“Are you coming?” I asked, pausing at the door to glance back over my shoulder.
My eyes considered the First and Lachesis, but I knew the answer as soon as I turned. Lachesis was too attached to the lifelines that had been snipped not to feel the pain of the students’ deaths surrounding her. Even this close to them, her features were strained. The First had barely made it through the portal to sit on the bench opposite the seeing wall.
“I won’t be long,” I promised and rushed out into the hallway without waiting for an answer. Just a few floors away lay the last obstacle obstructing my efforts at forging a clear path to Alyssa. Yes, I wanted to do this. There was no question. I just needed to get it done fast.
From the moment I burst through the Academy’s main door, surprised glances followed me. It didn’t take power to understand the questions circling in their heads. Why is he here? Wasn’t he punished? And, of course, why does he look like he’s in charge? Where’s the First?
I wanted to scream at the students. I looked like I was in charge because I was in charge. Show me respect whether I’m in charge or not—I’m better than you.
I didn’t have time to say any of that, though, and really, I didn’t believe it. We were different than the students, yes, and had more experience. I guess, in most respects that made me better. Experience granted knowledge and I would use what I knew to help aid their lack of knowledge. Somebody had to. Because even though my rank made me superior here, I still envied them their lives as humans.
The doors to the Great Library loomed in front of me. It was the only place I could think to look and despised the idea of having to ask or search any further. If time had truly stopped during our excursion into the Void, this was where they would be, I was sure.
Entering the library, I spotted them right away. They were in the far back of the circular room, having taken over occupancy of the table that I had claimed as my own. Hunched over piles of paper like they had found the meaning of life in written form, they were oblivious to everyone around them. And hidden beneath the mountain of paper, everyone around them—even the Seventh—was oblivious to what they were truly studying: The History of the Fallen.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Sera and Keston jumped in their seats when they noticed me standing across the table, looking down. I was proud of their diligence, but felt like chastising them because it took over four minutes to realize the shadow I cast wasn’t the lights dimming. Did they not know the definition of secrecy?
“To keep hidden,” I said, not realizing I’d spoken out loud until a pair of frosty blue eyes that had appeared silver before looked up, followed by its forest green companions, to meet my gaze. “To keep something secret, you must avoid letting it be known.” I pointed to the book. “Or seen.”
“What?” Sera asked. Her tone sounded far from happy, like she considered me an annoyance, and she squinched her face into a grimace.
Keston smiled with warmth and it was nearly impossible to remember how defensive he had been when we first met. “You’re back.”
“I am.” I nodded, darting my eyes between them.
“For good?”
I paused and then slowly, without breaking eye contact with the boy, shook my head. Disappointment was obvious, but what could I do? Cheer him up. Give them their chance.
“How do you expect us to figure this out?” Sera demanded and jerked her hand towards the thick text. “We weren’t created with your intelligence and have to make do with the limited knowledge we died with. How can we do this if you aren’t here to help?”
“Sera,” Keston hissed between his teeth. “We wouldn’t have known anything without his help.”
“So?” She looked back to me and glared, making it perfectly clear how unwelcome my return was to her. “Can’t you just grant us permission?”
“Only the Brother in charge can do that for you.”
“Can you take us to the First?” Keston asked. “He’ll see us if you ask him to, right?”
“No.” I shook my head and watched Sera’s glower darken. I knew it wasn’t me she hated. She was fighting the same rules I had grown to detest, and for that reason alone, I could not fault her her reaction. Hadn’t I done the same?
I placed my hands on the backrest of the chair and leaned forward so that I could lower my voice to that of a whisper. “The First is . . . ill. I have taken charge during his recovery.”
Both their eyes glistened with hope.
“Does that mean you’ll let us be together?” Sera squeaked.
“No.” I shook my head and pointed to the hidden book. “It means that you still need to follow precedent. But, if your petition is drafted within the hour, I will grant you your chance.”
“Why can’t you—”
“Because, Sera, I am still a Brother. I have to abide by our history, though I am willing to be gracious to your cause where I know the First would not have been.” Sighing, I glanced up and around, and then back to Sera and Keston. “I want to help you, but I will not jeopardize my position to do so.”
“Why only one hour?” Keston asked before Sera could say anything, and she glared at him.
“I’m . . . leaving for an important task,” I said. “It’s time sensitive or I would try to give you longer.”
“Back to the mortal?” Keston smiled.
A ghost of a smile played at the corners of my mouth and after a short pause, I nodded. “Yes. She needs to be protected.”
“So you can have yours, but we can’t?”
“Stop, Sera.” Keston took her hand and squeezed. “His mortal is important, remember? Everyone says so.”
“What have you heard?” Were the students more informed of Alyssa’s role than I was? How? Why?
“That’s it,” he said, looking like he was prepared to cross his heart and hope to die, which really, since he was already dead, wouldn’t work. “Everyone just says that she is important.”
