COLD. Death felt cold.
Or so he thought.
It took him a few seconds, but Axel realized something that should've been ordinarily impossible. Among the hazy thoughts and feelings in his head, a distinct confusion stood out.
It shouldn't have been possible. He had lost blood, way too much blood- but he was still breathing.
His senses were dulled, the world around him felt numb and the throbbing ache in his bullet-ridden abdomen was muted, but it was present, nevertheless- and he was still alive.
There was something else this time, however.
Something cold, but with a gentle thrum of energy. There was a faint tingling erupting from his cheeks- sending buzzing life down his spine, almost as if it was keeping him alive.
His mind seemed to bring another thing to his notice past the fuzziness.
A burning, bright light behind his eyelids. It was the kind of feeling you'd experience when you looked up at the sun, with your eyes closed- where you were surrounded by a certain dazzling warmth.
Slowly, his eyes fluttered open.
Huh?
For a few seconds, only another wave of confusion engulfed his mind. All he could do was squint at the brilliant light flooding his vision.
But when he did see the source of the light, the only thought that instantly popped up in his head was,
Oh, I'm really dead.
Leaning above him, was a woman. He wasn't even sure he could call her that because she looked unreal- with a remarkable, almost startling resemblance to sculpted statues of the Greek Gods.
Heck, for a few moments he wasn't even sure if she was real, but he knew he could feel her icy touch on his skin. Her hand was extended towards him, gently touching his cheek and sending tingling energy throughout his sprawled figure.
Unbeknownst to him, that was the very thing keeping him alive. Her energy.
His vision was still hazy, blurring in and out of focus- but god, she was beautiful- he could tell that much. Even past his blurred sight, he could make out a distinct aristocratic nose, a rosy cupid's bow as her lips, and a pair of glowing green emeralds looking back at him, switching between his own eyes, softening with something akin pity.
But the one thing, that seemed most definitely unreal- was a pair of radiant golden wings, gleaming against the backdrop of the night sky resting on her shoulders.
An angel.
Holy fucking sh-
Maybe he was imagining it.
Blood loss could do that to you, he reminded himself, but there was something in him that was itching to confirm it.
He was a stoic man, and ordinarily, he wouldn't ask questions that could be deemed stupid- but his mind was already unclear, so the words tumbled past his lips without restraint.
"Are you-" he coughed, another trickle of blood running down his lips, "Are you an angel?"
Her lips curved upwards, only in the slightest- almost as if she's amused that he's asking her that. "I might be."
The slight hilarity in Stella's eyes dies down when they see the look in is. There's an almost broken look in them- and certain despair swirling in his eyes that she can see, no matter how hard he's trying to hide it to maintain his composure.
The man could pass as a heavenly being himself- with a sharp jaw, a chiseled face, and a muscled frame. But there was an earthly ruggedness to him, and a certain darkness that swirled around his fingertips, that confirmed that he was human.
He was a tough man, emotionally too. To see him struggling to maintain a composed façade and hide his vulnerability, even in the hands of death- made her eyes soften again.
"What happened?" she asks him gently, the pad of her thumb gently tracing his cheek. It was almost an unconscious action- though she knew it was keeping him alive.
"I-" he coughs again, croaking the words out, "I only wanted to look at the stars- this- I don't know how this happened-"
Stella's eyebrows furrow gently, her eyes flickering to his abdomen for a second. "Why venture out without protection?"
"I- I don't know," he says, the despair in his eyes deepening. She can tell that he's disappointed in himself for that too.
"It's alright," she says gently, pressing another finger to his forehead, both to calm him down and to allow herself to search his mind for his most recent memories.
The images of his latest recollections flicker before her eyes and a party, with loud music, full of intoxicated humans is the first thing she sees.
Then she can see him stepping out of the party for some peace- casually walking towards this spot by himself to watch the stars. She can feel the memory of a pleasant emotion that surged through his body as he watched them twinkling above and hear the sudden shots that ring out in the dark, hitting him.
So that's what had happened. She let's go of his forehead, moving back to his cheek.
There was no memory, or trace whatsoever in his mind, of who might have done this to him.
That made Stella pity him even more.
Because it wasn't the light of a struggling soul, neither was it the scent of an oncoming death that had made her find him.
It was the unnaturally strong scent of betrayal in the air.
Axel had been betrayed.
"I- I don't know-"
His eyes were drooping, despite the energy that was buzzing through her fingertips, and she realized that the blood loss was finally getting him- once again.
She had a decision to make. To save this man, or to not.
