CAIN Never in my stupid long life had I anticipated feeling so many emotions at once. Sadness, panic, fear, anger; it was all boiling inside of me in a cacophony of emotions that was about to erupt. Yet it couldn’t, as I felt Shamshiel’s life end Liam and Cassie attacked, yelling at me to run. So I did. I ran until I thought my chest would explode, as fast as my battered legs could move, while hauling the newly dead body of an angel. I remember back then, back then before my world ended. Before Verity was in my life, when I thought I had nothing more to lose. When the worst thing that had happened was that God had cursed me, how naive to think that things wouldn’t get worse. It would have been funny if it hadn’t been true. While Shamshiel and I didn’t see eye to eye a lot, and were opposites down to our bones, he had been the first one to give me a home to go to. As my chest tightened I remembered my time wandering the Earth, what I had endured for centuries. Always on the fringes o

CAINI felt the bond sever the moment Shamshiel took his last breath. It felt like my heart had a bitch of a cramp, not like the searing pain when Verity’s was snuffed out. This was quieter, subtle, just like the man himself. Leave it to the damn angel to try to sneak out of this life without me. Anger and rage poured out from my throat, my head angled back at the sky, the spines of Kokabiel’s wings slipping from my hands and slamming onto the ground. It just wasn’t fair, why did he have to die? Why wasn’t it me? I wanted to die, why, why was he taken instead? Hearing my raw screams the angels Shamshiel had left to guard the nest came flying quickly. After all, I was maybe a half mile away at this point and this asshole had the audacity to die on me. The sound of wings ripping through the air assaulted me right before I took a forearm to the throat. A croaking noise came from me and the breath was forced from my throat, the angel glanced down before realizing who I was and promptly dr

LIAM THREE YEARS LATER I looked out the office window, drinking in the mostly barren landscape but pleased to note several small looking saplings, their greenery a welcome sight. The attack on us three years ago had turned out to be widespread, from the Officials and fallen that were aligned with them. Their goal had been to wipe out the things in their way. Mainly us and the “friendly” angels. Of course women were to be taken captive, with the goal of procreating. As in all wars the humans were divided, many defected, choosing to join the side they thought was winning. Our base had gone down significantly in number, but now that the Officials were no more and the fallen aligned with them were mostly gone we could focus on repair. The remaining opposing forces had fled, and once we had regrouped we hunted them down like the dogs they were. Eliminating the angels and Nephilim, and jailing the humans who came willingly. As the years passed we dealt with them on a case by case situation

YONA His eyes pierced through mine, becoming hard specks of ice as he drank me in. My feathers were ruffling in response to his scrutiny, as though trying to reassure him that it was ok. I slowly turned to fully face him, our eyes never leaving each other. Both of our hands moved to our chests, and I knew before I felt it, a soul tie, with Cain. I saw the rejection in his eyes, and felt my heart splinter at the same moment. Of course he wouldn’t be interested in fulfilling this, he had his one true love; a woman I could never compare to nor take the place of. Did I truly expect him to be happy? To fling himself into my arms and whisper sweet nothings in my ear? No. Cain was a man born of violence and bloodshed. A creature of all things dark and deadly. He wasn’t soft or gentle, he was wild and untameable; a man who only yielded to those who deserved it. As she had. Yet we both knew the consequences if we didn’t allow this bond to happen. Would he be so cruel as to force me to suff

CAIN (Listen to HUSHH by AViVA for the vibe) Yona soared higher and higher, weaving in fluid motions through the sky. She was breathtaking, her dark hair fanning out behind her as her wings flexed and contracted; the appendages catching the light and revealing their true colors. She had come for me, I hadn’t thought she would; a broken man like me had nothing to offer her. The soul tie thrummed in my chest, demanding I go to her but I fought it; I knew it was useless and that it was dooming both of us. As time went on I became weaker, sicker and I knew she was suffering the same fate. It was selfish of me, but I couldn’t seem to help it, everytime I even thought of the tie, Verity's face swam in my mind and I was lost to my eternal grief. God's ultimate joke on me. Curse me, exile me, then give me a family only to rip them away before saddling my pathetic soul to some poor Nephilim. Not just that, one of Shamshiel’s descendants; so I could never truly escape nor be at peace. Wasn’