Chapter 3 - My Sister Is Getting Married

Marina

“You are marrying my sister?!”

John turns pale with fear circling in his blue eyes. His face tells me he didn’t expect my reaction, neither does he seem to like it.

“Yeah...” His voice sounds hesitant. I can see the uncertainty on his face as if he wishes to say something but doesn’t know if he should. “It’s not something I chose,”

I huff at him. “You don’t want to marry my little sister?”

Damn. I have some severe mood swings. First, it shocked me to hear Jenny is still alive, and now I’m angry that this angel doesn’t want to marry my perfect little sister. She is beautiful and knowledgeable. Why doesn’t he want her?!

“No, I don’t want to marry her. Your sister is a tyrannical leader and only wants to marry me because of my abilities,” John mumbles. “At first, I didn’t mind, but now-...”

I glare at him. “But now what?!”

John glances at me and then quickly looks away with a blush. “I’m fifteen years old. I won’t figure out who my mate is until I turn eighteen, but if Jenny doesn’t turn out to be my mate, then I don’t know if I want to marry her...”

“Oh,” I ponder on his words, annoyed by one of his first sentences. “My sister isn’t a tyrannical leader...”

Jenny was always sweet in the past, never mean. I can’t imagine her being an evil leader. Her favorite hobby was knitting. Before she left us for the surface, she made me a sweater. I haven’t worn it once, afraid to dirty the only item she left behind. Anyway, the point is Jenny was kind and way too old for her actual age. She behaved like someone’s sweet grandma.

John snorts at me. “Have you met her?”

Ignoring his hurtful words, I move on to my next question. “And what was that about a mate?” I lift a curious eyebrow. “Angels have mates? And wow, you don’t look fifteen at all!”

John turns a deeper shade of red. My words seem to bother him, even though I can’t figure out why. “I know! I’m a late bloomer! It’s not like I haven’t noticed how small I am compared to everyone else!”

I grimace. It wasn’t John’s size that I was talking about. His face looks relatively young and boyish, but I guess he is smaller than I expected. I always heard angels were the size of trees—terrifying beasts.

John doesn’t look like a terrifying beast. His size is more manageable. I don’t fear him like I fear other angels, but John seems exceptionally self-conscious about it.

“I’m older than you,” I point out in a teasing tone. “Maybe I should call you Junior?”

John glares at me with reddening cheeks. “Don’t you dare!”

I stick out my tongue at him, laughing when the angel turns to stone. Time ticks by, and within a minute, he is smoldering with rage, glaring daggers at me. Suits him right for not wanting to marry my sister!

“You’re lucky I’m chained! Otherwise, I would wipe that grin from your face!” John threatens.

I hand him my most mischievous smile, but I say nothing else to provoke him. I don’t intend on angering him further. There is another question I want to ask him.

“So do angels find out who their mate is when they turn eighteen?”

John seems to calm down once I ask him this question. His eyes turn sad, and his lips tremble unhappily on his gloomy face.

“Not all angels find their destiny-chosen mate. Most angels get into a relationship with someone they pick for themselves,” John explains and sighs dramatically shortly after. “But to answer your question, yes, we can feel the mate-bond after we turn eighteen if we look at our mate. Sometimes, however, you can get a notion before you turn eighteen, a hint of sorts to guide you,”

“Oh,” I tilt my head. This is interesting and also very romantic. “So what would happen if you looked at your mate now?”

John blinks at my question, then bites his lower lip. He looks nervous, maybe even self-conscious. “I would feel it in the air...”

I stare at him, suddenly remembering the sparks I felt the first time I met his eyes. “Really?”

John turns crimson red, his eyes widening into saucers. “Yes! Now can we please talk about something else?!”

“Why?” I ask. “This topic is interesting!”

“No! I don’t want to talk about mates!” John exclaims.

Startled, I reel back at the sound of his loud voice. “Geez, I was just curious! There is no need to raise your voice!”

Ugh. For a second there, I almost believed I was John’s mate. After he raised his voice, though, those feelings quickly washed away.

Seriously. This angel is nothing more than a spoiled kid. I’m far more mature.

“I’m sorry,” John mumbles. “It’s just embarrassing to talk about...”

I snort. “It’s not embarrassing to talk about mates! It’s interesting that angels have them, but I guess you’re too much of a kid to understand how romantic it truly is,”

“I’m not a kid!” John hisses at me, proving my point by getting offended like a teenager.

I roll my eyes. “Sure...”

John growls. “I’m not...”

Ignoring his fury, I decide to change the subject. “How are you planning on getting back to your future wife?”

The irritation on his face makes me stifle a laugh by covering my mouth. I have to bite my tongue to not laugh at loud. Teasing John has quickly become the funniest thing ever. I can offend the kid too fast; it’s hilarious.

“I don’t know...” John sounds grumpy, not to mention mad. “These chains are thicker than I thought they would be. I knew humans were good at wielding, but really?!”

Laughter finds me. “Yeah, don’t underestimate humans, kiddo,”

“I’m not a kid!” John glances at me, taking in my features with irritated eyes. I had almost forgotten how large he is, but the infuriated look on his face makes me instantly remember. My survival instincts tell me to back away a bit. “If you insist on teasing me, I might find a ridiculous nickname for you too!”

