Icarus began to laugh as he grew another two feet. He pulled out a black sword made of steel. His metal clashed against Adonis’s. Sparks flew between the swords. Seth screamed and was on his feet again, running toward me. Why couldn’t I move? Why couldn’t I fight?
“Because you don’t want to,” Seth whispered behind my hair as his hand came to grip my neck. “Because deep down you’re exactly like us.”
I tried to shake my head.
A tear ran down my cheek as I watched Adonis fall, and then his eyes met mine. “I’m sorry, Athena, so sorry.”
He was going to die.
I was going to have to watch my best friend, the man that I loved, die in front of me.
Adonis closed his eyes, a burst of light came forth from his hands, and then he was glowing. His light was so bright I had to fight to keep my eyes open. Seth and Icarus screamed. Adonis’s hair grew down his back shining white like the angels’. His t-shirt disappeared, and in its place was a golden plate of armor.
Just like that, a thousand angels surrounded us.
A beacon of light in the darkness.
“You will not touch her,” Adonis’s voice echoed.
Seth cursed and fell to his knees. Icarus began to hyperventilate.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling less than brave at the sight. It was rare to see that many angels in one place at one time.
They sang, breathless with music. A few aided me, and I knew. They were ministering angels. Like the ones in the Bible who brought people food and drink when they were in the desert. I opened my mouth as the angel closest to me poured honey onto my lips, and suddenly I was able to speak again.
“Make your choice.” Adonis directed his command to Seth and Icarus. They glared in my direction and nodded just once in unison.
The angels disappeared, and everything returned to normal.
Everything except the person I thought Adonis was.
I couldn’t help but feel my heart shatter into a million pieces. For the one man, or person I thought was a man, would never share with me anything more than a brotherly friendship. It reminded me once again that I didn’t belong. I was exactly as Icarus said. Just like them.
“So act like it.” The phrase flashed through my mind. I knew it was Seth’s voice. I knew it was poison, but I couldn’t help but slightly agree.
“Don’t,” Adonis said, his voice shaking the trees nearest us. “Don’t believe the lie, Athena. You are so much more than you know.” With that he went back to his normal form.
Only, nothing was normal.
We were traveling with enemies who had some sort of hold over me that I didn’t know how to fight. And my best friend was apparently an angel.
Adonis pulled me to his side and scowled at Icarus and Seth. “Now, if you two little boys are done playing swords, can we please return to our journey? You’re outmatched. I have an entire army at my beck and call. I’ll destroy you before you can even think about fighting back. Lead us to the Titans, and I may let you live.”
“And if we don’t?” Seth grinned. “After all, once we reach the Titans, it’s you who will be outmatched.”
“Who says the Titans would follow a tiny ant when they could follow a god?”
I gasped aloud. For Adonis to compare himself to a god was absolutely heretical. It didn’t make sense; he wasn’t anything like that. He was…
I looked at him, I mean, really looked at him. His eyes were shaped slightly different than before. They were deep blue and almond shaped with gold glowing irises in the middle. I felt his arm brace around mine. He was on fire. As in, his skin was so hot I almost felt it burn me, and temperatures never affected me.
I shook my head in confusion. If he wasn’t an angel, what was he? And how was he able to command the armies of Heaven?
He smiled sadly down at me, and then followed it with a wink.
Yup, same Adonis. “At least you haven’t lost your cockiness.”
“I’ll always be cocky. It’s part of my charm.”
I swallowed the emotion in my throat, “What are you?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Who are you?”
“Who I’ve always been.”
“Who’s your father?”
He looked away. “El. He is my father.”
I nearly choked. “God.”
Adonis’s face turned pensive. “He’s your father too.”
“No, no He’s not. I think we all know who my father is.” I tried to pull away, but Adonis wouldn’t let me. We continued to climb in silence. The air getting thick with smoke as we neared the top.
Seth and Icarus didn’t make any more moves to hurt us, though they scowled a lot more than usual, which seemed strange considering Seth had been happily flirting his way through our entire mission thus far.
“I kind of hate him.”
“Heard that,” Seth called back.
Adonis shook his head and grinned. “He hates himself, and he would never actually hurt you. It’s just child’s play. Think of our little scuffles as a warm up.”
“Heard that too,” Seth yelled ahead of us. I could see Icarus shaking his head as well, as if he wanted to get in and say something back to Adonis but clearly didn’t know what to say to some sort of heavenly being who could rock his world without lifting a pinky finger.