“Yes, but we heal quickly. Very quickly.”
“So, the wings thing….” I yawned as exhaustion set in.
“You don’t have to worry about me sprouting feathers, Nina,” he chuckled. “Archs don’t fly. They simply appear where they wish to go. I’ve always found the pictures a bit sil y, myself.”
“I like those pictures,” I argued.
“You’re disappointed, then?” The corner of his mouth pul ed up as he rested his hand on the back of my chair, leaning towards me.
“Not real y. I’d rather be sitting across from my angel without wings than looking at a picture of an angel with them.” I could feel his breath on my lips, and I leaned closer to him.
Jared fel against his chair. “I knew this conversation was going to be difficult, but it’s become difficult for a completely different reason,” he sighed, running his fingers through his hair.
“Why is that?” I asked, surprised at his sudden retreat.
He glanced up at me with a smirk. “I thought I’d have to stop you from running out into the street in a panic, instead I have to concentrate on finishing everything I want to say before you get me too flustered to speak at al .”
The blood pooled under my cheeks, and Jared touched my face lightly with his thumb, tracing to my lips.
“It’s a nice surprise,” he said, letting his thumb slide from my chin.
“I’l try to restrain myself,” I said flatly.
“Why don’t you leave that up to me?”
I raised a dubious eyebrow at him and he chuckled. His demeanor had improved one hundred percent since the beginning of our conversation, and I couldn’t help but grin.
He outlined my fingers with his and I yawned, relaxing with his warm touch.
He gave me a disapproving look. “Nina….”
“I stil have questions,” I said. “You said you don’t get sick. Ever?”
Jared shook his head with an amused smile, he was enjoying my interview.
“But the rest, about dying after your Taleh, do you…?”
“Yes.”
I gasped. “But that’s not fair!”
“Nina, don’t forget…I ful y intend on growing old with you.” He enveloped me in his arms then, pul ing me into his lap. “I literal y can’t live without you.
But I wouldn’t want to, even if I could.”
I struggled for words to reply with, but they never came. Jared’s expression tensed as though he might have said too much, and the need to relieve his quandary had me searching for new questions.
“That’s very convenient, isn’t it? That you and Gabe’s Taleh just happened to be father and daughter?” I asked, hoping to take the uncomfortable expression off his face.
“It’s great for carpooling.”
I tried not to smile. “Seriously.”
Jared leaned his forehead against my cheek, taking in the scent of my hair. “It’s quite common. Archs are family as wel as an army, existing in groups. Those groups are general y assigned humans that are related or connected in some way. It creates stronger bonds with humans.”
His candid desire to grow old with me made my heart race, and I was suddenly focused on his mouth. After al , he’d only qualified that we wait until he told me everything.
And we were so close… “How many like you exist?” I asked to distract myself. I didn’t want to give him another reason to point out my embarrassing lack of self-control.
“Not as many as you might think. Like I said, it’s taboo to get too involved with humans. It’s even worse to fal in love with one—to betray your seraphic family for one.”
“So how can they protect us if they despise us?” I asked, incensed.
“It’s not that, Nina. They have an almost maternal love for humans. They see you as innocent, naïve children. Fal ing in love with a human is frowned upon by Archs as humans would an elderly man fal ing in love with a five year old. It’s a social taboo, it’s inappropriate. It’s not because they are disgusted by humans, though there are those that feel that way. But those types of emotions lead to fal ing farther than earth.”
“Dem—,”
“Don’t say it. Don’t even think it. Especial y in my presence, they tend to hover.”
A shiver traveled down my spine, but when Jared pul ed me tighter to him, I instantly felt more at ease. As I relaxed my cheek against his neck, I yawned again.
“Al right, it’s morning. Time to take you home.” He stood up and in the same movement, lifted me effortlessly in his arms.
“I’m not leaving until you kick me out,” I said, feeling slightly intoxicated.
“Then you may never leave,” he said, kissing my lips.
He sat beside me on the couch and I leaned against his chest, sliding my arm across his middle and nestling my head under his chin. He didn’t speak; the only sound in the room was the buzzing from his ceiling fan and our quiet, rhythmic breaths.
Before I could focus the fuzziness in my brain to form another question, exhaustion engulfed me, and my eyes became too heavy to keep open. I relaxed further into Jared’s side, feeling my consciousness slip away. It wasn’t an uncomfortable feeling—I felt I was just where I belonged. My last coherent thought was the contentment I felt as Jared’s warm arms tightened around me.
Chapter Seven
Caught
The mangled, dark blue sheets underneath me were unfamiliar, but their wonderful scent was one I recognized right away. I lifted my head, peering around to study my surroundings. I was in a king-sized bed that sat against a grey, cinderblock wal . The alarm clock on the night table read nine o’clock in large, red numbers.