The tightness of my expression loosened and I felt my body relax. Of course the students didn’t know more. What was I thinking? Even if they did, I would find out sooner or later. Alyssa’s birthday was a year away. Instead of just a couple of weeks, I would be by her side for twelve consecutive months. That was a whole fifty-two weeks—three hundred sixty-five days, plus or minus a few.
“One hour,” I said, hoping they would reach me sooner. I looked down to Sera and said, “I am going to protect the mortal, but you two should feel lucky for this chance. At least you know who you are. The boy that Alyssa loved is already dead, and I don’t think she’ll let anyone take his place.”
I could feel their scrutiny as I left, but didn’t turn around. Another set of eyes followed my exit, and I tried to hurry before the Seventh became suspicious. If Sera and Keston met my deadline, it would be obvious, but this bought them the time to avoid questioning before they were finished.
By the time the Seventh realized what he saw, I would be gone.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
It took twenty minutes for Sera and Keston to complete their task and find me in the Viewing Room with the First and Lachesis. The knock at the door came as a surprise and interrupted Lachesis’ explanation of our plan to the First. Getting through the details was hard with him questioning every little piece of information, and then trying to dispute its plausibility.
The distraction made me feel relieved and annoyed, torn between wanting it to be cut short and nixing anything that prolonged the First’s rant. Turning, I went to the door, pausing to glance at Lachesis, who was scowling. Another knock came and she rolled her eyes, waving to the door as if to say, “Hurry so whoever it is will go away.”
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” the Seventh said from the other side, and stepped to his right to reveal Sera and Keston. “These two insisted you were expecting them.”
The anger dissipated as I watched their eyes stretch past their limits, very well close to dropping out onto the floor. I cleared my throat to gain their attention, but it was a mo
mentary success. Their gazes flicked to me and then widened back onto the First. And Lachesis.
Of course. She was a Sister of Fate, and much more awesome than discovering angels existed upon their death. It was even more astonishing than finding out they were part of a brand new race of angels. Lachesis was a Goddess, minor in myth, but major in reality, and they were just realizing she was very much a part of their new lives.
“Is that . . . ?”
I smiled at Keston. “Would you like to be introduced?”
Lachesis turned her head and hissed her disapproval. I closed the door so they couldn’t see her and shrugged.
“Hmm.” I pressed my lips together and looked to the floor, shaking my head. “Maybe another time?”
“Who’s out there?” the First called without his usual bellow. “Is that the Seventh?”
“Yes, Brother,” I said without looking backwards, staying focused on Sera and Keston. Knowing my luck, their awe would surpass their logic and lead them to do something stupid like rushing me to get inside, and then my trip would be delayed even further.
“Tell him to come back.”
“Oh, I’m sure he heard you.” I rolled my eyes, but watched as Keston looked to the left to hide his smile.
The Seventh looked to me and I nodded. It was unusual and uncomfortable to have them question orders from the First, especially when they looked to me for consent. What would happen when I left? I couldn’t protect Alyssa and remain in charge, and the First was still too weak. The Third was always busy, even more so now that two of us were compromised from fulfilling our duties, and the Fourth . . . well, there’s a reason he wasn’t one of the top three. Still, he was a better candidate than five-through-seven, and that spoke volumes with its lack of endorsement.
“We finished, just like you asked,” Sera said in a soft voice. She held out a piece of paper and her eyes trailed upwards to meet my gaze. “What made him so sick?”
I smiled, reserved. “Nothing for you to worry about.” I read through their petition fast yet critically, finding nothing to keep me from slashing the bottom with my signature, a golden cursive infused with Glory identified as my soul alone.
“Now what?” Keston took the document.
“Now, you will meet with the other Brothers and they will outline your challenge. If you fail, you will never see each other again.” I saw fear light their eyes. “Have faith that you can succeed, and you will do just that. If you can pass, you can be together. Trust yourselves, trust each other, and trust love. Do that and you can’t fail.”
“You think we can do it?” Sera asked, and I knew by the defiant tilt of her chin what the display of vulnerability had cost her—and what the answer would mean. As important as they had become at death, they were still so young, innocent and inexperienced. They needed someone to believe with them. For them.
Hadn’t I just done that?
“I believe in love,” I said, “and I see that you two love each other very much. I came here before going to Alyssa because I think you deserve the chance to be together.”
“But do you believe we can succeed?” she persisted.
Should I give her hope? Was it a lie? What would happen if I was wrong?
I met her gaze and nodded, never more serious than in this moment, and yet, never more unsure. “Yes. I think you stand a chance of success.”
The smile I received in compensation for my answer was pleasing, but it twisted my stomach like a knife plunged from behind. Please don’t let those words be a lie. They’ve already donated their lives to the cause. Don’t let their love suffer the same fate. I didn’t know who I was praying to or if He could even hear, but I sent up one last please for good measure.
Turning, I found the First glaring at the floor and Lachesis watching me. Just as I was about to look away, she nodded, a small smile creaking her lips in an upwards turn. Well, then. He might not have heard me, but I was pretty sure Fate had.
