166 Nerves

I squeeze him back and whisper "He's helping me... I think." Kian loosens his grip a little as I lean back and look him over with concern. As my eyes and hands search for injuries, he grabs my hands and kisses them both before saying "I'm fine, dollface. Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you? Why are you covered in blood?"

I shake my head 'No' as I say "It's not my blood. How did you know I was here?" He gives me a dark smirk and says "It's not the first time I've seen heavenly lightning. As soon as you were taken, I came looking for you it's just hard to navigate this place. There are three different levels so it took me a while..." 

The Elder starts chuckling behind me before he starts outright laughing. Kian and I turn around to see him slap his knee and say "Please tell me you left a mess in the other two levels!" Kian blinks and says "I almost destroyed everything in search of her..."

The Elder starts laughing again before pointing at Kian and saying "You! You, I really like! Hah! It'll take Micha forever to clean that mess up! Hahaha! You just made my day!" He quickly waves at the chairs and says "Come, come join us as we wait for my men to report back to me."

Kian looks mildly confused but I can't blame him, I was slightly confused myself! I try to sit in my own chair but Kian quickly pulls me into his lap and wraps an arm around my waist. I give him a small smirk as the Elder makes another wine appear. 

He hands Kian a cup and says "Since you can't drink Heavenly wine, I got you something a little different." Kian takes the glass with his free hand while still holding me close with his other. I lean over and grab my glass, taking another sip as the Elder sighs and says "It seems like someone has tried to pull something behind my back." 

I bite the inside of my lip as I think about what he said. I turn to him and ask "You said there are three levels?" The Elder swallows his mouthful before nodding and saying "The first level is the most basic. They deal with answering prayers and making miracles happen. Most of the stories about Angels or Angel sightings are about them. It's quite busy but rewarding work." 

He leans back in his chair and says "The second level deals with those who have died. They deal with the human souls and sort them. It's a stressful job that requires a lot of Angels. You'd be surprised by how many humans die in just a few hours. It's grunt work but someone has to do it." 

He starts to smile as he says "And the third level is where you're currently at. We are the military side. We protect the humans from evil forces and evil beings. We also get called to war, it's an honor to serve." 

I nod again as I sip my wine but when I glance at Kian, he was no longer holding the glass. I glance at the glass and see that he hasn't taken a single sip from it. He just continues to rub my hip and thigh in a calming manner.

I don't know if he's doing it for me or for him... When I hear the sound of several footsteps, I turn and look up to see several guards walking in with Angels in tow. As soon as they stop before us, the guards kick the back of their legs and they all kneel before the Elder.

The Elder slowly sips his drink, gazing at each one of them with cold eyes before asking "Who wants to keep their life?" The kneeling Angels shudder but when my eyes land on Maro, I can't help but feel my hand tighten on the glass. 

The Elder watches them all, waiting for anyone to step forward but when no one does, he lifts his free hand. A book appears in his hand as he smirks and says "It looks like the report is done. Let's see what we have."

He opens the book with a dark smirk but after reading the contents, his eyes darken and the smirk disappears. I really want to know what it is but I don't want to step out of line. He turns a page and dryly laughs before saying "Wow... what a plan." 

He snaps the book close and holds it out to me without looking my way. I quickly take the book and try not to spill my wine. Kian takes the wine and sets it on the table as I open the book. The report was clear and surprisingly detailed. 

Maro didn't "see me fighting the demon and become surprised" He knew of me waaaay before that. He knew of my mother and her mother before her. Marco knew of me the day I was born but the moment I time traveled, things changed.

He reported the changes and they began watching me even closer. Him and a few others. When they were certain I carried the same blood as Queen Cara, Maro took the perfect chance to "give me a heavenly gift".

Not only did they use me to get rid of the demon, but they also waited for the perfect moment to have the 'perfect' reason for taking me. They should have reported the demon to the third level but they never did. They even hid it! They were testing me... to see what I was capable of doing and how strong I really was.

But this was just the surface... Why would they do all this?

I turn the page and instantly get the answer. Micha... the Angel he was just telling me about. Suddenly, it all made sense. He was going to use my blood and become more powerful. He was going to use my blood to take over the Elder's position. 

Wait... that doesn't quite make sense. Why would they reward me with my mother's soul then? As if reading my thoughts, Kian leans up close to my ear and whispers "They wanted to make you feel indebted. I don't think they expected you to break out the two brothers. Now they're scrambling to find the second one that carries Queen Cara's blood. They don't seem to know she's alive."

So they set this whole thing up, just to climb the ladder of power!? Hah... I feel Kian smile against the skin on my neck. It really does feel like he can read my thoughts at times... He whispers "Your blood is special, remember? Without your permission, it will be very hard for them to use your blood the way they want to. They would need to be in good standings with you so that you would offer to help them become stronger." He places a soft kiss before continuing.

"Maybe after throwing you in jail and even torturing you for a bit... they'll swoop in and save you out of the good of their hearts. They'll come and not only save you, but they also offer to send you back home to your loved ones... for the small price of your blood. You'll feel so grateful to them for saving you and setting you free, you'll have no problem giving them what they ask for."

I feel him smile again as he says "Or... you fight them and threaten to kill them. They will then threaten to throw you back into prison or threaten to attack your loved ones. You'd then give them what they want. Either way... they get what they want and this guy becomes stronger." He points to the name Micha on the paper.

My anger continues to grow until I'm seeing nothing but red. When I look back up, I see the Elder nod in agreement before turning to the others kneeling before him.