On one hand, she could see the sins tainting his hands. There was blood on his hands, the blood of plenty- because this man killed for a living.
But on the other hand, he was a hitman. Not any hitman, but The Falcon- one of the best across the globe. It was his job to take out humans that contributed to the darkness on the planet. Even if he was attracting darkness to himself, he was wiping out plenty from the world- and in some ways- the action and responsibility that it took, was commendable.
The other thing about this man was that Stella knew him- even if he didn't know her.
He was the man who loved the stars- one of the only earthlings that still believed in them.
Every night, his eyes would drift across the constellations of the night sky, and he would murmur their names to himself, a tranquil smile on his lips. Then he'd speak to his mother, whose soul had passed, and to his little brother who was miles away. Even while he thought he was dying, he chose to do the same.
Stella was the angel of the stars and the sky. So, every night, when he'd talk to the stars- he'd talk to her.
Was she going to let a man, who had loved the stars and brightness so, die in the hands of betrayal and darkness? No, she couldn't do that.
She sent a stronger surge of life through her fingertips, making his eyes widen by a tiny fraction.
"Listen," she tells him gently, holding a hand over his wound, "You're going to live. I'm going to help you."
A certain disbelief dawns in Axel's eyes. "W-What?"
"I am not going to let you die," Stella gives him a small smile, as he looks back at her incredulously, "consider this a blessing from the stars."
She knew she had to be quick and smart about it, as well.
She had already let one human see her in this form- but she definitely couldn't let others see her like this, so that ruled out flying him to help. His acquaintances and friends were currently at a party, so she couldn't fly him down there and leave him outside either because they wouldn't notice him in time. She wasn't very keen on leaving his side either.
What she could do, was help him send a call for help, while giving him the energy to live off.
"A communication device," she mutters, looking around, "Do you have a communication device?"
Her eyes land on a tiny black screen that was reflecting her light, and her eyes widen out of partial awe and recognition.
A phone rested on the blood tinted tufts of grass a few feet away. Human devices had always fascinated her, but she knew that this wasn't the time to get distracted by it.
"Alright, keep breathing Axel, you need to stay awake," she tells him gently, as she reaches out with one hand to send a surge of energy through the device.
"How-how do you know my name?" he mutters, shakily inhaling.
Stella's lips curve up in the slightest- just for a second, but she doesn't answer the question with her eyes still focused on the screen that lights up.
The phone automatically dials the emergency contact, just as it did right before it died, and it takes a few seconds for the person to pick up.
"Axe?"
Stella holds the phone up to his ear, giving him an encouraging nod while ignoring the very obvious look of shock on his face.
"Uh, hello? Axel?"
"Corban?" Axel breathes finally, the pain evident in his voice.
"Axe?" his tone instantly turns concerned, at the sound of his weak voice. "What's wrong?"
Axel swallows back the cough. "My-My wings are cut."
Stella furrows her eyebrows in confusion at him, but the man on the line seems to understand those words- because he is greeted with silence.
"Fuck," his reply comes, and Stella can hear his movements over the phone as keys jingle in the background. "Where are you? And how bad is it?"
In the small pause that it takes for Axel to respond, she can hear the man yelling instructions to other people for help.
"I'm- I'm at my spot," Axel says, his eyes drooping again, "and it's-it's bad."
"Your spot?" the man on the line sounds both furious and surprised. "That's nearly two miles away- Axel what are you even doing there? Weren't you at the party?"
"S-Stars," Axel says with a cough, as the other man lets out a string of curses.
"I'm bringing help," the man says, as the distinct sound of the roar of an engine sounds through the line, along with a couple of other hurried male voices talking in the background, "and if you die on me Axel, I swear to God I'll bring you back to kill you myself."
"Yeah," Axel lets out a weak chuckle, making another trickle of blood flow past his lips. His fingers shake as they try to hold the phone over Stella's hand, but the quiver of his thumb betrays him as he accidentally ends up hanging up.
"Shit," he mutters, as the beep rings in his ears, "I-"
"Don't worry," Stella strains her ears to listen. Her hearing was much sharper than a human's and in the distance, she could hear the rumble of a speeding car's engine. By the sound of it, the car was nearing at an alarmingly great speed. "He's coming for you."
She moves her hand away from his ear, as she lets go of the phone, but in a blind panic, he grabs it, bringing it to his chest.
When she looks at him with surprise, his eyes are wide and for the first time since she saw him, they're shining with unconcealed vulnerability.
