Page 1 of Wings of Valor (Silver City University #4)

T he sight before me is painful to look at.

Hayliel sits on the front step, unable to move. She hasn’t said a word since the Archangel Auriel blipped away. I don’t blame her—the entire evening is more than unexpected. I can’t imagine what she’s feeling.

Meeting Raphael’s family for the first time, then learning about the possible war brewing throughout the city, was bad enough.

Add in the shit with Uriel and the discovery that one of the very rulers pushing for war is far more corrupt than we ever imagined, and it’s a wonder any of us are coherent.

But to then learn that her family had been attacked and captured and are now being held as a bargaining chip? After everything my bright, shining firefly has been through—everything she’s survived—this is the last thing she needs.

I take a step closer, wanting to get a good look at her face. She’s pale, and the dark circles under her eyes are far more prominent than usual. Absentmindedly, she chews on her fingernails, something I’ve never seen her do before.

My heart aches at the sight.

As I watch her, my mind wanders to the four Archangels who rule the city. Are they all corrupt, or is it just Auriel?

Fuck. This is too much.

One thing’s for sure, Auriel hides who he really is far too easily. In the few media appearances he’s made, he seems kind. Like his only goal is making sure our lives are full and happy. But the man I just met? The one who threatened and harmed? He’s nothing like that.

I glance once more at Hayliel. None of us know how to comfort her. Maybe there’s nothing we can do—not unless we have a direct line to her parents.

It fucking pains me to be so useless.

Tilting my head, I beckon Raphael and Zeke to join me on the front lawn.

“Raph, send something through the group chat. I’m going to message Castiel and loop him in.

” My best friend nods, quickly grabbing his slate and typing out a message while I do the same.

What happened here changes everything. All of our carefully laid plans and thoughts on what was fucking going on have blown up in our faces.

“I think we should consider getting Azrael involved,” Zeke says, breaking the silence.

Raph and I share a look that Zeke doesn’t miss, but it prompts him to continue.

“He already knows some of it, and even though the traps we’ve set to lure out the mole haven’t revealed anything, he could still help us.

Off the books, of course. But his experience would be valuable here. He could find something we missed.”

While I don’t exactly hate the plan, things are fragile. Our trust, for one. Without knowing who the mole is at the guild, it makes it hard for us to bring anyone from there into the fold. Or, in his case, further into the fold. Maybe the traps aren’t working for a reason.

Raphael stays silent, which I appreciate.

Things are still touch-and-go between those two, and the last thing we need right now is to be fighting amongst ourselves.

“Let’s not decide just yet. I don’t want to rule it out, but I think we need to give it some thought and discuss it as a group.

I’d rather he go through the cave tests before we blindly call him in, anyway. ”

Zeke grumbles, but he doesn’t disagree. It’s cute to see him being so reasonable.

The girls are the first to arrive. I’m honestly shocked Dina could get away from her dad, but from what I overheard the girls talking about the other day, he’s more than happy to let her spend time with the right friends—like Mira.

Purist asshole. Whatever. At least it worked out in our favor today.

“Oh, shit. Hayliel,” Mira says, but Zeke beckons them to us instead. She looks like she wants to flip him the bird and ignore us completely, but Dina places a hand on her arm to stop her. “I’ve got this. You should go see what they need.”

I check my slate for the umpteenth time, not surprised when I don’t have a single reply from Castiel.

It shows he hasn’t read it yet, which is par for the course with this guy.

Sighing, I try not to let it bother me. He’s not like the rest of our little group.

The guy has real responsibilities and shit, but fuck. We need all hands on deck right now.

Dina and I each take a seat on either side of Hayliel, while Zeke, Mira, and Raphael go through the house one more time to look for anything we might have missed—clues about where they took her parents, or even confirmation that they’re still alive. Anything to give my girl some hope.

I considered the possibility that Auriel would have taken her parents back to the barn, but that’s too easy.

He knows that place is compromised. Even if it were fortified by demon guards or who knows what else, I still don’t think he’d take them there.

Either way, I make a mental note to bring this up once we’ve gathered the group.

“They’re crafty and eternally optimistic,” Dina says to Hayliel, holding her close. “They’ll get through this.”

Hayliel never says a word. She just stares off into the distance.

She doesn’t seem to notice the chill seeping in through the cement slab beneath our asses or the breeze that’s picked up in the last ten minutes. She may be sitting beside me, but her mind is far away and out of my reach.

My heart shatters even more.

Ten minutes later, our search party returns empty-handed. Raphael shakes his head, telling me everything I need to know—we’re no closer to helping her.

“We’ve been here too long. The last thing we need is the guild to show up and think we had something to do with what happened inside,” Raphael says, causing Zeke to curse and pull at his hair.

“Are you sure we can’t involve Azrael?”

I glance once more at my slate, hoping to find an unread message from Castiel, but my screen is empty of notifications. “Let’s just get back to the cave, and then we can consider inviting him in.”

“Fine. And Castiel? Has anyone heard from him?” Zeke asks.

I shake my head. “No response so far.”

With a low voice, Raph asks, “Do we think he spilled the beans on what she is?”

We all exchange a look. I don’t want to believe it or even consider it a possibility, but we may not have a choice. As if sensing our thoughts, my slate vibrates with a message from the man himself.

Castiel : Shit. I’ll be there shortly. Theo : We’re actually heading back to campus. Meet at the cave in ten minutes. Castiel : See you then.

Tucking my slate away, I place a kiss on Hayliel’s head and stand. “He’s meeting us at the cave. We can discuss who we think blabbed once we get there. For now, we need to leave. It’s not safe here.”

It takes more than a little convincing to get Hayliel to leave her parents’ home.

Not that I blame her. If the roles were reversed, I probably wouldn’t want to leave either.

It’s Zeke who finally gets her on board.

Like a man on a mission, he strides back inside the house and comes out a few minutes later with an apron and a shirt—physical things from her parents that she can bring back to campus.

He might be an asshole, but he’s a caring one when it comes to Hayliel.

Zeke gives the possessions to her, along with a gentle word about safety and plans.

His words must break the mental dam she’s built inside, because water suddenly pours from her eyes, and her listless body is wracked with sobs.

Gently—far more than I’ve ever seen him be—he wipes away her tears and helps her stand.

Her breaths come in sharp bursts that look painful, but she still holds her head up high.

My strong firefly. Dina helps her get her wing jacket on, and as one, we take off.

How do we want to handle this? Raphael asks via the private mental connection with Zeke and me.

Carefully. She doesn’t need the added stress, I say. For her sake, I hope it wasn’t Castiel who betrayed us. That’s a blow I’m not sure she’d ever recover from.

Zeke’s reply pops into my mind just before we land, and it sends shivers down my spine.

One way or another, I’m going to get answers.