"You would tell me everything?" Grey observed the tan boy across from her, his smirk faintly reminding her of being caught in a spider's web. Once entangled, escape from such charm was impossible.
"I would consider it." She wasn't imagining that flirtatious glint in his eyes.
Pinned under his gaze, she practically squirmed in her seat. "Why?"
"There's always a price to pay for knowledge. As long as you're willing to pay it, why would I intervene?"
Ok, Grey thought, that wasn't creepy at all.
Namjoon pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Listen carefully. Anaphiel is a council of judgment. Heavenly warriors that are in charge of protecting the gates from evil attacks. Each of them have specific powers and they're symbolic of the seven virtues: justice, hope, courage, patience, humility, purity, and generosity."
There was no way she was going to remember all that, so she clung to heavenly warriors.
"If they're a council, then how many members are there?"
Namjoon shrugged and pursed his full lips. "Didn't get that far into the research. On Google, it's a lot of the same old information and that's about it."
Half of her was disappointed, half of her clung to the concept of fighting angels.
"You're kidding. There has to be more than that," Grey said. Namjoon shook his head.
"What else could you be looking for?"
That was a loaded question. Seeing how intelligent he was, how easily he read others, something told her not to answer directly. After all, what made him so curious?
"I don't know. Names, at least."
Namjoon snickered, some unspoken joke tickling his insides. Grey raised an eyebrow as he said, "You're out of luck. There's no way of contacting them."
He thought... She knew two of them. And she didn't need their numbers, their location was enough. Not only that, but the fact that they strolled around downtown Seoul's most popular business area was unsettling. Angels supposedly claimed the skies, not dark alleys or luxurious glass buildings. They weren't in the clouds, but right under her nose. If it weren't for the interview, their existence would have still been a secret.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," she closed the book, "Thank you for being so helpful."
He leaned back in his seat, plucking one of the books from his stack and opening the front cover. "My pleasure. Any other questions?"
Stealing glances around the bookshelves at their sides and the tables behind, Grey realized Luca wasn't in sight. If the animal wouldn't help, she'd have to make her new friend pick up the slack. She propped her head in between her hands and this time tried to make her undivided attention pierce his defenses. If he could do it, so could she, right?
When he picked up on her move, the corners of his full lips quirked upwards. She couldn't help but smile back. "Why are they called Anaphiel? Where does that come from?"
"Anaphiel is an ancient word for archangel. The language of origin is unclear."
Grey frowned. "And that is? Sorry, I'm still new to this celestial stuff."
Namjoon said, "They are the first and strongest class of angels ever created. Princes above the others."
No way.
Jin and Jungkook were...
Otherworldly, fearsome, shadow-infested bundles of royalty. Sword-wielding, rude yet devilishly handsome princes.
That offered her shelter in a dark palace. That did her laundry. That walked in on her being shirtless, and kicked her the hell out to top it off with a cherry.
She wanted to curl into a ball and disappear.
"Grey?" Namjoon waved a hand in front of her face. "Are you okay?"
She tried to find words, a common phrase, anything to straighten out the train wreck in her head. Not a single expression completely captured the explosion of realization blazing through her veins. A shudder went down her spine as her hands dropped from her face.
"Shit," she said, running a hand through her hair. "They're princes?"
"That's what I said."
Fuck.
"Grey," Namjoon raised a contemplative hand over his lips, that earlier caution returning. "Is something wrong?"
She fished for another answer, wringing her hands in her lap when she came up empty. A loud ring from her back pocket cut the suspension in half. She leapt up from her seat, smiling politely at Namjoon before checking the caller ID. It was Amelia.
"I'm sorry, I have to take this. It was so nice to meet you." She pushed in her chair.
"Nice to meet you too. I'll put your book back for you."
She mouthed her gratitude and skipped into a vacant aisle, keeping her voice low as she answered the phone.
By the way Amelia spoke, Grey knew her best friend had one hand on her hip. "If you're going to hang up on me again without explanation, do it now."
"I'm not." Beside herself, Grey smiled. Talking to Amelia after the past half hour was like catching a life jacket after falling off a sinking ship. The world was going to shit wherever she looked, but at least she had a chance to stay afloat. "The past few days have been insane."
"They better be if you've got the balls to leave me out to dry."
Grey covered her mouth and laughed into her sleeve. "I'm sorry, okay? You don't even know the half of it."
"You never even told me if you got the job."
Grey lied through her teeth. "I don't think the company is for me. They have a zero tolerance policy on everything and the CEO is a total ass."
That last part was entirely true.
Amelia smacked her lips over the phone. "Then screw them. You're a great worker and an even better right hand. Maybe we should celebrate since you dodged a bullet."
"So, a 'Congratulations! You failed' party?"
"More like a 'Midde finger to KSJ' sleepover. Then when you wake up in the morning you can keep flipping pancakes at The Parlour and start writing a novel so you can rub their idiocy in their rich faces when you get published and tour the world."
Grey was already moving towards the entrance to the library. "You're so specific."
"I see the visions, you get us there. Now stop wasting time and get to my place."
"Okay, okay. Anything else, Your Highness?"
The last words made her fidget, brought two brooding young men to the forefront of her thoughts. Amelia's slick reply did nothing to help soothe the edge.
"Tell me everything about what you've been up to the past few days. Your pajamas are still over here so don't stop at home on your way over."
"Amelia, it's not that easy--," the line cut off before she could finish.
Jungkook's words echoed through her skull.
Tell a soul what you learned or what you saw, and I will personally find you.
She imagined the tip of a katana blade touching the hollow of her throat. Jungkook's obsidian eyes damning her existence with a menacingly cold glance. One that was not only bewitching but also pleased to have his blade inches away from severing her head from the rest of her body.