“Like what?” I challenge, arching my eyebrows at the same time I create some distance between us. Better be safe than sorry. “I bet you wouldn’t be able to come up with one anyway,”

“How about nugget?”

I giggle. Okay, it’s officially a waste to fear John. “That’s actually kinda cute,”

John looks sour. “Shrimp then?”

“Overused,” I reply. “Try harder,”

“Short stuff?”

Smiling, I shake my head. “All those nicknames are cute and kinda fitting since I’m short,”

“How about Marina the great?”

Embarrassment finds my cheek, and I freeze, eyes caught on the angel who studies me briefly before his lips turn grim.

Fuck. John has figured it out! I despise when people make fun of my size by being sarcastic. Calling me great is super-duper embarrassing. I hate it so much!

“Marina the great it is,” John smirks at me.

“Don’t call me that!” I whine. “Please! I hate that nickname!”

John lifts an amused eyebrow. “Make. Me.”

Darkness enters my vision, and the amusement on John’s face makes me see red. The laughter erupting from his mouth enrages me further, and I kick sand up into his nostrils. I kick, and I kick, glaring at the laughing angel.

“Okay, Okay! I won’t call you that!” John is panicking. “I surrender!”

Frowning, I fold my arms under my chest. “Good,”

We share a moment where we both just look at each other. John smiles at me, and I glare back at him, refusing to smile about. Minutes ticks by, and a door opens behind us, causing me to turn around.

The mayor’s wife walks out of her building, glaring at me once she spots me standing next to John.

“Shit...” My eyes hastily dart to John, who looks as surprised as I feel. “Uh... I should go before-..”

“Why did you remove the muzzle?!”

The older lady rushes with her walker, fuming with anger as she digs her eyes into mine. Standing still will earn me a piece of her mind, but running isn’t an option. There is nowhere to go; she has seen me already!

“I thought he didn’t need one...” I laugh nervously.

The mayor’s wife isn’t listening to me. She strolls forward with the help of her walker, forcing her bent back forward. Her hands reach into her pocket as if she is searching for something. Seconds later, she is ringing a bell with her shaking hands like a psychopath.

“GUARDS!”

Panic rushes through me like a hurricane. I’m going to get punished for this, I’m confident, and my eyes instinctively seek John. He looks alarmed, frightened of what is coming, and I can’t blame him. We will both get punished for this.

I mouth to him. “I’m sorry,”

His sad eyes give birth to the idea of freeing him and letting him run. There will be more injuries on his skin after the guards are done with him, and it’s all my fault. I forgot the time and talked with him for too long. Had I been smarter, I would have tied the cloth around his head again and covered his mouth to hide any evidence of me ever being here.

“It’s alright,” John whispers. “This is not your fault,”

“HEY! WHY DID YOU REMOVE THE MUZZLE?!”

I turn my head and freeze when I spot a large group of guards heading our way.

“Are you insane?” One of them asks.

Frozen into place, I glance around the scene and scream when I notice the guards are already whacking their whips against John’s bruised skin. He closes his eyes in response, probably trying to ignore the pain, but I’m not that strong. Every hit feels like a stab to my heart, and I scream at the top of my lungs.

“Don’t hurt him!”

I run towards the guards, ready to fight them to the death, but I’m promptly shut down. A big man grips my arm and pulls me away from the scene. I immediately recognize him as Gustav. He works with my father in the army. I think he is a general, but his authority doesn’t matter to me.

“PUT ME DOWN!” I yell at him.

“Hey, hey! Calm down!” Gustav is holding me back. “It’s not safe standing so close to an angel!”

I attempt everything to escape from him. I deliver violent kicks to his knees, and my nails cut deep into his skin. Screams explode from my throat, and I flail around with my arms.

“No!” I kick at the man who effortlessly lifts me from the ground.

“You are Marcus’s daughter, right?”

I try to kick him in the groin as he lifts me higher into the air, but Gustav isn’t here to surrender to a teenager. He effortlessly throws me over his shoulder to carry me home.

“I will carry you home,”

Ignoring him, I witness the guards bully John. Someone is drawing a dick on his forehead, and I inhale slowly. If I were stronger, I would break free from Gustav’s grip and punch whoever did that to my friend.

“Release me,” I growl, and trash around on Gustav’s broad shoulder, hating how small I feel compared to the tall man.

“No,” Gustav says and stops walking. To my horror, he spins around to eye the creature his men are busy torturing. The scene is disturbing. “The angel will burn tonight. His kind has eaten too many of us, and the townsfolk are angry. They crave justice,”

I hit Gustav in the back, growling in frustration when it doesn’t seem to affect him. Fucking army dog. They are all built like tanks.

“How is that justice?” I snap at him with snarling rage. “That angel over there has blue eyes, the color of innocence! He has eaten no one!”

“That doesn’t matter,”

Frustration tunnels through me. This isn’t right, neither is it justice. John has hurt no one! Burning him isn’t humane! My teeth chatter, and I clench my jaw, resisting the temptation to scream. I don’t want John to die, but I don’t think I can do anything to prevent my people from burning him.