She planned to kill Amelia first, but seeing her best friend on the bed covered in blankets and cords showed Grey firsthand how shitty that joke was.
Black stitches laced through Amelia's shoulder and down half of her upper arm. Dried blood caked around the closed wound and resembled rust. Her eyes were peacefully closed and her chest rose and fell in harmony with the heart rate monitor that rested at her side. Luca curled around Amelia's feet and Jungkook had dozed off in an armchair, but came back to life when he heard the door close.
"It was a terrible animal attack as far as this hospital is concerned." he said.
"Animal attack? I don't know about you but I've never seen skeletons with skin and bone wings at the local zoo."
He tongued the inside of his cheek, passing a glance at the door behind her like he was thinking about leaving. He must have noticed how upset she was, finally deciding to elaborate. "The doctors and nurses will tell you it's an animal attack. She will tell you it was an animal attack when she wakes up. I can be very convincing."
She supposed it was plausible if it helped Amelia forget and separated her from the danger by miles. How he persuaded everyone in the vicinity of the same incident? She didn't bother to ask, finding her best friend's semi-revived corpse more important.
Silence blanketed the hospital suite while the heart rate monitor did all the talking. Without Amelia to be her spokesperson or initiate conversation effortlessly, Grey fished for something to say in the meantime. A good conversation starter.
"Angels sleep?"
He rubbed his eyes, wary after he fully absorbed a glimpse of her wrecked state--the disheveled hair, the bags under her eyes. "Yeah," he said.
"Why?"
"We don't need it, but it gives us an energy boost after we stay up for too many days." He stared out the window to the other quarters of the hospital where the cancer treatment center and cafeteria met. Doctors and nurses shuffled around the entrance with food or file folders, no larger than ants from this distance. That gave her another idea.
"Do you eat?"
When he pulled his gaze away from the cafeteria, he focused on his hands in his lap--which looked extremely empty without the katana blade. "Occasionally. We can, but it doesn't fuel us the way it fuels you guys. Except recently, we became a bit more dependent on it."
"I can get you something from the cafeteria," she said and pointed towards the door.
He shook his head instantly. "No, it's fine."
She awkwardly rocked back and forth from her heels to her toes, staring at the tiny mole underneath Amelia's right ear to pass some time. After a while, she couldn't take the quiet any longer.
While brushing one of Amelia's stray hairs behind the girl's ear she said, "Thank you for helping last night."
"You don't have to thank me."
"I will anyway." At this, he finally looked at her. "You saved me, too. Technically, I owe you my life."
"You don't owe me anything. It's my job."
"It wasn't your job to help her," Grey corrected. "It wasn't your job to stay here and watch over her either. But you did. Why?"
The corner of his lip twitched as though he'd been caught in a lie. It was her turn to listen and his turn to talk. Knowing this, Grey sat in one of the plastic chairs by the door and scooted to Amelia's bedside. Her friend's hands were still soft. She grinned as she ran a finger over the back of one.
"I hate when bad things happen to good people. It's upsetting when they don't deserve what's given to them. Killing as many of those monsters as I can never seems to pay off. They always come back and they always take someone else."
Before she could stop it, she retorted. "You can't blame yourself for this. You said it yourself, they're all over the city. You can't control who they attack, but every time you get a chance you keep their number of victims small. You can't save everyone."
He wasn't planning on answering and it was clear by the way he crossed one leg over the other and inspected the iv bags hooked into Amelia's arm. In that case, she'd get her point across.
"If you're looking for someone to blame, then the blame's all mine. It probably realized I don't belong here."
Jungkook frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"It's a long story."
Jungkook furrowed his brows in confusion, so she clarified.
"A bear, a cat, a park bench, then a lake. You wouldn't believe me. Either way, I'm here and just trying to figure this new world out. You're not the only one with weird shit going on."
Jungkook measured her, and grinned. Actually grinned at her before chuckling. The tiny smile was amazing. He couldn't have been that much older than her in the scheme of things. Plus, she noticed something else. She'd never seen many bunnies in her life, and she'd never once thought of labeling them as anything more than cute. But Jungkook? He was the most attractive bunny she'd ever seen.