"Please-Please don't leave," he stammers, "I- until he gets here- I- please don't go-"
Those very words were her undoing.
She didn't know it, but it was the beginning of a story, their story.
Because for the first time in centuries, Stella doesn't think before she speaks.
"I won't leave," she tells him, allowing herself to slip her fingers between his, "I promise."
Only after the words slip past her lips does she understand the implications of it. She had just promised a man that she would not leave, with nothing else accompanying those words.
An angel's promise cannot be broken.
For a second, she stills.
What had she just done?
For a human, no less?
There's an immediate panic that blooms in her chest despite the loopholes that can be found- because she knows the possibilities of this promise being her downfall.
Angels had promised many things to earthlings- multiple times over the eons, but there was never an angel that promised companionship and time to a human- and that's exactly what she just did by saying- I won't leave you.
Stella meets his eyes once more.
He doesn't seem to notice the internal war waging inside of her.
Instead, there's instant, clear relief that blooms on his face, and a small tired smile that promptly graces his lips.
"Thank you," he whispers, tightening his hold on her hand.
There's such deep gratitude in his words, that it is all it takes for the panic to disappear.
It's an odd realization, really- but it's one that fills her with more warmth than she has felt in a long time.
Because Stella realizes, that right before her is the one human that has loved and appreciated something that she represented, more deeply than anyone else.
And it's clear to herself, that there's no one else she'd rather promise something like this to.
So, she smiles back at him softly, gently tucking something between his fingers while he continues to stare at her.
"I know you never asked," she says, "but they call me Stella."
"Stella," he murmurs deeply, "That's- that's Latin for star."
"Yes," she says, the warmth in her chest continuing to bloom. "It is."
His fingers tighten around her own.
"Am I really going to-to live?"
"You are," she can hear the car getting closer and closer, but despite the energy she was draining herself off to keep him alive, Axel was loosing consciousness. He was going to live, that was assured- since she had transferred enough energy into him to help him live and heal him- but she'd prefer if he was conscious when she was making sure no other harm came to him.
"Why did you say that your wings are cut?" cutting wings was something extremely sensitive to angels, and it had taken her a lot not to flinch at it- but she needed to keep him awake, even if it meant talking about what he'd consider mundane.
"It's code," he mumbles, "I-I'm The Falcon. 'My wings are cut' means that I'm down."
"Oh," her eyebrows rose, slightly impressed. She forgot that sometimes they tended to underestimate humans.
He hums in response, as his eyes move past her, to look at the sky.
"You were- You were named after something beautiful," he murmurs suddenly, after a few seconds of silence. "They're underappreciated, more than ever- but that makes them even m-more enchanting than anything there is."
"I know," the soft spot that she already has for the man continues to grow, with the words he speaks- but just as he opens his mouth to continue the sound of an engine rumbles through the air, much closer than before.
Stella lifts her head, inclining it towards the noise, listening intently.
They were a few hundred meters away. She tilts her head, in the direction of them a little more, to hear them better.
Three humans, mounting off their vehicle- all male by the sound of their voices. They speak in hushed voices, before their footsteps begin to run in their direction. The trees that surrounded them in this tiny clearing concealed her form from the rest of them, but they were fast approaching, which meant she had to leave.
Begrudgingly, she frees her hands from his grasp, making his eyes widen.
"You will live," she tells him softly, "and do not fret, you have a part of me with you, and that way, I won't ever leave your side."
"A part-?" Axel's brows furrow in confusion, still unaware of what she had tucked between his fingers- but that isn't what bothers him.
What bothers him, is that he might never see this woman again.
"Do you- Do you have to go?"
She gives him a look filled with regret. She was already fond of this human, she'd have to admit- but she could hear their footsteps closing in on them.
"I must," her hand reaches forward, to stroke his cheek gently once, and he leans slightly into her palm, almost unconsciously.
"The next time we meet," she says quietly as she finally pulls away from him, and straightens, "You'll tell me about the stars, won't you?"
The smile he returns is brighter than any of the glimmering gems of the night sky.
"I'll tell the stars about you."
Stella smiles back, fully this time- but before he could let the sight of an angel's smile dazzle him- with a powerful flap of her glowing wings, she disappeared into the night.
Thank you for reading though, do vote and comment! I know it's a little boring right now, but I swear that the plot will pick up, because I've planned this book out entirely and I feel like it's going to be interesting o.O
also, I'm trying this thing where I write shorter chapters, sometimes I tend to get carried away and end up writing chapters over 7000 words, so I'm working on trying to write short stuff hehe