Page 91 of Endless Terrors
Persephone made the decision for him by nestling her back against his chest, then pulling the angel’s arm over her waist. Heilel felt himself stir at the feel of her warmth. Her scent.
Demeter got up without warning. She stepped over Persephone and lay down again, lodging herself between them. Heilel frowned and rolled over, putting his back to the humans. He was unsettled by the sensations creeping through him. Hoping it would pass, Heilel shifted his focus to the dreams around him. He spent another night watching them, and this time, he discovered that he could change things. All he had to do was imagine it, and the dream shifted to match the image he’d created. Had his siblings discovered this ability as well? Heilel resolved to ask one of them when he returned.
Then morning arrived, the humans awoke, and they extended another invitation to Heilel. Once again, he accepted. Persephone sat beside him while they ate, her knee touching his thigh. Heilel caught Demeter glancing toward their legs, and her nostrils flared.
That night wouldn’t be the last time Persephone’s mother inserted herself between them. As Heilel’s stay in the Garden extended another day, then another, he observed how Demeter treated her daughter as though she were still a child. The older woman’s mouth puckered every time Persephone did something that went against this. But Persephone never lost her patience. Heilel noticed how she smiled every time she saw her mother, and he knew enough about humans now to recognize love.
“What does it feel like?” he asked Persephone. “To love someone?”
She considered his question. They were high up in one of the trees, hidden from Demeter’s relentless gaze. Dusk reached between the leaves and spilled across Persephone’s face. Her eyes were soft, distant. Heilel knew she wasn’t thinking of him, and the realization sent another unpleasant sensation through his body.
“Loving someone is feeling like you will never have enough time with them,” Persephone said.
She turned her head to look at him, and then she smiled. Small indents appeared in her rosy cheeks. Heilel stared at Persephone, thinking that he’d never seen anything so beautiful. An urge rose up inside of him. Thinking of how the humans expressed their desire, Heilel’s gaze lowered to Persephone’s mouth. Her chest rose and fell more quickly, and he could hear her heartbeat. They leaned closer to each other. Closer. He could feel her breath on his lips.
“Persephone!”
Demeter’s voice cut through the stillness like a sword. Persephone froze, staring into Heilel’s eyes. For a moment, neither of them moved. Then Demeter’s calls became more urgent. Persephone smiled again, the curve of her rosebud mouth tinged with regret … and a promise. Heilel watched as she pulled away, his mind dim with shock at the effect this human had on him.
They climbed back down and went to meet Demeter. It was time for the evening meal. Persephone kissed her mother and started toward the river, her expression brightening when several of the children appeared. They seized her hands and tugged at her, talking excitedly. Heilel started to follow. Demeter shifted, putting herself in his path. Her eyes were hard, and there was no sign of the welcome she’d shown him in the beginning.
“You don’t belong here,” the human said.
Heilel studied her. Demeter was already showing signs of degeneration. There were lines at the corners of her eyes, and grooves across her forehead. Pale streaks had begun to appear in her hair. She’d existed for a blink, a blip in time, and yet she was nearing the end of her life. But this human had given the world Persephone before she went, and for that, Heilel would always be grateful to her.
He had also spent a considerable portion of his existence training young angels, and it wasn’t easy to get a rise out of him.
“You’re right,” Heilel said. “I am a guest here. And I appreciate your hospitality.”
Dislike came off Demeter like a scent. She didn’t answer. Heilel waited for another moment, and then turned to find Persephone. He could feel Demeter’s eyes boring into the back of his head for the entire walk down to the river.
Demeter’s coldness didn’t make Heilel distance himself. Neither did the visits from his siblings, who had discovered where he’d been all this time and were growing concerned for their Morning Star. Heilel wasn’t just the Maker’s favorite—he was theirs, too. But their efforts at persuasion didn’t work. Their pleas fell on deaf ears.
Heilel stayed so long in the Garden that its magick began to change him. He began to experience emotions. He started to have dreams of his own. Heilel was new to desire, but he understood what the dreams meant.
He wanted Persephone to love him.
So he courted her. He pursued her. He showed her his interest.
One night, while the moon was high and everyone slept around them, Heilel woke Persephone soundlessly. She untangled herself from Demeter with slow, careful movements. Once she was free, she took Heilel’s hand and broke into a run. They slipped away, giddy as children, weaving through trees and shadow. Persephone started to hide from Heilel, evading him every time he managed to get close. Her soft laugh echoed in his ears.
Deep in the forest, he caught hold of her. Heilel tugged her to him, and the sound of Persephone’s laughter faded.
His hands moved slowly down her body, and Persephone did the same to him, tipping her head back. Heilel’s focus moved over her heart-shaped face. His eyes landed on her mouth and stopped. Intensified.
This time, there was no one to interrupt them as they tasted each other.
Their hearts quickened with passion and wonder. They kissed, touched, explored, and discovered what else the Maker had designed their bodies to do.
And there, in the heart of the Garden, an angel and a human consummated their love.
For the first time in the course of his existence, Heilel experienced joy. Pure, blazing joy. He held Persephone close to him that night, and the change in him felt irreversible. They joined together again, and again, and again. When the sun rose, Heilel was awake to greet it. Persephone slumbered in the crook of his arm as he watched colors seep across the sky, but Heilel was blind to Earth’s splendor. His mind worked busily. He had found a new purpose. Her. This. Heilel looked down and traced the side of her face with his finger. Her name filled his mind like music. Persephone.
There were two things that stood between them. Demeter … and time.
As the days wore on, Heilel couldn’t stop fixating on Persephone’s death. His dreams became troubled, and they lingered with him during the daytime. Worry became obsession. He watched Persephone and thought about how her body had been designed to be temporary. Fleeting. Heilel was young by his kind’s standards, but he had existed long enough to know how quickly a single human lifetime would go by.
So he made a plan.