There wasn't any distaste behind his curious expression when he sighed at her. That somehow lifted a weight off of her shoulders. The thought of him being angry with her or anything for that matter bothered her, and she recognized what she truly wanted from the bodyguard.
She didn't want him to be just polite or think she was just an extra task. She wanted him to understand that she was alone in this, that she needed someone else. And she couldn't put her finger on it, but a piece of her wanted him to fill the role of someone she could turn to.
There wasn't an explanation, she just knew he was it. It was easy to trust in his silence, easier to trust in his protection.
"I'm sorry if my sudden arrival throws a wrench in all of your plans or demon hunting," she said, gliding fingertips over Amelia's forearm. "I want us to start off on the right foot. I already consider you a friend and it would suck if you didn't feel the same way," she innocently peeked at him through her lashes, already becoming comfortable in the lightened mood.
"Grey," Jungkook groaned and smoothed over a piece of his parted hair. Her name on his lips lingered in her thoughts longer than it needed to. "I'm not mad at all, just anxious. I had to think a lot of things through. There are other factors involved. Things larger than you and I."
"Yeah, tell me something I don't know."
If she had a nickel for every time someone raised the stakes...
"We need to get you cleaned up. You have a big night tonight."
She kissed the back of Amelia's hand and stood up. "Let me guess, more demon ambushes."
Jungkook grabbed the chair she had sat in and wheeled it closer to the door. "Jin petitioned Consent for your protection to the rest of Anaphiel. You don't want to show up to that meeting unprepared."
"That's tonight?" Grey almost stumbled as she whirled on the young prince.
"It would be better to find out if they are willing to accept you now rather than later. Getting five votes won't be easy. So Jin and I are going to press the issue while you're new here."
There were seven in total, but to only have to earn five meant...
"Jungkook?" She lifted Luca from the bed, settling the kitten atop both of her arms. He was halfway through the threshold when he paused to peer over his shoulder. "You're giving me yours already?"
Shyly, his gaze flicked to the floor then back to her. "I wish to consider you a friend. To do that, you have to be alive."
Fighting the smile threatening to blossom on her cheeks, Grey nodded, realization dawning on her heavy heart. Winning over two that she spent time with was easy. If there were five more she had yet to meet... what would they think of her?
The pair ventured to the front of the hospital and hailed a taxi.
:::
The apartment door opened with Grey's keys, but when she went inside it no longer felt like hers. Instead, it was like this place belonged to another version of her where she'd had a life suspended in time. One of her couch pillows was still on the floor, books still open to a certain page, laptop still unfolded on the coffee table--as though it was owned by a waitress trying to get a book deal.
Jungkook surveyed the living room as though it was a candy shop, eyes darting from the ceiling to the pictures on the walls, to the trinkets on her shelves. All the colors, the detail and decoration that she'd poured into this place with savings from her job at The Parlour. Her old job, if she was coming properly. He stayed by the entrance and cleared his throat.
"I have to meet with the others and help them get settled. Good luck tonight."
"Thanks," she said, smiling weakly as he closed her door. Luca yawned mightily, pink-padded paws stretching and flexing until she blinked herself fully awake. Grey walked her into the bedroom and plopped her down in her bed.
The midday sun still bathed the space in golden daylight. She had a couple hours before the designated meeting time at sundown. In other words, she had just enough time left to live her own life before handing off the leash to someone else. She thought about watching her favorite movie again, cooking a final meal, dancing and jumping on her bed. Then again, two things defeated those urges tremendously. A shower, and time to think.
Luca rested her head on the plush edge of the cushion, feline eyes boring a hole into the side of Grey's head as the human girl dug into her dresser drawer for fresh clothes. "Any questions?"
Grey huffed and set a few ensembles onto her sheets, using her bottom lip to blow a curl from out of her face. "What can I wear that best says I'm desperately pleading for my life?"
"It is not your attire that will make their decision."
No denying that the right get-up would help. She tossed the casual dresses she'd selected to her dirty laundry basket. "Do you really think I can do this?"
