Hawaii, present day
As the darkness dissipated and detail after detail the world came into focus, Michael released Diletta, and she collapsed to the ground. The feeling of nausea still lingered, but it wasn't as overwhelming as before. She quickly removed the mask from her face, but managed to keep the small amount of food swirling inside her stomach in place.
After her racing heart resumed its normal beating tempo, she sat upright and glanced around; they were on a beach, surrounded by a tropical forest that gave way to white sand, black volcanic rocks, and stunning turquoise waters stretching out to meet the horizon. A majestic mountain, covered with lush greenery, towered above them.
"Where are we?"
"Hawaii."
The deep, velvet voice that answered her question reminded Diletta of who she was with and what had just happened. And despite the sparkling crystal sea that melted into the arms of the baby powder sand, despite the giant cliffs all around them that begged to touch the skies, despite the bright light of the summer sun that bathed everything in golden hues, what caught her breath wasn't the scenery.
It was the thought that she had done it. She had actually succeeded in freeing the archangel and lived to tell the story.
Wow.
Have some faith... Maybe all those people who said so, were right all along. Maybe they were aware of something evading her.
Diletta turned to look at the angel, to convince herself that this wasn't a dream, a fantasy playing inside her head like so many times in the past, while she lay immobilized in her apartment's bedroom. One look to convince herself that she hadn't developed schizophrenia in her mind's desperate attempt to survive a cruel and unjust world.
Nope, he was there. In the flesh. Standing proud and imperialistic, glistening under the sun's rays, gazing at her with those eyes of flaming amber.
Everything about him - skin, hair, eyes - glittered with a golden tint, except for those fiery crimson wings. It took all her willpower to remain calm, being so close to him. Perhaps what kept her sane and functional was the fact that she still didn't one hundred percent believe that this was actually happening.
Rising with difficulty from the ground, Diletta locked eyes with him.
"Why are we here?"
Michael broke eye contact and took a few steps towards the sea until his feet touched the water. Back and forth the gentle waves rolled as he stood there, staring at them.
"I haven't recovered yet. I used every reserve of grace I had to get us here. This is a good place to rest and make plans because there is no one on the island but us."
So, she was alone on a deserted tropical island with him. Be careful what you wish for, they say, and they are right to say it.
"Are you going to kill me?"
She had to ask. Michael devastated New York. Michael snapped his fingers and erased entire armies. Michael commanded the demons that hunted humans down like prey. Why would he behave any differently now, with her? She had to ask.
But when he marched towards her, all glaring and fuming, she wished she hadn't.
Standing a breath's distance away, Michael looked down at her from his seven-hundred-foot or something height.
"What kind of monster would murder the person who had just freed them from their prison?" A sarcastic smile appeared on his handsome face. "Oh, yes, the monster you humans paint me out to be."
Diletta, although petrified and with her respiration process on hold, still thought of a few arguments to contradict his statement.
But better not poke the heavenly bear.
"Okay then," she said, raising her arms in surrender while he retreated, furious, to the water and resumed wetting his feet. Maybe angels found that as soothing as humans did. "I suppose when you get your mojo back, you'll... drop me off at my home?" She threw a few glances around. "Because it's not like I can leave on my own. We are literally in the middle of the oce-"
"You are staying with me. And it's called grace, not mojo."
The revelation of his intentions had her head snapping in his direction at the speed of light. But before Diletta could process his words or dare to ask why he needed her presence, the scene in front of her caused her eyes to pop out of her head.
The celestial was getting rid of his trousers, the only piece of clothing he wore.
Lord have mercy.
Diletta averted her gaze seconds before the big gun between his legs was out in the world for everyone to see. Michael, unbothered and unfazed, at least where his nudity was concerned, dove into the pristine waters.
When she saw in her peripheral vision that his head, and only his head, emerged from underwater, Diletta turned towards him.
"You'd think you'd stay away from water after being submerged in it for so long."
Michael glared at her. "That was poison, human. This is seawater. It helps regenerate my grace faster." He kept staring at her, frowning. "Get in and wash yourself. You stink."
Excuse me?
"I stink?"
The archangel rolled his eyes. "You stink of sulfur. Get in!"
Diletta grabbed her shirt and lifted it to her nose, her face morphing into a disgusted look. Boy, was he right. Still, whatever happened to tact and politeness?
She sighed and dropped her head. The angel was as bossy as they get. Not that it came as a surprise, since he commanded an entire army and had invaded at least one planet, hers. And even though she liked commands under certain circumstances, this was her sexual fantasies coming alive in a twisted, fucked-up way.
She side-glared at the sky. "You're having a great time with this, aren't you? And they call me a troll."
"Who are you talking to, human?"
Diletta narrowed her eyes at Michael, who seemed to have his attention glued to her. "To your boss. And my name is not human."
