own wings, preparing to take flight. He wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and launched us off of the ground.

Being held so close to him like this, being able to feel the heat of his chest, reminded me of his stolen kiss. It was strange, the way the thought made my insides feel warmer.

Andrew's wings were just a fraction wider than Noah's were, and far larger than my own. They felt more powerful than any I had experienced before whenever they beat down, sending us higher.

We landed right outside the tunnel leading to the courtroom, the flight had been so fast – we were in a hurry, after all. It felt almost sad when Andrew let go of me – though his hands seemed to linger on me for a second longer than they should have done.

He tucked his wings back into his shoulders immediately, and the two of us hurried inside. The place was deserted – everyone was outside, helping to aid in the fight. Did the angels know what it was they were fighting for?

Andrew seemed to know his way to the cells – he headed in that direction immediately. I almost forgot that there would have been a time when he called this place home.