Wings of torment silver.., p.1
Wings of Torment (Silver City University Book 2), page 1
Copyright © 2024 by Victoria Pauley
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
No AI was used for the contents of this book, including the writing, covers, or anything else. I do not consent to my work being used to train AI.
ISBN: 978-1-7781022-6-4 (ebook)
ISBN: 978-1-7781022-7-1 (paperback)
Cover design by Opulent Designs
Headers and breakers by Aestheteam Designs
Formatted by Sullyn Shaw
Edited by CB Editing Services
Proofread by The Eclectic Editor
Map made on Inkarnate
Contents
Dedication
Author's Note
Silver City University Map
1. Hayliel
2. Hayliel
3. Theo
4. Ezekiel
5. Hayliel
6. Hayliel
7. Raphael
8. Hayliel
9. Hayliel
10. Ezekiel
11. Hayliel
12. Theo
13. Hayliel
14. Hayliel
15. Hayliel
16. Raphael
17. Theo
18. Ezekiel
19. Hayliel
20. Ezekiel
21. Hayliel
22. Hayliel
23. Raphael
24. Theo
25. Hayliel
26. Hayliel
27. Hayliel
28. Hayliel
29. Theo
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Also By Victoria Pauley
To the weirdo. The freak. The reject.
Normal is overrated.
Author’s Note
I’m thrilled to finally share Wings of Torment with you. While this is not a dark romance, the characters in this series all need to overcome their own issues. Some of these issues may hit close to home so please read the list below before diving in.
-This book features an FMC who struggles to fit in. She’s bullied and ridiculed for being different (not by the main love interests).
-Instances of prejudice between the different types of angels.
-Open door sex.
-Episodes of PTSD from past trauma with flashbacks of a witnessed death
-Mention of the prior death of a parent.
-A difficult relationship with family.
-Demons intent on harm
Silver City University Map
1
Everyone stares.
Professors. Students. Even my friends, though they at least look happy to see me.
I feel their approach, but I can’t focus on them. I can’t seem to focus on anything but the utter destruction around me. The familiar ring of trees that once circled this old well has changed. Broken stumps and uprooted trees surround me, and the few that appear nearly untouched now hold up the bloodied angels watching me.
How did this happen?
Footsteps crunch over the scattered ash circled around me, quickly drowned out by the frantic thump of my heart. I should be used to the stares by now, but at least then I knew what they were for. Now I’m stuck in a vortex of confusion, and it doesn’t feel like I’ll ever escape.
A hint of leather fills my nose, so I know Zeke is close. He grabs my arms, and our eyes lock. His are full of concern as he trails them over my face and down my body. I’m sure my eyes must be wide and unhinged, but that doesn’t stop him from pulling me into an embrace.
When his arms envelop me, all I want to do is collapse. I hold on to him, whether for comfort or balance, I don’t even know, but I feel safe here.
His husky voice vibrates through his chest, but I can’t focus enough on the words to understand. Before I know it, I’m being pulled away by soft fingers.
“By the Archangels, Hayles. Are you alright?” Dina asks, pushing the hair from my face.
“Yeah. I think so.”
No one buys it.
Raphael hugs me next, pressing a kiss to the top of my head, and then his words are in my mind. You gave us quite the fright, sunshine.
I squeeze him a little tighter, pushing my words at him with ease. I’m just glad you’re all okay. Nothing can get to me as long as I stay entwined with him. I’m protected from the world.
He turns me around and presses me into another warm body, this one unfamiliar yet recognizable all the same. Theo. He’s never held me like this before, or at all, really. But within the confines of his arms, I feel nurtured and cared for.
“Are you sure you’re fine?” Theo asks, pulling back to look at me.
I nod but can’t stop the question from surfacing in my mind. Am I? Can any of us really be fine after what just happened?
Then I notice the blood. Theo’s clothes are covered in it. He and Dina have faded claw marks on their arms, and Raphael sports a rather gnarly looking gash on his thigh, but I can’t tell the severity beneath all the dried, crusty blood. Zeke is the least bloodied, with only a torn uniform and dark droplets of what can only be demon blood splattered across it.
“Enough about me. Are you guys injured? This isn’t all yours, is it?” I eye the impossible amount of blood coating Theo’s shirt, my heart pounding as I wait for a response. Have I failed them? These angels who have become my closest friends, were they harmed while trying to protect me?
“No,” he replies, clasping my hand in his and poking a hole in my ever-growing worry. “We’re actually considered the lucky ones, compared to what we saw of the other students.” His grimace paints enough of a picture for me to believe him and forces my mind back to the day of the assembly. After that incident, I knew whatever happened in his past had to have involved demons. If his trauma had risen again during the battle, who knows what might have happened to him?
“Breathe, sunshine. We’re all a little banged up, but we’ll live.”
