But that would be crazy.
Even I, in all my selfishness, knew that I wasn’t that important. It was odd that Adonis had been acting so sacrificial lately. One would almost think he was… growing a heart. His behavior toward me in the past twenty-four hours had been more than selfless.
My stomach growled again.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Seth beamed then began to boil water. Not one to claim domesticity, I sat on a barstool and yawned.
“Do you want any help?”
“Athena, don’t pretend you know how to cook anything.” Seth rolled his eyes and grabbed some pasta out of the pantry. “And at this point, I think you’ll be more of a hindrance than a help.”
Point taken.
Seth’s movements were fast, concise, almost unrecognizable. The man was one big conundrum. Nothing about him made sense: him being our partner and the freaky dream I had about him which still had me slightly scared. Even the way he moved around seemed odd, as if he was moving to an otherworldly tune.
The fact that Seth seemed to have grown bigger over the course of a few hours made my insides flutter, but not in a good way. His arms, once just toned, now looked beefier, like he had been chugging protein shakes while telling us his little story. His height hadn’t changed as much as the bulk of him. His t-shirt looked like it was ready to rip away from his body. Not that I would mind if it did, I just found it slightly distracting and inappropriate for a working business relationship.
“I could just take it off, Thena. I mean if that would make you more comfortable.” He flashed a cheeky grin before dumping the pasta into a bowl.
Super. Apparently I had forgotten about a couple of tiny, albeit important details: angels could sense emotions, sense thoughts, everything about us. I should have known that. Even though he was considered a part of the Fallen, he would have that talent as well.
Talent. The thought made my brain swarm with possibilities. If he’s Fallen, that means his perfect state has been altered, which means…
“Seth?”
“Just say it, Athena, before you embarrass yourself.”
I bit down on my lip before speaking. “What do you look like?”
Seth stopped moving. I noticed the flex of his muscles against his shirt as his hands pushed against the granite of the countertop. His head hung as if a cloud of darkness had suddenly taken residence over his body. The room shifted. Cold trickled in, leaving me nearly breathless, and then, I saw it. Icicles began forming across the table and underneath my fingertips. The steam was flowing off the pasta in puffs of white vapor. Seth, immobile, tilted his head back. Muscles tightened across his back through his shirt, almost screaming for release. Slowly, I rose from my chair and walked toward him, noting that the temperature had to be at most zero degrees, given the icy glory of the room. If Adonis hadn’t been a few rooms away, I would have had the good sense to be frightened right about then.
As I approached Seth, I reached out, hoping to put my hand on his. Even though I’m not really sure what good it would possibly do. I guess it was the human side of me, yearning to be empathetic and comforting, which was probably better than the demon killer side right about now. Especially considering what I was comforting.
Seth’s head snapped in my direction, his eyes a blaze of red. I jerked my hand back. Logic finally seeped into my consciousness that this angel, although on our side, was more dangerous than I could have imagined. For he was the absence of light and everything I’ve fought over thousands of years to protect.
I grew chilled at Seth’s touch as he reached to cup my face. The red of his eyes glowed and I could almost see the demon inside. Slowly, the transformation began. Pulling his hand back, he let out some air, and his shirt ripped to shreds. His body, once beautiful and unmarred, was then absolutely covered in tattoos, from head to toe, in black and silver markings. I felt dumbstruck as he turned around. His back was covered in one large tattoo that resembled wings. The tattoo was silver, lined with giant feathers, but hanging from them was a touch of blood that dripped down his back. It looked so real that I felt I could touch it. That if I just wiped up the blood, it wouldn’t be the reality he had to face. I lightly brushed my fingers over his back. I was stunned when I felt warmth on them. Looking at the sticky substance on my hands, I realized what was taking place wasn’t possible, yet it was happening. Blood dripped from my fingertips, and then in an instant, Seth grabbed my hand and pulled it in front of his face. The red in his eyes expanded and nearly filled in the white. He reached down and licked the blood off my fingers as his eyes rolled back. I wanted to pull away, but his grip on me was strong and intense.