Prologue

My eyes widened and my pupils dilated, overwhelmed by a mix of awe and utter disbelief that left me frozen in place.

“H-how? W-why are you— what on earth was that?” I stammered, my voice trembling as I struggled to form coherent sentences. I had so many things I wanted to ask, yet I couldn’t find the exact words to express everything running through my mind. My thoughts were tangled and my brain felt completely foggy, thrown off balance by the unexpected revelations he had just laid out before me.

“I fell in two different ways,” he admitted softly, his tone heavy and sincere. “The first fall was a literal one — tumbling down from where I belonged. And the second… the second was falling for a human. Someone I was never, ever supposed to fall in love with.”

His words hit me like a wave, and my eyes went wide with pure shock. I stared at him, unable to mask the surprise crashing over me.

“W-what?” I breathed out. My head was bursting with countless questions, and every part of me was consumed by burning curiosity, yet that single, shaky word was all I could manage to say.

“I broke the rules,” he answered simply.

My mouth fell open slightly, and I stood there, stunned silently.

What the hell? Rules? What rules was he talking about? What kind of rules could possibly lead to this?

“W-why? Why would you do such a thing?” I asked, my eyes searching his face, filled with confusion, worry, and so many unspoken questions.

For the longest time, his eyes had always looked so dull, distant, and empty—but right then, they shifted, and for the very first time, they revealed a storm of emotions: longing, pain, tenderness, and resolve, all laid bare for me to see.

“Because I wanted to be with you,” he said quietly.

The moment those words left his lips, I felt as though a tight fist had wrapped around my heart and squeezed it hard, making it ache and race all at once.

I didn’t know what I was supposed to feel at that moment. Should I be happy? Overjoyed that he loved me enough to do this? Or should I be terrified, regretful, and guilty? I couldn’t tell. I had no idea what to do, what to say, or how to react. I was completely stunned, rooted to the spot, trying to process the weight of everything.

He broke every rule he was bound to follow—all because he wanted to stay by my side.

All because of me.

After a long, heavy silence, I slowly stepped closer to him, my gaze falling upon his bare back. And the moment I saw what lay there, my heart shattered into a thousand sharp pieces. Tears welled up instantly and spilled swiftly down my cheeks, hot and fast. I reached out with trembling fingers, my hand shaking uncontrollably, and gently traced the rough, jagged scar that marked his skin.

It was a scar shaped exactly like wings—proof of the pain he had endured, a mark left behind when those wings were torn away from him, ripped right off his body.

How could he have done this? How could he bear such pain, and risk everything he was, just for someone ordinary like me—a human girl who had no idea she would mean this much to him?

“You never should have broken the rules,” I said, my voice cracking and breaking with every word. “Look at you… just look at what happened to your back. How could you not think about the consequences? What if this wasn’t the only thing they did to you? What if you suffered something far worse than just having your wings torn away?” I trailed off, biting hard on my lower lip to hold back the flood of tears threatening to pour out, overwhelmed by a deep, aching concern and a terrifying fear of what else he might have gone through.

But instead of answering my questions or defending himself, he turned toward me quickly, his movements urgent and full of feeling. He caught both of my hands in his, pulled me close, and wrapped his arms around me in a tight, desperate embrace, burying his face deep into the curve of my neck.

I bit my lower lip even harder, my breath catching in my throat, as I felt my heart begin to beat wildly against my chest—so fast and hard it felt like it was going to burst right out of me.

“I’m so sorry… but it’s done now. I already did it,” he murmured against my skin, his voice soft and thick with emotion.

I closed my eyes, letting myself lean into him, and gently ran my hand up and down his back in a soothing, comforting motion, resting my head against his chest so I could hear every beat of his heart.

It was beating fast—just as fast and just as wild as mine.

“I still can’t believe this,” I whispered, still lost in awe and wonder, barely able to grasp the reality of what was happening. “It feels like a dream, something too beautiful and too painful to be real. I can’t believe that a guardian like you—someone meant to watch over from afar, someone bound by duty and rules—fell… all because of a forbidden love with a human like me.”

My words made him tighten his arms around me, pulling me even closer as if he was afraid I might disappear if he let go even a little.

“I don’t care about any of that, Francine,” he said, his voice firm and sure. “If losing my wings is the price I have to pay just to be with you… then I don’t mind it at all. Not even a little bit.”

“But everything happened because of me!” I cried softly, fresh tears spilling over. “Now you’ve fallen—you’ve lost everything you were meant to be—just because of me!”

He pulled back just enough to look me in the eyes, his gaze full of love and quiet certainty. “Haven’t I fallen hard enough? Long before I lost my wings… I had already fallen completely for you. And that fall was far deeper, far more real, and far more permanent than anything else I could ever experience.”