Rayline. The meeting went exactly as I had expected it to go. Harvey briefly explained the entire situation and what he knew. Basically, all the causes of the riots and rebellion are related to years ago, and the roots have been resolved and dealt with. However, there would be unresolved loose ends and there were still ropes to be tied. Lilith most likely still has more allies and connections in places they have yet to discover, and they need to be sought out and dealt with. It may take a long time to clear things up, maybe even years, and the impact could be catastrophic. Harvey then asked everyone to share their stories and their connections. Cole spoke in front of us all, sharing everything. He talks about how he was first sent to Earth, and how Lilith gave his mother the disease out of spite and revenge. He spoke about the recent attacks, and how they were done as hatred towards him when they were actually related to the rebellion. He then spoke about me, how we met, how he bec
Rayline. It was my first day at college. Yes, that's right, I, Rayline Hale, was now officially a college student. Just a few months ago, I celebrated my 18th birthday with my parents and my best friend. A month ago, when I walked through the gates of this college for the first time, I felt an unstoppable mix of excitement and anxiety. I knew this was the beginning of a new adventure in my life. High school was in the past, and now I was entering a new chapter. My day began with mixed emotions. In a panic, I shuffled my desk and quickly grabbed the books and pencils I needed. Then I checked myself in the mirror, hoping my hair wasn't too messy. Satisfied with my appearance, I quickly slung my college bag over my shoulder and hurried down the stairs to the front door. "Mom, I'm leaving now!" I called as I made my way to the kitchen counter, where my mother was busy working on her laptop. "All right, honey! Take care!" I heard my mom's warm reply, but she continued to work on her la
Rayline. With my heart pounding, I waited for Nicolas to turn the corner and leave me alone. I tried to take a deep breath to calm the last of my nerves. But as I looked across the field, I saw Cole Spencer coming toward me. I immediately looked down, trying not to make eye contact with him as I stood there. I wondered if he was coming over to ask me why I was looking at him so strangely. But before I could prepare myself, he was already standing in front of me. I looked at him slowly until I found him looking at me, and I swallowed. He was tall, and even more handsome from up close. "You're in the way," he said bluntly. "What?" I blinked a few times. "You're blocking the door," he said, and I turned my head to see that he was actually standing right at the entrance to the building. "Oh," I said as I stepped aside. "Sorry." He gave me one last look, and I swear there was a flash of orange in his eyes as he pulled the door open and walked inside without saying anything. Nicolas to
Rayline. I went through the rest of my classes without anything interesting happening. Since it was the first day, most of them were just going over the semester schedule and other boring things. Luckily, I didn't get lost a second time. "Hey!" I jumped at the voice behind me, but then I realized that it was Darren, and I breathed a sigh of relief. "How was class?" "You scared me!" I put my hand over my heart and he laughed. "And they're good, not too bad." He hummed in response and put his arm around my shoulders. "You want to grab some food and go back to your place?" "Ugh, I can't. I have to meet someone at the library for a project." "Ew, who's that?" "Cole Spencer," I said casually, but he gave me a weird look. "What?" "Nothing, it's just… I always get a weird feeling about this guy." "Do you know him?" I asked him. It was possible that he had interacted with him before. "Not really, he's like a friend of a friend. But there was something odd about him." "Odd, like what
Rayline. A part of me wanted to send Cole a message, to ask him if he was okay, to ask him why he had to leave so suddenly that day. But every time I started typing, I heard his voice in my head telling me not to message him except about the project. But why should I care? My other classes for the week were going well. I have met some nice people so far, but no close friends yet. Meanwhile, Darren made sure to talk to me every day, which I always appreciated. I was surprised when Taylor greeted me a few times when we passed each other on campus. We didn't have that class again, so we only had one interaction, but he's still very nice. It's Saturday, so I've been at home the whole day, getting some work done. I'm typing on my laptop when I notice my phone is on. Darren is calling. "Hey, do you want to go to a party tonight?" His voice sounded cheerful as always. "Party?" My eyebrows knit in confusion. "Yeah, one of my friends is having a party. It should be a lot of fun. So get ou
Rayline. And with that, something clicked inside me. I tried to be nice and ask him if he was okay, but instead, he snapped at me and told me to leave. My jaw clenched and I knew for sure that he could see the anger that was building up inside of me. "All right, but a word of advice for you, cold bastard — when someone is being nice to you, maybe you shouldn't act like a jerk," I said, the words coming out uncontrollably, but I didn't regret it, and he seemed annoyed by my words, the orange color in his eyes flashing even brighter this time. He opened his mouth to speak again, but his voice was cut off by another. "Hey! Look who it is!" I turned around to see a man, who was not familiar to me, suddenly come over and put his arm around Cole's shoulders. However, from the look on his face, it seemed that he was not happy with the man's presence. The man was of medium build with dark brown hair and was obviously drunk, judging by his body movements and the single shot that he was holdi
