Arella was soaking in the bath a few minutes later. The servants had left her to soak and thankfully did not ask about the fresh marks that littered her skin.
The warm steam from the bath water curled around her, and the water felt comfortable. The tips of her wings were subrged as well, and she felt the water soothe her aching muscles. Rose petals floated on the surface of the water, the white petals shining gently in the light of the setting sun. She picked one up and rubbed the soft petal between her fingers as she listened keenly to the door. As much as she did not dislike her maids, the last thing she wanted was for them to learn that the halo was more than a decoration for the angels.
Hearing nothing outside, she raised her hand to brush against the halo. It humd gently at her touch, her holy power seeping into it thanks to that touch. Halos were a tool of communication; they had been for millennia, and they had more than the simple purpose of communication. The last ti she had used it was before she was banished to the human realm as a fallen angel. Once an angel was denied work and beca a fallen angel, they were taken out of the system to prevent unwanted calls to the working angels.
Arella took in a deep breath and focused her holy power, channeling it to the halo purposefully. Within a few seconds, an interface appeared in her mind. The interface was the inside of the halo and was one that Arella had not been able to get access to for a hundred years.
A smile climbed up her lips as she focused on the communications bar and navigated to the familiar na she had not seen in a long while. The glowing letters that spelled out her brother’s na called out to her. Her heart thudded as she selected it in her mind, feeling quite strange to be using her halo for its intended use after so long in the human realm.
She bit her lip, hesitating for a mont. What would her brother think once he found out the strange pull she had felt towards the demon king? She shook her head, diminishing her doubts. Castiel had been there for her through thick and thin. He was quite literally her partner in cri and the only one she knew who would do anything for her.
Although he was quite the stick in the mud.
She poured out more of her holy power into the interface, selecting his na and creating a connection. Her mind was silent as she waited for him to pick up her call. If anyone was in the room with her, they would have seen her halo glow brighter as she waited.
A few monts, which felt more like hours later, Castiel’s voice rang out, his gentle voice revibrating in her ears as if he were there with her. "Sister," he called out. She could hear the relief and exhaustion in his voice. They had been together for so long that she could always tell when he was not well without seeing his face.
"Castiel, are you quite alright?" She spoke out loud as well. There was also the option of speaking using her mind, but that would take more holy power and it would leave a bigger trace after being used. She needed the conversation between her and her brother to remain secret.
"Yes." She could hear papers shuffling sowhere in the background. "I am glad father really did convince the council to open up your halo. I was waiting to see if you would contact any of us. If you had not contacted after a week, I would have done it myself to inform you that your halo is in pristine condition now."
Arella felt choked up. She knew it would not have been easy for her father to get the council mbers to agree with that. After all, even though she was no longer a fallen angel, she technically did not have a job anymore.
"Thank father for . I am glad to be using the halo for more than controlling my holy power."
"You should call him yourself," more papers rustled in the background. "He has been moping ever since you left. Mother has been in over herself trying to get him back to his usual self." He sighed over the communication. Then, his voice dropped to a whisper, "I want to be honest with you, Arella, mother and father; there is sothing they are hiding from us."
Arella perked up and sat straight in the water. "What makes you say that?"
Castiel’s sigh this ti was deeper, and Arella could imagine him running a hand down his face, "I do not want to say anything until I am positively sure of it. So I ask you to wait. All I can tell you for certain is that there is sothing more to this marriage than they are telling us."
Arella’s breath hitched at Castiel’s words, and she leaned forward, resting her elbow on her knee, "Alright, I will wait for you to contact ." Arella’s voice had beco even lower, matching her brother’s own.
"Enough about that," Castiel tried to sound chipper. "What about you? You sound troubled, sister. Care to share?"
Arella smiled. Out of everyone, her brother understood her best. Even without seeing her, he could tell that she was not well just from her tone. Her fingers traced lazy circles on the water’s surface. "I do not know what is wrong with , brother."
"What do you an? Did soone hurt you? Should I send..."
Arella laughed, "No, Castiel, you brute. I do not want you to send the knightage under you. I want you to listen to ."
"Alright. I was being too hasty. Proceed."
"It is about the demon king."
"Your husband?" Arella could tell that all of his attention was on her.
"Yes, my husband. I feel a pull towards him. It is... consuming. I cannot even think straight when I am around him."
"This is your husband we are talking about, no?" Castiel murmured from the other end.
"Yes, it is. Did you hear stutter?"
Castiel let out a laugh. "I see no problem with liking your husband. This is a good thing, seeing as the both of you will now be forever tied together until you grow old."
"Ha ha. Very funny." Arella rolled her eyes.
"I am being serious, Ella." Castiel’s voice sounded even more weary. Arella was tempted to ask him to simply spill everything that bothered him. "You are an angel. Angels do not care for love or any of that fleeting emotion. The fact that you and your husband get along is enough. If he dares hurt you on the other hand..."
"He wouldn’t dare. I would toss holy water on him if he dared."
"I taught you well." Castiel laughed, "But that is not the point here. Does he act the sa way around you as you act around him?"
"If you are asking whether he also has the inane urge to have sex with at every corner, then you would be correct."
"Disgusting. A few days in the demon realm, you have beco so debauched, Ella."
"Perhaps it is you who remains prudish, Cassie." She used his nickna on purpose to irk him.
Castiel groaned on the other end, "I believe you did not make this call to irritate ."
"Pardon , though I speak the truth."
"Ugh. Father should not have fixed your halo if he knew you would use it to tornt ."
Arella cackled evilly, "I do not tornt, brother. I am here to give you my affection."
"We have gone off topic again. If he truly does... you know, want to keep you in his chambers, as you say, then perhaps it might be because the two of you have bonded."
Arella stopped pinching on the petal in her hand, and it hung limply in her fingers. "Bonded? What do you an bonded?"
"I an it as I say it. My word, what were you doing in all those Demonology classes that father paid for?"
"Hey, it has been more than two hundred years since I had to take any of those classes. I rember next to nothing."
"Stop sounding so smug about it." Castiel let out a long sigh, filled with both amusent and frustration, "I think I may know what is happening. A bond is like a mate. The DNA of a demon chooses who it thinks would be best to be their mate."
"So you an my DNA decided that the demon king is the best fit for my mate?" Arella frowned. Had she really forgotten that much from her lessons?
"You seem to be mistaken about sothing, Ella." Castiel’s voice was hesitant.
"How so?"
"Bonds," he began carefully, "are a purely demonic phenonon. They occur when a demon’s essence resonates with soone else’s—usually another demon. But angels, we do not have such a thing. And between an angel and a demon, that is even more unheard of."
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