The knot that had formed in my chest while I hid beneath my wings loosens, and I can finally breathe a little easier. We survived. Sure, with a few scrapes and bruises, but we’re here. We’re still breathing. As much as I try to focus on that, I can’t shake the confusion. How did we, and everyone else, defeat a horde of angry demons? Had the Guild finally shown up with their special swords? That would explain the pile of ash at my feet, but I don’t recall seeing anyone in a Guild uniform except for Zeke in front of me. The last thing I remember is the awful snarls from the encroaching circle of horrid beasts while I hid.
“What happened here?” I try to keep my voice steady but fail miserably, the words coming out shaky and soft.
Zeke is the first to respond. “You don’t know?”
I shake my head. “I just remember hiding with my wings like a coward until I heard you all call for me. Then I was just so fucking angry and worried that one or all of you would get hurt. Next thing I know, there’s a blinding light and the demons are gone.”
My words don’t ease the confusion from their faces like I’d hoped.
“Babe,” Dina says, her voice soft. “That blinding light came from you.”
Her words hit me harder than any demon had. The light came from me? But that doesn’t make sense.
I gaze around my circle of friends, then beyond them to the still-gawking group of angels. It’s thinned out some, but enough remain to make me wary. Keeping my voice low, I ask, “What do you mean?”
Raphael steps closer, sensing my unease. “The moment your wings opened, light flashed. Almost like you held a tiny storm within your wings and, as soon as they unfurled, a thousand bolts of lightning escaped.”
“Once it dissipated, all the demons were just … gone. Turned to ash,” Theo says, running a hand through his messy curls. “If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I might not have believed it.”
I sway a little on my feet, folding my arm across my stomach to stop the odd sensations roiling through me. Zeke’s next words halt the breath in my lungs.
“Your wings have been different ever since.”
My wings!
I remember now that Zeke said something earlier, but everything felt like a dream then. My now-golden wings glint beneath the fading light. With a flex of my muscles, I spread them wide and watch as the color shifts beneath the dying rays of the sun.
They’re beautiful.
Shit. Is this why everyone is staring? One more thing for the other students to ridicule me for. I’m sure Harold the Herald will take great pleasure in writing about this in his next column.
Panic settles heavy in my chest as I stand on display, desperately wishing to be anywhere else. Maybe if I hide inside my wings again, they’ll forget I’m even here.
Professor Castiel stands among the group of onlookers. We share one brief look before he jumps into action.
“Alright, students. Please head to the tower so we may assess each of you for injury.” A few students don’t move quickly enough, so he speaks a little louder. “This is not a request. Let’s move.”
“But what about them?” an unfamili
“They are not your concern. Now go, or I’ll haul you there myself.”
After a few grumbled words, they take off toward the tower. Professor Castiel looks from me to my friends, and then back to me. For a moment, I think he wants to say something, but all he does is nod before turning on his heel and leaving us.
“Come on, Hayles,” Dina says, pressing a hand to my shoulder.
I nod, immediately grateful for her presence, and follow her down the hill.
The professor might have forced some angels to leave, but they aren’t the only ones on campus. There are more at the bottom of the hill, and as soon as they see me, their eyes grow wide. Shit. I regret not putting my wings away sooner. They’re the cause of the mess I’m currently in. Hell, every mess I’ve ever been in. Those suckers need to go away, stat.
With a quick flex, my wings disappear beneath my skin, and I let out a little breath. Instead of feeling uncomfortable like I expected, my new wings seem to hum beneath my flesh like a long-lost friend. There’s a sense of comfort within them that both startles and worries me.
Why can’t I just be normal?
I follow Dina toward the front doors of the main hall with Raphael, Theo, and Zeke following along. With everything else going on, I hadn’t realized how strange it was for Zeke to be here. Doesn’t he hate Raphael and Theo, or is it just my supposed relationship with them he doesn’t like?
Clearing my throat, I ask, “How’d you find me, anyway?”
“I followed him,” Dina says, pointing to Zeke.
“And I was following them,” he says, pointing to Raphael and Theo.
“I felt your distress, sunshine. Like a tug on our telepathic bond or something. I don’t really know how to explain it, but fuck, I can’t say I’m not grateful for whatever it was.”
“Huh. Is that a thing?”
Dina loops her arm through mine. “If the bond is strong enough, it is.”
I glance toward Zeke, but I don’t find the icy stare I expect. Instead, the strange look that’s been on his face from moments ago hasn’t gone away. Relief, maybe? Shock?
“Hayliel!” Gagiel races toward us with a beaming smile.
“Are you guys alright?”
“For the most part. Are you?”
“Yeah. I was studying in my room the entire time and only caught the end.” His cheeks redden a bit, but he presses on. “I saw them cornering you, and I was so fucking worried. But then you just erupted like a volcano and took them all out. What the hell was that?”