Rayline. I wanted to say no again, but there was a look in his eyes, something sincere. I nodded reluctantly and he grabbed my wrist, lifting me from Hayden's lap and pulling me into a secluded hallway. I stumbled a little as we walked, and when he stopped, I stood up and crossed my arms. "Anything you want to talk about..." "I'm sorry," he said. There was silence between the two of us as we stood frozen. The last thing I expected from him was an apology, and now I'm really surprised. "What?" I say and he sighs and looks away. "I'm sorry, okay?" He pauses, seeing how surprised I am. "I shouldn't have been so rude to you. You were just trying to be nice." I watched him closely, not sure if he was being honest or not. But something inside of me told me that he was being honest, and I nodded my head. "It's okay." I looked down and played with my fingers. "I've been a bit nosy." I looked back up. There was a small smile on his face, and his eyes sparkled with a hint of yellow. And
Rayline. There was a warmth that surrounded me as my mind struggled to figure out what was going on. It was dark. I could barely see. But as the light slowly increased, I could make out the outline of the face above me. It took a while for my vision to clear, but when it did, I could see that it was Cole. He was holding me. My head was pressed up against his chest as he carried me, stepping over large branches and rocks along the way. "Wh-what? What happened..." Before I could finish asking, a voice called out to me. "Ray!" I heard Darren's voice calling in the distance and when I looked out I saw that Cole had carried me back to Taylor's house and Darren was running over to me. "Where the hell are you going?" I could see the worry on his face and he looked at me and Cole as he helped me stand up. I grabbed his shoulder as I struggled to come back to reality, and he held out his hand to make sure I was steady. "She's had too much to drink," he said curtly as he handed me to Darren
Rayline. The meeting went exactly as I had expected it to go. Harvey briefly explained the entire situation and what he knew. Basically, all the causes of the riots and rebellion are related to years ago, and the roots have been resolved and dealt with. However, there would be unresolved loose ends and there were still ropes to be tied. Lilith most likely still has more allies and connections in places they have yet to discover, and they need to be sought out and dealt with. It may take a long time to clear things up, maybe even years, and the impact could be catastrophic. Harvey then asked everyone to share their stories and their connections. Cole spoke in front of us all, sharing everything. He talks about how he was first sent to Earth, and how Lilith gave his mother the disease out of spite and revenge. He spoke about the recent attacks, and how they were done as hatred towards him when they were actually related to the rebellion. He then spoke about me, how we met, how he bec
Rayline. As I lay nestled against his chest, I playfully drew small circles on his chest, the warmth of his skin keeping me wrapped in his arms, his wings spread out around me. The morning light sneaked in through the bedroom curtains while the two of us were still snuggled together on the bed, the sheets tattered messily. He ran his fingers through my hair, fiddling with the strands as I listened to his heartbeat, hearing every breath he took. "Did you fall asleep?" he asked softly, making me smile. "I should be the one asking you that." Spinning around to face him, my hand came to rest under my chin. "You were so busy as soon as we got back, and it doesn't seem like we got any sleep last night... or this morning." His lips curled up mischievously and his hand slid down my bare back, giving me goosebumps. "I'm doing okay. It was all definitely worth it." "Mmm...hmm." I tilted my head cheekily. Right now I was in his room at his father's house. As soon as the chaos died down, h
Rayline. He placed his hand on Cole's chest. There was light... a glowing white light that emanated from the archangel's fingertips, covering Cole's body. The light grew more and more, wrapping everything around him, and I had to squeeze my eyes shut because of the blinding light. I clutched Chase's hand as a wave of power pulsed through the room, shaking everything around me. I could feel my heart beating faster, my breath catching in my throat as the tension continued to rise in my chest. The light was retracted back into Cole's body, clinging to his skin. As I opened my eyes cautiously, I saw the light fading away as the archangel got to his feet and stepped back. Without holding myself back, I jumped forward, rushed to Cole's side, and with trembling hands, placed them on the side of his cold face. A few moments passed without anything happening, waiting. I gently brushed his hair aside. Then all of a sudden, his chest heaved, catching a deep breath that sounded so sharp, and
