Page 53 of Wings of Ashes

Chapter Nineteen

NOAH

No one felt safe with the constant bomb threats and the exile of the Celestials. Many lost their faith when the Celestials left for their cities. The populations of the several kingdoms on the Alorya Continent were scared and feared for their lives.

At the academy, even if the headmaster insisted that the classes had to continue, the students’ lack of focus was evident. Once the classes were over, everybody gathered in the living room to watch the news and the investigation reports led by journalists who wanted to get to the bottom of what was happening. The theories were many, and the certainties were few.

Who was behind the attacks?

No one knew.

The Dark Conclave didn’t claim the deaths. Reports suggested that they had also been attacked. Other kingdoms had bombs exploding outside of the Celestials’ embassies.

Everybody was scared. No race was safe.

“Why the hot, brooding face?” Grace asked, smiling at him.

Noah’s lips curled up, and he focused on her pretty face. He moved his hand and reached for the curly locks that framed her face. “Hello, beautiful. Did you have a good day?”

“Nothing exciting happened at college.” She inched closer and kissed his lips.

“What about your classes? Were they any good?”

She shrugged and brushed her fingers against his cheek. “Nothing special happened.”

“Maybe the world will return to normal soon.”

“I hope so. But the people want to find the culprits.”

“We need to find them. They will attack again when we lower our guard. These fanatics need to be stopped.”

“No one has claimed the attacks, and we don’t know if this has religious or political implications,” Grace said, sitting next to Noah on the sofa. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. “This is nice.”

“I’m glad you like to use my shoulder as a pillow.”

She giggled. “Being alone with you is nice. I always feel safer when I’m with you.”

He moved his arm and laced it around her waist. “I worry about you when you aren’t here.”

“Are you exhausting the students like you normally do?”

“They have been too worried about the recent events to complain.” He brought her closer. “They are afraid that if a war breaks out, we’ll be recruited and end up dying before even living. The guys pretend that they aren’t scared while the girls just worry about not living long enough to find the love of their lives.”

“At the college, my classmates don’t know that I’m a part angel. They hurry that the angels leave this world and abandon us to our fate.”

“Do you think they will leave?”

“I don’t think so. They believe they are safe in their sky cities and stay there until the terrorists are found. I do think they are cowards. Running isn’t the way to deal with this situation. They are letting themselves become intimated instead of fighting back. Who says that this wasn’t the plan all along? Attacking the angels was either revenge or strategy. With the celestials in their cities, it’s easier to plan an invasion. The peace between vampires and shifters has always been fragile. These attacks are frightening the people but also stirring their biased beliefs. The recent protests in our capital prove that people want someone to blame. Many vampires are leaving our kingdom. Commercial shops run by vampires are being targeted and vandalized. Yesterday, a vampire woman was attacked by a mob. She didn’t do anything to deserve that.” Grace released a heavy breath. “The good news is that Grandpa said that the king is doing his best to keep the peace. The committee that was formed is following all the leads. They also sent us the results of the contents inside the syringe.”

Noah’s fingers wrapped around her chin and tilted back her head. “What type of poison was it?”

“It had stardust mixed with wolfbane.”

“Would that be enough to kill you?”

“I’m not sure. Stardust is deadly to angels. All weapons made of that material have been banned and locked away in the sky cities. I didn’t know it was possible to keep it in its liquid form. I don’t know if I’m immune to it since I’m a hybrid.”

“I’m not completely immune to silver.”


Tags: Anna Santos Fantasy