“Yeah. I’ve never listened to it, and it’s nice to read a book every now and again.”
“Well, as lovely as this visit is, I have demons to torture and souls to claim.” I straightened and pivoted away.
“Wait,” she said, a thread of desperation in her voice. “Do you think…” She swallowed.
I twisted toward her once more.
A tear rolled down her cheek. She angrily scrubbed it away. “Do you think you could restore my sight?”
“Anna,” I sighed. “I—”
“Please. You’re an angel, and in the Bible, angels could heal all sorts of sicknesses.”
“I’m an Angel of Death, not healing.” Hadn’t I entertained this idea at one point? But I could not give her this boon. How would it look if someone were to find out Lucian Elysium, the Prince of Hell, went around curing ailments? And forhumans?
Besides, look at how strong she’s become despite her situation.
She dropped her chin toward her chest and bit her lip. “Oh, okay.” Her fingers searched the table. When she encountered an empty backpack, she put it in her lap and opened it with one hand, her other moving toward the book. “I just thought—”
“Why are you asking me for this at this moment? Why not years ago?” I balled my hand into a fist, fighting the urge to draw the ether to form armor.
She’s just a child. Why do I feel the need to armor myself?
She hunched forward, drawing her shoulders inward.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I do not give anything freely, and a request such as this I cannot do without requiring something on your end, even if Iwereto consider it. Which I will not.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she mumbled, a frown pulling her mouth downward.
Frustration slid deep inside my body and something like shame or guilt pierced my heart.
I punish, I hurt, I kill humans. I donotprotect and coddle humanity.Stuffing the foreign emotions away, I ran a hand through my hair. This kid was quickly becoming a thorn in my side.
Commotion pulled my attention from her face to the front of the stuffy library.
Two boys, around fifteen or sixteen, stalked toward Anna’s table. A tall and bulky kid with close-cropped brown hair whispered to his shorter friend, pointed to Anna’s back, then snickered.
Anna went to slide the book into her bag, but at the sound of the boys’ laughter, she stilled, her hand hovering over the open backpack.
I narrowed my stare on the duo approaching her from behind. They couldn’t see or hear me, so I cocked my head and leaned a hip against the table, my curiosity piqued.
They stopped just behind Anna, and she tilted her face ever so slightly toward the exact spot they stood.
“Look, Jason. It’s a mole.” The tall, muscled kid grabbed Anna’s loose hair and gave it a hard tug, yanking her head backward.
My eyelid twitched and I fought an urge to blink him straight to Hell.
She closed her eyes. Her arms wrapped around the book, and she hugged it to her chest.
“What do you have here?” Jason, the other kid, snatched the item of interest from her grasp, his dull eyes scanning the blank pages.
“Give. That. Back.” Her words were forced through clenched teeth. Half-turning to Jason while sitting in her seat, she reached outward, her finger grabbing nothing but air as he leaned backward, out of her reach with a chuckle.
He opened the book. “How do you read without words?”
“With my fingers, you idiot.” Anna’s voice shook, but she didn’t back down. “I doubtyoucan even read with your eyes because that would require a brain.”
I bit back a laugh.She has spirit.
