Disclaimer and Acknowledgment: All persons engaged in sexual activity or otherwise sexualized are over 18.
Thank you to my editor, LiterKnight for their continued assistance in helping me put out better-polished installments of this series!
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A gentle breeze caressed my sun-warmed skin as I leaned back on my hands, my legs swaying lazily over the edge of the rooftop. The winding pathways of the villa courtyard stretched out below me, the many fountains and pools of water sparkling in the early light of the morning. Though the park-like rectangle of greenery that surrounded the villa was well-shaded by the many skyscrapers that loomed over it, slices of sunlight snuck through here and there, and I had planted myself directly under one as I sat on the edge of the villa's roof.
It was remarkably peaceful up here. The courtyard below was empty, and the sound of the surrounding city was distant and muted somehow. For a moment, I could almost forget where I was, and who I had become. I could just toss my head back and enjoy the solitude.
But then a strand of long black hair blew into my face, and I sputtered as it got into my mouth. I sat up, pulling away the offending strands with delicate red fingers, and frowned as my escapism was ruined.
We had only been here in Gomorrah for day, and I was already overwhelmed. After we had all received our Glamours, I was hoping for a moment to relax, perhaps to catch a nap or just find somewhere to kick my feet up. After the events on the highway and the non-stop crises that I kept falling into, I just wanted to get away for a little while.
But the Devil had been relentless. First tours of the villa, then of the gardens, and afterwards he dismissed my companions to spend hours grilling me about everything that had happened since I first awakened as Lilith. It was a grueling interrogation, having to juggle between his shifting moods and tempers and watching my words carefully lest I set off the temperamental fallen angel. And all throughout I worried for Aqua, still unconscious after her healing.
So, after managing to catch a small amount of sleep, I had found my way up here without managing to alert anyone else. Some blessed solitude and peace at last.
In my past life as Charles Finch, I had been somewhat of an introvert. Keeping to myself, enjoying being alone, and easily tired by social interaction. Faith had been an exception to that. She had managed to worm herself into my space and settled there comfortably, unlike anyone else.
But that time was gone, just like her.
Now I was never alone. Finding a group of friends in the prison camp and sticking to them had been as much a necessity for survival as it had been a salve for my fraying sanity. And that didn't even address the now-constant presence of Victoria everywhere I went. Adding in the intrusive demands of the government and now fucking
demons,
I never was able to recharge in solitude as I once enjoyed. And if I was honest with myself, my comfort with it all was wearing thin.
So yeah, that's why I was skulking about on a rooftop in the early hours of the morning. A large part of me felt terribly guilty for this. Victoria was wonderful, and I loved her dearly. All of the friends I had made meant so much to me, but I just needed to breathe.
So, I did. I flew up to the roof while the city was still shrouded in darkness (if still obnoxiously lit by neon lights), and found somewhere to just be alone.
I shook my head as the modicum of peace I had found for a few scant hours was ripped away by the ever-present reminder of my own absurd reality. Though my environment was magical and beyond anything possible back on Earth, sitting here, alone, it all seemed so distant, something that I could separate from myself and simply watch.
But of course, I could never escape the unfamiliarity of my own body. I grimaced as I looked down at my red fingers, idling clenching my hands as my claws rhythmically extended and retracted. With a mental command, I forced my new Glamour to take hold, watching through the momentary shimmer of magic as the red skin and claws were replaced by dusky olive fingers. Human fingers.
But not
mine
.
I stifled a groan of frustration and fell back on the smooth tile of the roof, and just looked up into the gradually lightening sky. The sun (oddly larger and much redder than the one back on Earth) had barely crested the horizon visible between the soaring towers, painting fiery orange patterns across the distant clouds. The beautiful sight did little to lesson my fraying nerves, but it was better than looking at myself.
I was laying there, my heart quiet but my mind racing, when I heard the now-familiar sound of beating wings, and I turned my head to the side just as Victoria landed not far from me on the roof.
She let out a little smile as she walked over, her wings folding up behind her. "There you are. No one seemed to know where you ran off to. Cyri guessed that maybe you'd sought out high ground."
I groaned, and pushed myself back up to my earlier perch. "I didn't mean to worry anyone; thought I'd be back before you all woke up. Guess the time slipped away from me."
"Well, you missed breakfast, if that gives you any idea." Victoria slipped down to sit next to me on the edge of the roof.
"Is Aqua...?"
"Still asleep. Either the healing took more out of her than we thought, or she's just being exceptionally lazy."
I snorted. "I think we both know she's not above sleeping past noon. Barbas seemed to think everything went well, so she probably just needs the rest.
"Hopefully, yeah."
We both sat there silently for a few minutes, our bodies inches away from each other but not quite touching. There was some sort of tension there, some little barrier that had appeared that I wasn't sure how to cross. By Victoria's darting glances, she noticed it as well. I took a deep breath.
"Look, I just wanted to say..."
"I don't know what happened, but I..."
We both opened our mouths to speak at the same time, and both of our hurried words cut off as we stopped to listen to the other. She blushed, and I let out a little chuckle. I gestured for her to continue.
Victoria cleared her throat and looked a little worried as she spoke up again. "Did I do something wrong?"
I blinked. "What? No, of course not. Why would you think that?"
The Valkyrie looked away for a moment and her shoulders drooped a bit. "Well, I woke up and you weren't there. We've been sleeping together for weeks and you were just...gone. I thought that maybe you were just in the bathroom or something but I couldn't find you anywhere. I though you had maybe...gone over to Cyri's room, or maybe one of the guys, but at breakfast they said they hadn't seen you, and we looked everywhere, and we thought that maybe something bad had happened, you know? But then Cyri said you might be up here and I found you, and I was really happy about that, but then I got worried, like why did you leave? And I just..."
I stopped the girl's rambling account with a kiss, bringing her head down to mine with a guiding head on the back of her neck. I'd found that the best way to disrupt her little stream-of-consciousness rants.
