When Missy landed at her house, Snatcher was too miserable to have cared about the carrier ride. After some quick discussion between Lady and Missy, most likely filled with apologies over Ember’s behavior, Missy had disinfected her wound while Lady had dealt with Snatcher’s injuries. She’d put him in his carrier afterward with a blanket, and while he lay curled up, he could hear Ember whimpering from the other side of the door. Saffron had been put back in her cage for her own safety, and she peered down with concern. By the time Missy returned, she and Lady seemed to have agreed that no one was really to blame for the incident and Missy left with no harsh words and an extra tin of salve.
Even so, Snatcher couldn’t fight back his dread. It didn’t matter that the circumstances hadn’t been under his control. He’d acted like a savage animal, biting his Missy, and he would surely be punished. She might even decide he was harmful enough to need a Behavioral Adjustment—that terrible procedure that would leave his mind more empty than Saffron’s and doom him to smile emptily into oblivion. Even if he hadn’t seen it done firsthand, its effects were all too known from his clan’s stories of what happened to those foolish or desperate or just unlucky enough to be caught by the angels. He’d bitten the claw that fed him, and his fate was up to her.
Back in her house, she opened the carrier and waited for Snatcher to come out. He felt a little dizzy when he stood up, and after a quick stumble he sank to his knees. “Please, I wasn’t trying to—” he opened his mouth to say, trying to pack as much pity as he could into his voice. She gave a quick sigh, cutting off the apology before it started. A claw rested on his cheek, brushing away the tears he hadn’t realized were there. His heart rate gradually settled down, and he put his hands on the claw. It coiled around them and then brushed at his hair, with her giving a smile. I know you’re trying, she seemed to say. I have faith in you, and I still love you.
After a while, she set down a claw and waited for him to climb onto it. He appreciated the small bit of agency, even though he knew that if he refused, she would pick him up anyway. Opening the front door, she took him outside. The evening sky was beautiful, and all across the landscape, the fire-flowers were swaying gently. From his perch on Missy’s shoulder, he watched the sun fall beneath the horizon. The moment the last of it disappeared, the fire-flowers erupted into bloom, blazing their flames across the landscape. He could feel the heat from up there, but even as he pressed himself closer to the warm, silver skin of his angel, he dared not close his eyes.
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Eventually, the last blossom died down, and the night was quiet. Missy spread her enormous wings and glided back to the house. She set him back on the counter and collected the tin of salve. He had already taken off his bandages by the time she found it. Whatever angelic formula it was made of, it really worked, and he couldn’t help but stare at the pink skin that had previously been torn. Still, Missy growled sympathetically as she applied the salve, and she eased him back into his clothes with extra gentleness. After a few affectionate nudges, she lifted him into the cage and shut the door.
When the sound of wings had faded and he was alone, Snatcher got up and put his hand on the latch. With some effort, it lifted open, and he grabbed the bars to keep his balance as the whole cage shuddered. He leaned out into the emptiness. If someone had told him two months ago that he’d have to give up his freedom, he would have fought with every last ounce of strength to keep it. But now…what could he really have done with a few more lousy years out there? Now that he’d been with Missy for a while, he couldn’t truthfully say that he preferred scavenging and always being on the move to regular meals and a safe place to sleep. There was nobody left for him out there, anyway, and no home for him to return to.
Missy knew what was best for him, probably better than he did. The angels were the undisputed masters of the world for a reason. Still…he’d relinquished control of his life with barely a fight. And as much as that disgusted him, it was worse to know that he was happy enough to let them keep it.
After a while, he pulled the door closed and curled up on his nest of furs. Then he made his nightly wish that the souls of his family and friends could find their way to the stars, before drifting off into a dreamless sleep. The distant stars twinkled, far beyond the bars of the cage.