"I know you are the only one that can." Luca licked the back of her front paw. Satisfied with her work, she laid down again. "It is embedded in who you are. Pure heart bearers are not found every day."
"I do not have a pure heart," Grey scoffed.
"Denying it does not make it untrue. You bring the goodness out of others without lifting a finger."
She balled up a skirt and tossed it. "You have extremely high expectations."
"Yours are not high enough."
"Even if I did have the right heart, it means nothing to angels that got kicked out of heaven." Back in her closet, Grey removed another basket she'd reserved for clothes that she'd never folded. Dumping all the articles on the bed, she sifted through whatever stood out first. "They're Fallen because they did something. Didn't care about the rules or went against them or whatever."
"More knowledge you derived from the books that you like?"
"Common sense," Grey corrected, "angels don't have a reason to be here."
Luca murmured to herself. "Humans are so one-track minded."
"What do you think cats are supposed to be?" Grey scoffed, "Look, do you have a better explanation? As far as I'm concerned they could have killed other angels. Terrorized humans." Grey unbuttoned her pajama top, sick of feeling dirty. Throwing it to the ground, she did the same thing with her pants. "They are warriors. Unnecessary violence makes sense. Wait, if they're killers then why am I asking them for help?"
Luca located a bag of starflakes tied with a turquoise ribbon on Grey's windowsill a few feet from the pet bed. She licked her lips and advanced towards the treats. "They are a lot of things, but they are not mindless. Anaphiel directs their swords to the soldiers of the Severed Realm. Demons, hellions, creatures of nightmares--all of which have a taste for you. I recommend embracing the only team in the world that has expertise in getting rid of them."
When the kitten pawed at the plastic, Grey snapped. "Get away from those! They're for dessert and I can't help you exercise while I'm locked up in a castle."
Luca leered at Grey. "Are you saying I am in need of exercise?"
Honestly, Luca was not the paperweight that Grey first adopted in the park. "That is not what I am saying," the girl groaned, "and please spare me from more terminology. The Severed Realms? I'm stressed enough. Don't need another reminder that I don't know what the hell I'm doing."
"The Severed Realm is singular and it is synonymous to Hell. A dimension physically separated from the Eternal Realm, which you will know as Heaven from your home world. This Heaven is not quite the same." Saddened that she could not unlock the snacks, Luca humphed heavier than she needed to.
"Must you do this now?" Grey ground her teeth in annoyance, rubbing her temples. "Please share some of the differences."
"Heavenly kingdoms, more classes of angels with higher and low ranking, a code of values all celestial beings must follow. We can save that discussion for later if you would like."
"And just like everything we do around here, it's about to get weirder." She rolled her eyes, putting this fragment of information in the unfinished puzzle piece that made this version of Seoul.
"Forget it, I'll just wear this," said Grey, yanking something red and fuzzy from the top of the pile. Wordlessly, she shut herself in the bathroom and hopped into the shower, using her vanilla scented soap to distract her from the persistent countdown that was time. As soon as she dried her body, the first hint of setting sun kissed her bare skin.
Grey checked herself in the mirror. The candy apple red sweater was thick and hung off one shoulder, a black lace bralette wrapped around her neck along with two golden necklaces--one a choker, the other a pearl pendant. With luck, she'd also picked the nicest pair of charcoal gray skinny jeans with rips at the knee.
She grabbed her purse and slid the diamond studs from her nightstand back into her ears. At last, she tucked her flowing hair behind her ears so that they could be seen. Twirling for Luca, she shrugged. "What do you think?"
"Very Grey," Luca commented, arching her back as she stood from the pet bed.
"If you were able to talk this whole time, why didn't you speak up when I asked about my pink dress for the social?"
"Would you have kept me if I would have spoken?"
I would have shipped you off far away from this doorstep. "Point taken."
Grey snatched her car keys from her purse, pleased to find that all of her writing notebooks were still at the bottom. With one jingle of the keys, the kitten trotted over and sat before the door. She wiggled into a pair of black suede booties, adjusting to the heels as soon as she marched out of her apartment for the last time.
