Chapter 92 Chapter 92
Valerie never got to answer Maxwell because Ashton opened the door, interrupting their moment. The elderly woman glanced at her with a smile before her gaze moved to Maxwell, whom she scrutinized from head to toe. His enraged expression stuck out to her immediately, and she decided to be cautious around him, knowing that demons were especially unpredictable when they were irritated.
“Hello, you two, please come in,” she said and stepped aside so they could pass her. Maxwell shot her a glare, never saying anything to the elderly witch as she showed them to the living room. “I want to introduce you to someone,” she added secretively, making Valerie wonder what she was planning. She was in a good mood, so it had to be something great.
Valerie was the first to walk into the living room, and when her eyes met the gaze of a stranger, she stopped so abruptly that Maxwell nearly stumbled over her. He cursed under his breath, but she didn’t react to him, her attention captured by the man sitting on the sofa.
His hair was white and messy, and his eyes were as blue as the heavens. When he got up to greet them properly, the large, light brown wings sprouting from his back rustled softly. They were beautiful, a sight to behold, and Valerie looked at them with wide eyes. Silky feathers glimmered golden when they caught the sunlight that fell in through the window.
“Hello,” he said in a velvety voice, and that was when her jaw dropped. She must have looked ridiculous, but that never crossed her mind because she was too busy gaping at the angel that stood in front of her.
“What is an angel doing here?” Maxwell hissed hatefully, grabbing her wrist to pull her behind him as he glared daggers at the unwanted being in the room.
“I’m not here to cause you any harm,” the angel said and held up his hands in an attempt to calm the demon. Valerie felt his magic pulse angrily, and she bet that the angel felt it as well, judging by his cautious expression.
“Yeah, right, because I would rip your wings out one by one if you tried anything,” Maxwell snapped aggressively, shocking Valerie with his behavior. She tugged lightly at the back of his shirt and frowned.
“Maxwell, calm down, please,” she said and hugged his arm as she put a pout on her lips, knowing that this trick always worked with him. “I don’t like it when you are like this.”
He rolled his eyes at her but didn’t shake her off. “I don’t trust him! Why did the witch want us to meet an angel?”
“You are one rude boy,” Ashton nagged as she passed them to stand next to the angel. Maxwell’s eyes narrowed, and he already took a deep breath to give her a tongue-lashing, but the witch shut him up. “Get yourself together and don’t make this harder than it has to be! You’re not doing Valerie any favors by acting like a jerk.”
A growl rumbled in his throat, and his eyes colored deep red when he looked at her. Valerie knew that she had to change the topic before he lost his nerves completely, since that would not end well. “May I ask who you are?” she said to the white-haired angel who regarded her with an adorable smile.
“My name is Yosef. I hurt one of my wings by accident, and Ashton helped me out and took care of the injury,” he explained. “She told me about your situation, and I thought I could offer help.”
“You… you mean the bond?” Valerie asked breathlessly and subconsciously held Maxwell’s arm tighter. Fear settled in her stomach, and she was hit by a sense of foreboding—maybe coming here had been a mistake.
“Yes,” he replied. “You might want to sit down for this.”
She froze and exchanged a glance with Maxwell, reading caution in his eyes and something else.
They all sat down around the coffee table, Yosef folding his wings so they didn’t take up too much space. Valerie found herself glancing at them from time to time since she had never seen anything like them. They looked majestic even when he didn’t spread them.
“You’ve been trying to find a way to get rid of your bond for a long time,” Ashton began seriously, folding her hands as she gazed at Maxwell and Valerie. She bit her lip because she knew that this wasn’t entirely true—lately, they hadn’t bothered with it anymore. Now that the topic came up for the second time within only a few days, she felt restless and uneasy but for entirely different reasons than Ashton thought.
“Yosef told me that angels have the power to sever bonds,” the witch said, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she smiled joyfully, though her bright expression dimmed a little when Valerie didn’t react as enthusiastically as she had hoped.
“I see,” she simply said before she cast her gaze to the ground. Cold seeped into her body, and her stomach churned uncomfortably. This wasn’t what she had expected from this visit. Anything but this. If only she had known what she would get herself into when Ashton had called this morning. If only she had told Valerie beforehand…
“How does it work?” Maxwell asked, suddenly more interested in the angel than he had been before. He kept his face guarded and didn’t give away what he thought of the matter.
His voice was emotionless as well, so Valerie had no way to tell what was going through his mind. This wasn’t a good sign; he was usually quite straightforward and didn’t hide his opinions, especially not from her. She swallowed, curling her shaky hands into fists.
Yosef tilted his head and grimaced. “I guess you won’t like this, but I can use divine magic to purify the mark and eradicate it from Valerie’s body. Consequently, your bond would be broken.”