Year Two: Rebels - Cara Wylde Page 0,35

body to go limp. I’ll just lie here for a while. Until it gets better. They will come looking for me. But would they? Domina could easily lie and tell them whatever she wanted. Minutes passed, and my body was only getting weaker and more tender. I was on my belly, my right arm stuck behind me as I was facing left. I tried to move my head so I could inspect the wound, but my whole spine protested. I prayed to God I hadn’t broken more than just my arm. I could only remember one loud snap, but who knew? My ribs hurt, too. If they weren’t broken, they were at least seriously bruised.

I heard soft steps, and then two feet clad in white, felt shoes came into view. I tried to look up, and immediately gave up with a groan. The person was wearing a long, ivory robe that brushed their ankles.

“Sweet angel, you fell.”

The soothing voice of an old, wise man. I felt relieved. He was going to help me, for sure.

“Not an angel,” I croaked.

“You’re more of an angel than many who live here and serve God. Easy now. I’ll help you up.”

He did more than help me up. He turned me on my back, and when he saw I couldn’t stand up, he crouched down and took me in his arms.

“No, you can’t carry me.” I tried to stop him. He was too old for this. He had gray hair and a long, white beard that fell to the middle of his chest. There were deep wrinkles around his eyes and thin lips. “Thank you, but… I have to walk on my own.”

“Silly angel,” he chuckled. “I am stronger than you think. And besides, we’re not going to walk. Who walks in Heaven?”

Just as he said that, he spread his wings and took flight. I held on to him with my one good hand, while I kept the other tucked in my lap. I could see the damage, and it wasn’t pretty. The bone had snapped in two and pierced the skin. I needed a doctor, but were there doctors in Heaven? I was alone in this strange, unpredictable place, where the beings that everyone thought were the greatest in all the realms were in fact proving to be petty and vindictive. I looked up at the old man and wondered if I could trust him. These days, it seemed like I couldn’t trust anyone.

We flew for minutes on end. A tower came into view. It must have been at least as tall as Hotel Fortitude. It sparkled in the sun, and I realized it was made from a white stone that was transparent in places and showed residues of rose-colored minerals in others. We flew through the topmost window, which was tall and wide enough for both of us. I later found out it had been designed that way, and every time the old man left his tower, he preferred the window to climbing down the dozens upon dozens of steps to the bottom. He landed gracefully, one knee to the floor, the other bent slightly. I didn’t even feel it.

“Thank you. I… I think I can walk now.”

He put me down but was right there to catch me when I lost my balance. The flight had made me dizzy. He held me gently as I waited for the room to stop spinning.

“Here, sit down.”

He helped me into a big, comfortable armchair.

“I will take care of your arm now.”

“How?” He didn’t answer me. He proceeded to rummage through cabinets, mumbling strange words that meant nothing to me. “Wait. What’s your name? Why are you helping me?”

“I’m Lucien. And why wouldn’t I help you?”

I looked at him with wide eyes. I hadn’t seen wings like his before. They were tall and narrow, and he always kept them raised above his head. They were also transparent, borrowing from the colors around him. If he passed by the cream-colored curtains that hung down to the floor, they would look cream for a few seconds. As he moved around the circular room, his wings turned red, green, blue, and then cream again. All the shades were soft and faded, though, like they were barely there.

“I don’t know,” I said. “You don’t know me…”

I studied my surroundings. From the look of it, Lucien seemed to be an astronomer, or at least astronomy was his passion. A beautifully crafted astronomical clock dominated the space, a telescope was positioned in front