Yes, you may have ripped out my wings, but that doesn’t mean I’m not still an Angelle, Basil thought, glaring at wherever the creepy and mysterious voice was coming from.

“You won’t find us, Basil. You shall never see us. We will always remain hidden from you, and you shall only know us as Protectors, and that is all,” the woman’s voice said again.

“I can protect myself!” Basil shouted back angrily, his voice raw and cracking. “My species evolved before yours! That’s why we live in the skies, to get away from the likes of creatures like you!”

“There is no need to be upset,” the woman’s voice responded calmly. “Everything is going to be fine. You will be let out soon. Everything is going to be just fine.”

You don’t have to repeat yourself and speak to me as if I’m a child, he thought. I’m a full-fledged Angelle. I understand! He walked over to the wall and tried to lean up against it without cutting his back open even more.