I consider lying, telling him it didn’t happen. If it were anyone else, I probably would, but Gagiel has been nothing but kind to me, and oddly, I trust him.
“We don’t know, actually. But if you could keep what you saw to yourself for now, I’d really appreciate it. There’s a lot to figure out first.” I glance around, glad to find that no one is paying much attention to us here. Healers focus on tending to the wounded while university staff snap photos of the damage.
“I get it. I won’t say a word, but I just wanted to let you know I think you’re amazing. Even before all of this”—he waves a hand through the air—“thanks to you, my friends are coming back to campus after the Archangels’ Feast in a few weeks. Well, if this whole attack thing doesn’t scare them off.”
“Oh, that’s great! I can’t wait to meet them.” Something settles in my throat, making it hard to swallow.
He pauses for a moment, then wraps his arms around me in a quick hug. “I’m really glad you’re alright.” It barely lasts a second before he takes off, leaving me dumbfounded.
What did I do to deserve his kindness? How can he be so confident in someone like me, especially now that I’m an even bigger freak?
Raphael touches my shoulder, jolting me out of my self-pity party and reminding me where I am. Surrounded by pain and destruction.
How many angels were harmed in this attack? And how long will it take for Silver City University to recoup from the destruction?
“In all our research, does anyone remember reading about gold wings?” Raph asks, unperturbed by the scene around us.
I shake my head and fall deeper into my despair. We had a hard enough time finding anything helpful about my gray wings. What are the chances we’ll find something now?
“That’s why we’re going to the principal. Maybe he can help,” Dina replies hopefully.
“Maybe.” I hope the words come out in a far sunnier tone than my current disposition. As much as I try to adopt the optimism my parents showered me with as a child, I can’t seem to muster any up. And as we approach the broken white doors of the main hall, I can’t stop the swirling in my gut that tells me, for the second time in so few months, everything is going to change.
2
Somehow, there’s no damage inside the main hall. In fact, the only real evidence of an attack at all is the broken front doors and a few drops of blood splattered on the floor.
We head left toward the principal’s office, but find it empty, and the receptionist is gone as well.
“Did anyone see him during the attack?” Dina asks, but everyone shakes their head.
Dread settles in my gut as we turn to leave. Was he hurt? Did he even show up and attempt to protect the school he runs, or did he hide away and leave us to fend for ourselves? I didn’t really get that vibe from him, but my thoughts are a mess right now, and as much as I want to believe he wouldn’t do that, I can’t. I learned enough about myself today to make me realize I don’t even know who I am, so how can I possibly know anyone else?
Before we get too far from his office, the principal exits a classroom with a group of healers in tow. He looks more disheveled than I’ve ever seen him. “There you are! I was informed you’d come this way, but I feared I would be too late.”
“Too late for what?”
“Come, come. Whatever it is you’re doing will have to wait until you receive a clean bill of health.”
“Actually, Principal Cael, we were hoping to speak with you,” Dina tells him as we approach.
“Very well, but see the healers first. That’s an order.” He steps away almost immediately and doesn’t hear my objection. I feel fine, and I’d really rather not be under a microscope right now. Instead of arguing that point, though, I follow my friends and the healers into the classroom where they have their supplies set up.
One healer directs Theo to sit on the desk, questioning him on where the blood came from and if he’s feeling woozy before he explains it isn’t his. Another healer pulls me aside and directs me to a seat of my own.
“There’s no need to look me over, really. I feel fine, and the few cuts and bruises I have aren’t bothering me. You should focus on someone else.”
It appears I’ve gotten saddled with the most stubborn nurse imaginable because she barely acknowledges my words and taps the desk.
Her face settles into something like awe when I finally take a seat. “Aren’t you the angel who single-handedly defeated those nasty demons? And did so in a way that no one here has seen before, might I add?” I can only stare at her in disbelief, but the look on my face must be enough confirmation because she continues. “Precisely. So I apologize, Miss Hayliel, but you are most certainly getting looked at.”
She focuses on my cut thigh first, but because of our angelic healing, it’s barely a scratch. After a thorough search, she asks if I feel any pain and when I tell her no, she almost lets me leave.
“Your hand is swollen,” she says, picking it up and putting light pressure over the puffy, red area.
I wince. “Yeah. I was weaponless, so these had to do. Unfortunately, no one tells us how hard their fucking skulls are.”
“I have a feeling there will be some new contingencies in place so this doesn’t happen again, but you should all be proud of the way you handled things today. We were lucky they didn’t carry anything that could permanently harm us. As for your hand, nothing’s broken, only bruised. If this doesn’t feel better in a few days, come to the infirmary, alright?”
“I will.” Jumping off the desk, I walk to where Zeke, Theo, and Dina wait for Raphael to finish with the nurse. It sounds like his ribs took the same beating as my hand because he’s given similar instructions for care.
