---

– MIHAEL – The Angel of Lasting Love.

—

This chapter is a vision from Hayden, I hope you'll enjoy seeing through his eyes. As a side note, if you prefer to keep Hayden's personality and thoughts in your imagination, you can skip this chapter; it won't disrupt the story's flow.

---

I hold my head, gently swinging it, hoping to make the pain go away. While doing so, I catch a glimpse of my sister beside me, mimicking the same movement.

The demons... demons are here... demons... here... they are here... the demons...

Whispers reach me. They are from the battle angels guarding the perimeter around the establishment, warning us of danger.

I glance at the frightened angeless, noticing that she feels nothing and probably doesn't receive the message like we do. One thing she does understand, however, is that someone has used the forbidden book.

I need to get them into the protected room as quickly as possible.

– We need to evacuate quickly. Follow and stay behind me. Once I open the door, be quiet, I whisper.

I take one last glance over my shoulder, ensuring they're ready, before I spread my sturdy wings, ready to attack if necessary.

There's no sound in the hallways, no one in sight—everyone must have managed to evacuate. On the way, I notice the demon symbols marking their passage.

It's now confirmed—the demons are here.

The Guard Room, located in the basement of the castle on the west side. It's the safest room in case of a demon invasion. It's large enough to hold all the angels while we, the fighters, protect them. It's not the prettiest room in the academy; it's damp, cold, and lacks windows. This is actually a positive detail for us, as we only have one entrance to monitor that way.

– Go inside, you'll be safe in there.

My sister looks at me, worried.

– And you, aren't you coming?

– No, I can't, you know that, Hailey.

They enter, and I watch them step inside, one by one. When the door closes, I approach my comrades.

– You two, keep a close watch on the door. Don't let anyone out, understood? I order.

– Yes, they respond one after the other.

– You others, grab your weapons and come with me. We must protect Fëare at all costs. Kill all the demons, protect and escort the angels who couldn't make it here in time, and above all, come back alive.

Everyone except the two guards in front of the main room follows me, armed with celestial weapons. These twelve scouts split into groups of three, flying off in different directions. As for me, I fly alone toward the fighter's quarters to retrieve my sword, which I left in my room.

I haven't seen Hadrien with the group—where could that fool be? At any moment, he could've ignored the warning, hiding in a dark corner with an angeless.

I take a short round, flying and struggling to see in the dim atmosphere created by the many gray clouds in the sky. These same sad clouds, crying louder and louder, make it harder for me to stay in the air, weighing down my wings with their tears.

Being in the sky is the best way to stay safe from demons who can't fly, but I still have to land and hurry to find my brother. I hope he's not alone and that he has something to defend himself with, just in case.

Bien sûr, voici la traduction en anglais avec les tirets :

---

– I walk through the dormitory hallway, a surge of adrenaline rising within me as I see a lot of blood covering the tapestries, making me fear the worst. Moving deeper into the building toward my room, I stop suddenly and rub my eyes. Is my vision playing tricks on me?

No, I'm not hallucinating... What is she doing here?

I approach her from behind, step by step, trying not to make a sound, and it seems she hasn't noticed me yet.

Not wanting her to scream in surprise, I place my hand over her mouth as soon as I finally reach her.

– Shh, don't make any noise, I whisper.

I push her into the room, then close the door behind us. It's then that I lower my arm, allowing her freedom of movement. She turns around and opens her eyes wide, staring at me for a few seconds before raising her hand toward my face. This unpredictable gesture, her cold skin touching mine, sends a shiver through my entire body.

She's completely drenched, how did she manage to get out without the guards seeing her?

Suddenly, seeing her shiver from the cold, I feel a burning warmth in my heart that makes me boil, though I don't understand why.

– How is it that you're here? I say, clenching my fists.

– Don't you know?

– What?

She explains what happened right after I left her with my sister. My heart shifts from hot to cold, and I express a hint of worry in my voice.

– All of them?

– Yes, didn't you feel anything?

– No, I didn't experience any of that.

– Looks like we're the only ones then.

The symptoms she describes bring a memory to the surface—one of having read about them before, but where?

I start searching the shelves in my room where some old books and volumes are placed.

Voici la traduction en anglais avec les tirets :

---

– Ah, here it is!

– What does it contain?

– Our solutions to this mess. Good thing you didn't steal this one, I joke.

– Funny! she says sarcastically.

The manual I'm holding in my hands instructs me to read the volume on "demonic souls." A wave of frustration hits me. As soon as my brain realizes which book this title belongs to, I throw the book to the floor, freeing my hands, which I immediately place on my head, holding my hair.

– What's going on?

Without thinking, blinded by anger, I grab her by the throat, losing control of my actions.

– It's your fault, why did you touch something that isn't yours?

Looking her in the eyes, my heartbeat slows down. For the first time in my life, my anger hurts my chest, as if my heart refuses for me to harm her in any way. I release her and let her speak while I pace around, sitting on the bed, thinking about how we can get out of this situation.

I ask her to tell me everything from the beginning, detailing the events.

What if there's another book that could answer our questions?

– I'm not sure... let's go to the library, I need to check something.

I grab her wrist and take my sword, leading us straight to the castle. Neither of us speaks, constantly scanning the surroundings.

It's still raining, and I can no longer fly. I wish I could spare her this walk through the freezing rain by carrying her in my arms. No choice, we have to cross the courtyard quickly, hoping we don't encounter any creatures that could put her in danger.

I glance at her several times as we pass through the training grounds to make sure she's okay. She looks at me without saying a word, her face serene.

We're surrounded by demons, and she doesn't seem scared. She's... strange, or perhaps brave; either way, she's different from the other angelesses.

Arriving without incident at the building, we continue on foot, trying not to make any noise that could attract creatures toward us.

I don't release her hand until we're inside the library, gently closing the door behind us. No one is here. I immediately head upstairs and begin searching.

A lot of time has passed since we arrived, and I've been searching for too long, in my opinion. I'm even surprised I haven't encountered any of these demons by now.

During my search, I glance at her from time to time without her noticing. Her long black hair twisted and draped over one shoulder reveals her pale neck and a small diamond at the top of her ear. I finally notice that my eyes always want to be on her. Why does she attract my gaze?

The more I look at her, the more I feel a burst of warm air that rises in my chest and quickly spreads through the rest of my body. It's quite pleasant. What is this new... sensation?

Still seated on a small golden bench with red velvet, flipping through a book, she suddenly stops. She lifts her head and stares at the bookshelf in front of her before letting out a deep sigh and tilting her head toward me.

This gesture makes me panic without knowing why. Since when do I panic? I pretend to be busy and swap the book I'm holding with another one I randomly grab from the library, then quickly begin skimming it.

At that moment, I hear her stand up and take a few steps toward me. She stands still, waiting, before speaking.

– It's been a while now, don't you want to take a break?

I don't answer, pretending to still be angry with her.

As soon as she turns around and begins descending the stairs, my eyes follow her without realizing it.

My eyes are drawn to her like a magnet. I manage to regain my composure and continue searching through the book I hastily picked up.

– "Spells from the Other World," I read aloud.

Oh, this seems interesting.

While reading, my heart tightens, feeling an oddly unpleasant tingling all of a sudden. My instinct speaks to me, and I listen, turning my head back toward her.

She's face to face with a damn monster. The tingling in my heart intensifies. Without thinking, I leap over the banister and spread my wings during my freefall. The demon doesn't move, remaining still in front of her, who is terrified. I immediately grab the weapon I had left on a table when we arrived, finding myself barely two meters behind them.

It moves... no... it's going to kill her...