Michael huffed. "This is ridiculous. I don't have a boss." His eyes narrowed as well. "As for your name, you will reveal it to me, along with everything else, when I interrogate you."
Her shoulders fell. Although their interaction had all the right elements for a steamy romance novel read online, she was pretty sure the archangel had something entirely different in mind. With her head down, she stepped into the water.
"What are you doing?"
Diletta rolled her eyes. "I am coming in as you instructed me."
"Take your clothes off."
You've got to be fucking kidding me.
Hands at the waist and tapping her foot on the ground, an action that led to some occasional splashing, Diletta scowled at Michael.
"The clothes smell too. Shouldn't I wash them as well?"
The angel stared at her like she was the being from outer space and not the other way around.
"We will burn them, human. And anyway, this is how you wash clothes? Didn't your mother teach you how to do simple chores?"
Diletta's whole body went rigid. His comment about her mother stabbed so hard, it ripped her heart out. Every emotion, every thought, even the oxygen was drained from inside her. Like a frozen ice queen, she stood unmoving, her lips a thin line, her jaw locked. Only her pride managed to motivate her. Emotionless like an android, she stripped naked, tossed her clothes on the sand, and dove into the water.
She didn't feel shame. Didn't feel embarrassed.
She didn't feel anything.
The cathartic power of the water consumed her completely, providing a much-needed sense of comfort. The reigning silence of the underwater kingdom soothed and nurtured her bruised heart, her aching body melting with relief into the embrace of the ocean, the mother of all life. And as the sun's rays penetrated the surface, magically igniting the marine universe, Diletta wished she was a mermaid, forever swimming in serenity, the absence of gravity driving every single pain away.
The need for oxygen reminded her she wasn't, unfortunately, a creature of the sea. Emerging on the surface, she nearly crashed into Michael, who had apparently moved closer.
While she so ungracefully spit and snorted to remove the seawater from her mouth and nose, the archangel inspected her, his attention fixed on her.
She pretended to ignore him.
"What happened? Your aura changed."
Oh, what was it with this guy and his mojo business that wouldn't allow her a moment of peace? Diletta didn't want to talk or look at him.
The angel of her fantasies would never hurt her like that.
He moved even closer. "Answer me."
Suddenly, Diletta became very aware of the fact that any protruding part of his body could smack into her at any moment. She swam away and took a deep breath to calm herself, conflicted by all the contradicting emotions battling inside her mind.
When she found the courage to face him, his gaze was so intense that the gold shine of his eyes almost matched the sun's rays falling all around them.
"I don't understand what you're talking about."
Michael gazed at her for a few more minutes before he decided to grace her with an answer.
"There is an energy surrounding humans that is called an aura. You people cannot see it, but we can. It tells a lot about how you feel or what kind of person you are. Yours just had an abrupt change. You darkened."
Wait, what?
Diletta began swimming even further away. Just what she needed - another special angelic ability. So, it seemed all their emotions and intentions were on display for the winged creatures to take advantage of.
The more she came to know the celestials, the more she wondered how humans had survived this far into the war and weren't already extinct. She was even suspecting the angels were holding back their full strength.
Realizing their difference in power made her feel really pathetic on behalf of the human race. Yet she was determined to salvage something of her dignity. She was ready to swim to the shore when Michael's voice came from right behind her.
"Tell me."
Startled, Diletta accidentally swallowed a gulp of seawater, which led to a new series of spitting, coughing, and snorting. The predator moved as silently in the water as he did on land. Or air. She had no idea he was so close.
"What do you care?" she said before diving to get once again away from him and his persistent curiosity. She emerged near the shore and got up to walk the remaining distance.
She was painfully aware that her bare ass was on full display, but there was nothing she could do about it except hurry toward her clothes. But as her hand was about to grab her underwear, his voice echoed on the beach again.
"You are not wearing those."
Infuriated, Diletta turned around with one arm covering her breasts, the other covering her genitals.
"For fuck's sake, Michael, you expect me to walk around naked?"
With the gold in his eyes whirling violently, Michael came out of the water and stormed towards the shore. Diletta, in total panic, didn't know what to do with herself, all naked and defenseless. She just stood there, throwing her gaze on the ground, but not before that gaze accidentally brushed the territory between the archangel's legs.
Probably her aura had turned a different color now. Red, if she had to guess.
Michael towered above her, and she whipped her head towards his face to avoid having a second glimpse of that beautifully designed instrument.
"First, abandon the I-am-so-embarrassed act about nudity. Do you humans have any idea how ridiculous it is to be ashamed of the body you were born with? It is just a body, and it is the same for everyone."
Diletta begged to differ, but his menacing look kept her silent.
"Second, I am Michael to my siblings, my family, my loved ones. To you, I am the Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts."
Well, that stung like a slap in the face.