And though the vision caused her to sweat and tremble, she wasn't sure if she could handle this world alone. Amelia was her other half. The lone friend to stay by her side since second grade, to hold her hand when she was alone, to welcome her wholeheartedly into her home after she discovered news of her parents.
Amelia did not deserve to be kept in the dark.
Grey pondered that as she walked to her best friend's apartment.
:::
If unused to it, the overbearing scent of jasmine air freshener and butter could knock someone out. Not only did it circulate in the air, but it settled on the tongue when one took too deep of a breath. There were two different kinds of walls: ones painted in all white where the flatscreen of the living room absorbed a majority of the space, and ones made of clay-colored brick that made the open-plan kitchen and living room couches look more like pieces of a loft.
Showered and in her pajamas, Grey kicked her slippered feet up onto the coffee table and flipped through a magazine, careful to not knock over the stack of designer collection books that Amelia nearly died to collect. Her best friend might not have been the exact same as in the other world, but both the original and the carbon copy had damn similar interests of fashion design.
When the gossip in what she held proved uneventful, the girl switched to one of those expensive picture books, unsure of what to pick next. Tom Ford, Dior, Alexander McQueen. After a short deliberation, she opened the one for Dolce & Gabbana.
Amelia crept to the coffee table, thin arms lowering a tray to the surface. Popcorn and two glasses of pink moscato bubbled before the pair. Her best friend crashed onto the couch, sighing as she adjusted the tie of her silky bathrobe.
"Get popcorn on that book and I'll kill you." Grey cut a sidelong glance at her friend, the book suddenly becoming heavier than before. Amelia lifted her glass of wine. "Then I'll buy a new copy with your life insurance money."
Grey spotted the difference in the girl next to her now.
This Amelia was a savage.
She released the book and grabbed a fistful of popcorn. "Shut up and show me the movies you picked."
Amelia fiddled with the remote until the television showed a list of films. "There's Wonder Woman for female empowerment, The Notebook if you want to feel good, or we can just binge the last season of Game of Thrones again to take your mind off things."
"You act like something's bothering me. I'm really just fine." She tossed another handful of popcorn into her mouth to prove a point.
Amelia put the wine back on the tray. "My antennas are telling me something different. Get it off your chest."
Grey rolled her eyes, mind aimlessly drifting towards Luca and where the cat could be. She had yet to scratch on the door or mysteriously pop out of the kitchen cabinets. The animal was the least of her worries, the thinnest tip of the iceberg. The rest she didn't want to get into. Shouldn't, because she could barely find the words to explain.
A warm hand found Grey's, the different aura instantly helping her relax. A warm body for once. With a beating heart and considerate mind. She missed this contact, this essence of not being alone. She didn't care if it wasn't the exact person she wanted, the love in that gesture was identical to what she felt in years past.
A tear fell down Grey's cheek. Amelia's eyes widened, arms wrapping around her friend.
"You can tell me." Hands rubbed against cotton on her back, pajamas generating heat. "If it was bothering you this much, you should have told me a while ago."
Grey shook her head as Amelia pulled away. She wasn't supposed to. Wasn't allowed to.
"Are you in danger?"
They locked gazes. Grey bit her lower lip, doing her best to fight against more tears. Not once had she ever lied to Amelia, and she never planned to.
"No, no. It's nothing like that."
Amelia crossed her arms. "Now is not the time to lie to me."
"It's not something I can share."
Her best friend craned her neck back as though she'd been insulted. "We've shared everything. What's changed?"
Grey wiped her eyes, suddenly very hot in her pajamas. She fanned herself, hating the way this made her feel. Claustrophobic in a sense, like she needed a way out. Like she was stuck in that alleyway with an irkan flashing its claws at her neck. Inescapable conflicts were a living nightmare, and she walked into this one from the library.
Then again, it wasn't like she could keep the secret for long. In this world she'd need to blend in. Enjoy daily activities as though she weren't teleported. Either way it meant being with Amelia, laughing with her, sharing stories of mundane adventures because it was just what they did.
Holding the truth from someone so important to her was like holding the truth from herself.
"Nothing's changed. Let me go to the bathroom and when I come back, I'll tell you."
Amelia's long lashes fluttered as she narrowed her gaze. "Promise?"
"I promise."
Grey escaped to Amelia's bedroom and locked herself in the restroom. In the wide mirror, her puffy eyes and swollen cheeks said it all. She was stressed, and it was only getting worse from here. Wiping her eyes a final time, she turned on the sink faucet and leaned over the rim while the water warmed.
Forget about Jungkook, forget about Jin. If they wanted her dead, then they'd have to come do it themselves. Earlier today at the lake she promised never to compromise. To be the Grey she always was. This was the first step.
Lukewarm water splashed against her face. With a face towel, she dabbed at her forehead and cheeks. Sighing through her nostrils, she steeled her nerves.
Hands now on the lock, she bit the inside of her cheek--and froze as glass shattered from the living room followed by a high-pitched scream splitting the night sky in two.
"Amelia? Are you alright?" Grey called through the door.
No response.
Grey frowned at the silence. "Amelia!"
Ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach, the girl shoved out of the bathroom. The untouched bedroom was dark, white light from the living room funneling in through the open door.
Grey covered her mouth. Blood coated Amelia's limp body now sprawled onto the floor, a black-veined and parchment-skinned fiend crouching over her body. Instead of flashing iron fingernails, the irkan screeched and flexed two appendages on its back.
Wings, but neither webbed nor feathered. Crafted only from bone.
:::
(A/N) Confident reader,
The next installment will arrive on 6/7 (June 7th).
A bit of a shorter chapter, but full of important clues! And a cliffhanger.
Hope you enjoyed!
With love,
M