The gala was a lot like a Font: there were bright colors and brighter lights everywhere, but the air itself was filled with dread.

That’s how it felt to me, anyway. Knell, on the other hand, looked like he was having the time of his life. He hopped from table to table, shapeshifting for the guests and putting on his best “innocent little boy” act. Everyone thought he was delightful and adorable, just as planned.

Every 15 minutes or so, he would return to me with a report before heading out again. This time he came back with a handful of appetizers.

“Clarion, you have to try these; they’re amazing!!” he exclaimed.

“I don’t really feel like eating at the moment.”

“Try one or I’ll stick them up your nose!”

“What happened to being on your best behavior…?” I asked. Nevertheless, I did as I was told.

I made a face. “This tastes like a fried ball of cheese.”

“Yeah! It’s awesome!” Knell stuffed all the rest into his mouth at once. It was nauseating to watch.

“I hope you haven’t forgotten the real reason we’re here,” I said, sipping a club soda.

“I remember, I remember. And it’s all starting to come together. I think what they want is for me to be a spokesperson for the Synthesis project.”

“Is that what they’re calling it?”

“Mhm. But since I’m the first of the ‘Synthesized’ and I did it all by myself, they will definitely still have to research me. I was talking to some scientists before; they were looking at me like a piece of meat.”

Lovely.

“Also, I talked to Peal. I told her that you wanted to apologize to her.”

I nearly choked on my drink. “W-why would you tell her that?? I never said that!”

“But you thought it~. And since you’re kind of a lousy communicator, I decided to use my mind-reading abilities to help you out.”

In response, I thought as hard as I could that I was going to wring his neck. Knell took the hint and ran away, snickering.

It would be a cold day in hell before I ever took him to another party.

“Knell was right, you do look lonely.”

As if on cue, Peal appeared behind me. She wore a salmon pink gown and long, elbow length gloves, and both were covered in glitter. She looked like someone from the 1900’s.

She took a seat beside me. “So…that’s a nice suit. You look nice…in it.”

“It’s old,” I replied. “And it was cheap, even when I bought it.”

An awkward silence followed.

I decided to finish what Knell had started. “Look, I really do apologize for making you upset the other day. You didn’t do anything to harm Knell on purpose, and I should give you credit for that, at least.”

She smiled. “Apology accepted. Although I hope you aren’t just saying that because Knell told you to.”

“I don’t take orders from the shrimp.”

“You call him that, even though you love him so much. That’s humans for you~.”

I made a face at that word. Love. Peal noticed. “I’m sorry; was I using that wrong? It’s just that, from observation…you’re always worried about him, protecting him, explaining things to him…it’s a textbook parent-child relationship. Like, I think I literally read that in a textbook.”

“…You have textbooks about family dynamics?”

“Yes, of cou- oh, I see what you’re doing. Changing the subject~. I read about that, too.”

She leaned in closer. “You know, we angels celebrate feelings like that. Love. Why would you want to hide something so warm, so…infinite?”

I doubted I could answer that question for her without venturing into highly personal territory…the conversation was making me uncomfortable enough already. Peal was so close that her nebulous hair was floating all over my face, and more than anything I just wanted to go home.

I looked out at the crowds in an effort to distract myself. And that’s when I saw him.

His hair was a metallic green, but so pale that it looked almost silver. He wore a vermillion suit that glittered like Peal’s clothing, and his severed horns were polished to a gleam.

And he was tall. One of the tallest people I’d ever seen. He towered over everyone in the room; even without his glowing wings, he would have been hard to miss.

Peal stared, too. “Ah, he’s finally back,” she said. “Allow me to introduce you: Clarion, that is Saint Toll.”