I stared with both my angel and human eyes. Seb’s angel looked just like him – lean and powerful, with loose curls and a high-cheekboned face – except that he was radiant with light. His wings stretched out over the table, stirring the night air. I could hardly breathe at the wonder of truly seeing another of my own kind for the first time; I thought I could never drink him in enough. From Seb’s face, I knew he felt exactly the same. More, even – he’d been longing for this for so many years.

Seb’s angel wore jeans and a T-shirt, and suddenly I realized my angel could be clad in anything I wanted. I shifted my angelic robes to a vintage dress from the sixties that I’d always loved; saw Seb’s slight smile as he noticed. Hovering in my angel form, I took in Seb’s ethereal hands, and how strong and shining they looked. I longed to reach out my own hand – to see what it was like to touch another of my kind in this form too. Something held me back and, with an effort, I kept my arm where it was. It just seemed...too much, for now.

On the bench, Seb’s eyes were steady on mine. They caught and held me; I felt almost dazed with wonder that somehow the two of us had found each other – that he had found me. My mouth went dry as I sensed again the true depth of his feelings for me, but I couldn’t have looked away from Seb just then to save my life. I was so aware of how much I wanted to send my angel self soaring with his, the two of us flying so far up that we’d find the stars beyond the city lights – but we both knew it wasn’t safe here.

Finally, with a last long look at each other, our angels returned to our human bodies in a rush of gleaming wings, so that once more it appeared to be just Seb and me out in the dingy concrete courtyard together. Neither of us moved as we sat there, our gazes still locked. It felt...I can’t describe how it felt. We’d seen this innermost part of each other, shared our true selves.

I saw Seb’s throat move. His eyes were bright. Without speaking, he reached for my hand; I was reaching for his in the same moment. Our fingers met and twined together, gripping each other hard. It didn’t even feel like we had a choice. Seb and I had to touch just then – had to somehow try to express what we’d just experienced. Letting out a ragged breath, I leaned against the firm warmth of his arm, our fingers still tightly linked.

We sat that way for a long time, with the urban night humming gently with life around us.

Chapter Eighteen