Michael snuck around the back entrance of his home. He peered into the window of his bedchamber; Ophelia and Victoria were nowhere to be found. He was safe. He stepped between the realms to appear in his bedchamber, grabbing two thick blankets from the closet. They were from the back of the pile; hopefully, the two maidservants wouldn't notice. Michael grabbed a bag from the top shelf of the closet. Ophelia would never be able to reach, and Victoria would never notice.
Michael was very grateful for his excessive height and Ophelia's extreme lack of it. He listened carefully, and Michael could hear Ophelia and Victoria bustling around in the kitchen, talking amongst themselves about something they had heard one of Gabriel's maidservants say. Nothing of importance to him. He did feel troubled about abandoning Ophelia and Victoria; these women were his friends, and Michael had disappeared without a word to them. They must be worried. But he could not tell them about Ravenna and their situation.
Michael pushed the maidservants from his mind. –Surely they would forgive him. – He sighed and realm-traveled back to the forest where he was supposed to be waiting for Ravenna's signal. He hoped he had not missed the twin fires she set while he had been away. Michael paced the long edge of the trees, looking for any sign that Ravenna had found their next safe haven.
The sun was rising higher and higher, and he knew Ravenna had been walking all night with him. She must be exhausted. He thought about his attempts to step between the realms with her again, disappointed that it could not have worked for her. She could have been spared the hardships of traveling.
Michael continued to pace, growing more worried as the sun rose. –What if something had happened to Ravenna while she was gone? What if that coachman had caught up with her again? – His thoughts got away from him.
Twin smoke trails rose in the sky, far from the forest where Michael waited. He eagerly stepped between the realms toward the source of the smoke.
Instead of the young woman with the raven hair that held his heart, Michael found a tall, slender man with shoulder-length black hair. The man's piercing green eyes were interested in the Seraphim before him, and his smirk held mischief.
"You're not Ravenna," Michael eyed the man, who smiled wider.
"Greetings, Seraphim Michael, I will be back later for you. The woman you seek is in the cavern behind the falls. Get some rest, we have much to discuss." The man extinguished the fires that summoned Michael and disappeared into a black smoke cloud, leaving Michael alone.
Michael quickly and carefully trod along the rocks lining the water and passed behind the waterfall. He brushed the water off his left wing. He called out in the cavern for the woman he was looking for. After encountering the unusual man outside the falls, he needed to know she was safe.
"Ravenna? Are you here? Are you safe?"
A small, sleepy voice called back from the back of the cavern. "Michael?"
The Seraphim quickly searched for the source of the voice. He found Ravenna sitting on a boulder on the cave floor, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees and her chin resting on her hands. The young woman looked exhausted. Approaching her, Michael asked, "would you like to talk about the man who was outside, or would you like to rest first?"
"I...I don't care about him right now. Can we sleep?"
"Of course, my dear." Michael pulled the bag from his shoulder, which he had taken from his most recent trip to the Kingdom. He folded one of the large blankets to create bedding and offered his hand to Ravenna. "It is not much, but it is better than the cave floor."
Ravenna sleepily took his hand and sat on the blanket. "Was he someone you knew? He called himself a Seraphim." She laid down, her body giving in to her weariness.
Michael knelt beside her, spreading the second blanket over the young woman. Even in the dim light of the cave, she was radiant. He joined her, stretching his full height beside Ravenna. She was so small next to him. "He did not say who he was to me. He just said he would be back for us later, and to rest in the meantime. Disappeared in some black smoke."
"He said he was the first Seraphim. He called himself Lucifer, the Morning Star. He said he was the Ruler of the UnderKingdom, and that he rules over the Lost. He says he was the first Fallen." Ravenna sounded like she was trying incredibly hard to recount the man's words.
"I've heard of Lucifer, but only in a book I've found in your world. I was reading it in Nerium. I wrote it down to ask Raphael about it. Nobody in the Kingdom has ever spoken of a Lucifer, or any Morning Star. I have heard rumors of an UnderKingdom, but they were rumors only. I don't know if this man is an illusionist or a liar. Gabriel was the first Seraphim. There's only seven of us. And no angel has ever Fallen. It's only a punishment the Ruler holds over us. We can see what he wants later. You need to rest. You travelled hard to keep us safe . I'm proud of you and grateful for you."
Michael laid on his back and offered his arm to Ravenna. She looked over at him like she was trying to make a decision. She nodded, placing her head on his arm and turning her back to him. He wrapped his left arm and wing around her, holding her tightly, placing his lips on the top of her head.
"Sleep well, Ravenna," he whispered to the beautiful woman in his arms. She didn't know it, but her small hands held his heart tightly. Her rhythmic breathing slowed, and the pair drifted to sleep, the waterfall keeping their secrets.