Someone deserved a happily ever after.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Just as the First finally understood our plans and had ceased with his constant interruptions, the Seventh burst back into the Viewing Room. He was quick to nod his apologies and sat beside the First on the bench, unable to hide his furtive looks of concern over his health.
The First looked worse than when we had woken at Renalda’s that morning, if that was possible, but managed to stay conscious. Even if he denied it, his hair was near black with evidence. Traipsing through the portal had taken its toll, yet he hadn’t paused for rest. Pushing himself too hard, he’d demanded all of the details—more than once, until, if our plans could have been quantified by time, he’d know each and every millisecond by heart.
“You should rest before you collapse,” I said, not caring if he heard the condescension in my tone. How many times had I heard it from him?
He didn’t appreciate it, though. In fact, if I were a bug, he looked like he would spit on me before stomping me under the heel of his sandals. “I’m fine where I am.”
“Suite yourself, but I am not carrying you again.” I shrugged and shifted to face Lachesis. “Who will be in charge while I’m gone?”
“I’m taking care of it,” Lachesis said.
“What?” I must have heard wrong. “The First can command via a mediator, even in his weakened—”
“I will be your mediator.”
“But you aren’t a Brother and I won’t be here.” I met the First’s gaze and felt the floor drop beneath my feet. I didn’t know what he’d done or how he’d managed to change the plans Lachesis and I had crafted, but from the look we shared, I knew that I wasn’t going to like the results.
“Yes, well, the Third is hardly equipped to take charge, and you’ll be gone. The First needs to rest and he won’t get that here,” she said, prim and proper with pursed lips. “Everyone will turn to him so no, he cannot be in charge, even with a mediator, and he can’t stay here with you gone or else he’ll be like prey wild animals stalk during a hunt for survival.”
I turned my full attention back to her. “So you’re saying . . . ?”
“The First will be joining you on your task.” She handed the Seventh three jars of dried blood from Renalda’s land. “Make sure he uses that every night for a week,” she warned, pointing her finger in his face.
“Whoa, wait a minute.” I blinked rapidly and raised my hands in front of me in defense, and then moved them from side-to-side at my waist as though imitating a dancer jiving. “The Seventh, too? I thought this was supposed to be discreet?”
“The First needs to rest and you’ll be too busy with the task to ensure he does what he’s been told. The Seventh is coming to make sure he’s taking care of himself.”
“The trip alone will kill him!” I looked to the First and shrugged without apology. “I’m sorry, but you aren’t well enough to go and I’m not waiting longer to leave so that you may rest first.”
Of all the responses he could have given, the First laughed at me. What the . . . ? Why was he laughing at me? I had been serious!
“Why on Earth are you laughing at me?” I demanded and he laughed some more. “I could insist that you don’t come, you know.”
He stopped laughing when I began joking, and jerked his head to nail me with a sharp gaze. In charge or not, only an idiot would insist anything of the First, and today, that idiot was me.
Time to change the subject.
“So when is he—they—coming?” I asked Lachesis.
She glanced between them. “They will rest tonight and, depending on whether the First is better, perhaps tomorrow night as well.”
At most, that left me two days on my own before the parasites landed. But . . . two days here meant maybe a month and a half alone there. One day . . . less than that, probably twenty-four days if they left at this time tomorrow. Twelve if they left by morning.
“What about the school?” It was a last attempt at a change of outcome. No matter how much I wished it, I could
n’t overrule the First.
“I will run Glory Academy,” she said, smiling brightly. “My mother is staying a while so it works perfectly.”
“And Sera and Keston?”
She nodded. “They will have their chance, and it will be a fair one.”
“What about . . . doesn’t it hurt you to be around them?”
“You aren’t the only one who Renalda helped, Brother, though my effects won’t last as long, and it didn’t come with any refills,” she said. “Go. I’ll be fine while you make sure the girl reaches her eighteenth birthday. We’ve made sure time didn’t move along at the normal rate during your absence from Alyssa. I believe only a couple weeks have passed in the Mortal Realm to compensate for your time at Glory Academy as a teacher.”
Right then. Well, there went the excuses. I looked at Lachesis, then my brothers, and then nodded with my defeat. Even a day alone with Alyssa was more than I’d had a week ago. A year, though chaperoned, was a fantasy, one which I wasn’t stupid enough to throw away. I helped Sera and Keston, and now it was time to help myself. I would protect Alyssa.
“Fine. Come with me, Lachesis, while I prepare,” I ordered and began walking from the viewing room to my quarters. “We can discuss how to make your role as mediator and school administrator work.” I stopped and looked over my shoulder with a smile. “As soon as I’m gone, get them both some human clothes, preferably jeans so they will fit in.” Sighing, I refocused, and began walking forwards. “They can’t go around the Mortal Realm in robes.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
My plans took a day to implement once I finally arrived in the Mortal Realm later that night. Having taken my first dose of special sauce, I was back to no powers, living with mortals and Alyssa, which made things almost perfect. The only thing that could make it any better was if she knew of my existence—my true identity—and we could be together. That and if she was no longer at risk.