Rayline. A wave of cool air filled the room as the flames died out, leaving a trail of empty craters. No one moved. No one dared to breathe until the demon himself, Harvey stepped back. All the Nephilim watched his movements in awe, and some of them even bowed their heads in his honor. I leaned over Cole's body, my hands shaking as I brushed his hair, which had fallen to the side. Tears fell again, rolling down my cheeks without stopping. The sound of footsteps coming closer, got louder until they finally stopped right behind me. "Rayline?" I blinked slowly, turned my head towards the source of the voice, and saw Cole's father standing there. His expression changed as his gaze fell on his son who lay motionless in my arms. He swallowed, his gaze filled with such deep pain. "...Is there any other way?" I asked hoarsely. "Is there anything you can do?" He knelt beside me, pain filling his eyes. "I'm sorry," he says hoarsely. I look back down at Cole, and the sobs I have been holdi
Rayline. Seconds. In a mere few seconds, my entire world comes crashing down, shattering into pieces as the heart-wrenching pain rips through my soul. My lungs burned as I let out a horrifying wail, holding onto Cole's chest with all my strength, begging, pleading for him to come back to me. My hands are still clasped tightly in his now cold hands, while my tears are flowing freely. I clutched at his shirt, crying helplessly as if I could bring him back with the despair welling up from within me. Out of the blue, I felt a gentle hand placed on top of mine, and I jumped, before I froze at the sight of Jesse looking up at me, his tattered wings dragging behind him. Tears streamed down his face from pain and sorrow, and his eyes lowered to the motionless Cole. He bites his lip as he looks down, squeezing his eyes shut as more tears fall. A sob that sounded like it was choking his throat before he sucked in a deep breath, and his head lifted. He reached out his trembling hand over to C
Rayline. Chris lifted the sword back up with a solemn look, ready to chop his bones off, and started to swing. But before Chris could swing the sword, Lilith suddenly stepped aside, stopping him in his motion. "Hmm..." Lilith stepped forward, and Chris suddenly stopped in midair. "I think I have seen this before." He said, moving between me and Cole. "You are ready to give up everything, while the ones around you squirm helplessly." She went on, talking about the night Cole would trade himself... to let them kill him so that all of us could leave. Cole's head snapped up to meet her eyes, with a glint of hatred. "But there was something missing, something that happened afterward. What is it now?" She tapped her fingers on her lips, as if in deep thought. "Oh! I remember now!" She let out a maniacal laugh. "You lost the person you loved the most..." Then she lifted a sacred sword, the reflection of its light glistening down on the steel, as her eyes locked onto mine, and I felt a pie
Rayline. To my horror, I watched as the skin of his wings was ripped away from the bones that reached out below, leaving only shredded pieces of flesh. His blood spilled onto the ground, soaking the tiles beneath him. She did not stop. With an expressionless face, Lilith continued to shred her own son's wings... the most precious thing to them. "STOP!" Cole's shout echoed out, filled with pain. Tears flooded his eyes. In a fit of rage, he let loose a blast of power that sent the men flying across the room, crashing to the hard ground. Cole reached out his hand towards Lilith, trying to stop her. Lilith froze in place, while Jesse's screams stopped, his body falling to the ground with a sound that struck my heart. I rushed towards him, my heart sank as I made my way to his side at the sight of the remains of his wings in a pool of blood, and a sick feeling came over me, making me bring my hand to my mouth, trying to hold back the gasps. How could she do this? To her own son. "...H
Rayline. Cole let out a slow breath, as if trying to calm himself down. I hold on to his side, trying to provide support. "But I'm not done with you yet," Lilith continues with a sinister smile. "Cole!" I exclaim as his body abruptly slips out of my arms, throws onto the stairs of the dais, and lands hard on his back. A groan escaped his lips. "To think a half-breed like you could beat me." Lilith walked haughtily towards Cole, her smile full of disdain. "What happened to all those threats, huh?" she asked, her eyes flashing with cruelty as she lifted her hand, making his eyes widen and I could see her power take hold of his throat. "What happened to ripping me apart, hm?" She took a step closer. Cole remained motionless, his blood-red eyes locked on Lilith, full of malice. "What's wrong? Nothing left to say, mutt?" But then, Cole smirked. His blood-stained lips curled up, making Lilith frown, puzzled. Slowly, his hands opened, causing the melted pieces of metal to fall to the gr
Rayline. Chaos broke out in a split second. Before I could even see his movements, Cole was already whizzing over to Lilith. The blazes lining the entire wall burst with the sudden increase in heat, forcing me to lift my arms to protect myself. Screaming and roaring could be heard clearly as Cole furiously swung his claws at her while she quickly dodged out of his reach. Lilith sent a wave of fire that blasted across the room, scorching the air around her, which made Cole lift his wings and throw them off to the side. I ducked down to avoid the lick of flame that shot out when I heard my name being called. As I turned my head, I caught sight of Taylor staring at me, tugging on the enchanted chains that held both him and Jesse, and without thinking, I jumped to my feet and slid towards them. In another corner of the room, Levi and the other demons were too distracted with helping their leader to focus on me, in addition to the battle that was going on inside the room. Once I reache