Humiliated by the archangel's not-so-subtle rejection, Diletta threw her arms up, revealing her body.
To hell with it.
"Are you serious? I need a whole fucking minute to say your title."
He seemed to think about it. "Supreme Commander will suffice." To her disbelief, he turned and moved to grab his pants. "And it would take you four seconds, not a minute."
She let her gaze wander to the myriad tropical flowers surrounding the beach to calm herself down. Resigned, she bent over to pick up her clothes, realizing that communicating with a celestial being had its difficulties. Michael seemed to take everything literally and not understand some very basic human reactions.
That raised the question of how Remiel was so much different and so more human-like.
"There is a camp nearby. We will take shelter there, but we need to walk the distance," he said oh-so-nonchalantly and began marching barefoot and naked to his destination. He stopped and turned to glare at her when he realized she wasn't following.
Diletta was struggling to put her shoes on, while holding the clothes close to her body to hide her nudity. "I am NOT walking barefoot. I have... some mobility problems, in case you haven't noticed."
The hardness of his facial characteristics visibly relaxed, and if she didn't know any better, she would think that an empathetic frown flashed for a second on his face.
"I have noticed," he said and waited patiently for her to finish. When she was finally ready to go, she hurried to his side, clothes fiercely attached to her skin.
Michael inspected her from top to bottom. "I could carry you so you don't have to walk."
While naked?
Hell no. "Thanks, but it's okay. I'll manage."
The thinning of his lips betrayed his disapproval, but for once, he let whatever it was go. Instead, he went ahead and climbed with two strides to an abandoned lifeguard post. Diletta waited with a frown on her face until he returned with a man's shirt in his hand.
"Wear this," he said, arm outstretched towards her.
Impressive. He did something nice for her, right after offering to do another.
She snatched the shirt from him, and when he resumed marching, she hurried to put it on. Thankfully, it belonged to someone bigger than her, thus covering all the necessary body parts.
For a good quarter of an hour they walked in silence, Diletta struggling to keep up, her eyes glued to the ground to avoid any accidental encounters with the archangel's naked form. The sun was relentless on her skin, her stomach growled, she was sweating all over, and she would trade her kingdom for a glass of water.
"Hang on, human. The camp is just around the corner."
Apparently, her dismantling state of being was obvious.
Diletta let out a sigh of relief as she lifted her head and saw the large field of grass, the pavilion standing on one side with its wooden tables, and the outdated cabins further back, all within walking distance from a sandy beach lined with coconut trees.
She raced to the largest cabin and stormed inside. An office-like space greeted her while her eyes scanned the place for a tap or a refrigerator. She spotted a fridge in the corner and dashed across the room, barely containing a squeal as she yanked the door open and took in the rows upon rows of bottled water.
She attacked the bottle of water like a kid their Christmas present and drank with such vigor, that half the liquid fell on her newly acquired garment. "God, I am so thirsty..."
"Do not mention the Divine," Michael's voice came from behind her. With a shriek, she jumped up, hitting her arm on the fridge's door.
"Ouch!" Diletta grabbed her hand and started rubbing it. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack, Supreme Commander?"
Michael huffed, irritated. "I already assured you I will not harm you."
She stared at him, her brow knitted into a deep frown. "That's not what I mean- oh, fuck it." Closing the fridge and turning around, she lifted her gaze to his face, masterfully avoiding the rest of him. "I mean, you move like a stealth aircraft and you keep startling me. Don't do that. I am a fragile human. I might die from fright."
The angel crossed his muscular arms, the sarcastic smile returning on his face. "You tricked the US army and freed an archangel from a secret underground military base. You'll be fine."
An equally sardonic grin spread on Diletta's lips. Someone should have warned His Supremacy that snarky remarks were her territory.
"Aww, you just gave me a compliment. Our relationship is evolving!"
The smile was wiped from his lips as his eyes narrowed. But even though he seemed eager to bite back, he took a big breath instead and relaxed his shoulders. "There are bunk-style dorms here. Go to sleep and rest. I will search the place for clothes and food."
The first heavenly thing he said all day. That was an order Diletta was happy to obey. She opened the fridge again to take some water with her, but as Michael headed for the exit, his enigmatic reaction from earlier flashed in her mind. Was that thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain nonsense really a thing?
No, that was absurd. That couldn't be it.
"Why don't you want me to mention God?"
The angel froze in his tracks. He turned around slowly, radiating rage and glowering at her with such ferocity, that she feared he would explode as he did above New York.
"Go to sleep, human," he growled in a baritone, deadly voice, and left without sparing her another glance.
Diletta stood motionless, her heart missing a few beats, until she finally calmed down and scurried away, clutching two precious bottles of water. As she hastened towards the nearest cabin, she spotted the archangel's figure before he disappeared into another one.
It seemed that when it came to parents, everybody was hurt.