Luca jogged before her owner, using her body as an obstacle between Grey and the front entrance. Grey caught herself before she was able to accidentally step on her.
"What's the matter?"
Luca became serious, not moving a muscle as she spoke slowly. "I cannot be with you in the meeting. You should know their results determine whether or not I can remain your guardian."
"Oh," Grey frowned.
"The second you leave this place and enter that gathering, you will fall deeper into a world that you may not ever wholly understand. Is this what you really wish to do?"
Is it?
Taking this first step was sprinting into the beginning of a cave; she could see neither her pathway nor what lied on the other side, but she would trudge blindly forward to whatever end.
Staying here meant losing herself; and there was so much to lose.
"I have to, Luca."
The finality of the statement electrified her. Because in every fiber of her being, it was right. No matter the consequences, she had to get home.
The cat's feline lips lifted into a smile.
:::
Her heart beat in her ears as the elevator propelled skyward.
Five of seven. You can do that. Five of seven.
Getting less than that meant this entire circus would pick up and move away. The skyscraper, the new job, the kitten. One steady hand held onto the elevator's railing, the other was over her chest, counting the rapid beats thumping through her ribs. Floor 36 passed, nausea churned through her stomach. Since stillness was unattainable, she paced until the doors opened onto 41 and revealed Kim Seokjin already waiting for her.
He did not smile, but the unguarded vulnerability behind his stare sent her emotions in a flurry. She stepped off the elevator as he turned and led her through the Great Hall. Familiar with it now, she welcomed the storming fireplace and calmed momentarily under the ambient purple lights.
Regardless, the peace was short-lived. The Great Hall overflowed with hidden energy, an encircling buzz that paralleled an electric shock. This thrumming, this pulse gushed through the pillars and past the elaborate windows. Her desire to move increased tenfold--resistance almost unbearable because the sensation could be described as none other than ethereal strength.
Jin brought her to colossal, obsidian wood and iron doors. With his hands on the handle, she heard him tell her under his breath, "I will do my best for you."
The door's creak vibrated through her skull as it opened to a room that was pitch-black save for an overwhelming glass chandelier over a long, rectangular table of the same crystalline. Water, white and rumbling, rolled down subtle ridges carved in the dark walls, the smell of fresh rain wafting into the Great Hall. Her heels clicked over black, veined marble floors and she met the eyes of the men that turned her way simultaneously.
She had to be dreaming.
Cooling her frantic nerves, she sat in the only chair left at the gorgeous table--the head seat across from Jin who took the opposite center place.
To his left, Min Yoongi blinked slowly, the indifference in his silence somehow deafening; Park Jimin's full lips curled into a smirk riddled with an unfair amount of ambiguity; V from the pet store stared at her as though she had three eyes.
To Jin's right, Kim Namjoon remained deathly serious with both hands crossed atop the table; Jung Hoseok regarded her calmly though he drummed his fingertips on the glass; Jungkook gifted her with a half-smile and then observed the rest of the men at the table.
Jin cleared his throat, successfully getting at least three of them to pay attention to him. "If all members are ready to proceed, please share your presence and mind."
As one, the other councilmen repeated, "We are present."
Namjoon leaned back in his chair, sultry yet knowing glance reading into everything that made her who she was. She didn't drown in those eyes, but was vacuumed instead. Sucked in for dear life. The voice from the library was gone, the casual literature nerd melding into a born leader.
"Anaphiel," he said, "We have been asked to offer consent to a human in need of refuge and protection. The floor is now open for discussion."
Each of them turned to her expectantly, an onslaught of undivided attention locking her into the seat.
:::
(A/N) Daring reader,
How does your meeting go?
I am so so so HONORED to present the following artwork to you from two artists that took on the demanding task of making chapter banners for Tear the Sky!
@saranghaepjm is the genius that created individual banners for each of the members that totally showcase who they are in a colorful/unique way and this chapter is dedicated to her because she worked so hard and has been such a pleasure to work with!
AGAIN, if you guys want to see more art, I definitely suggest checking out the Art Gallery at the end of this book! â¤ï¸
With love,
M