“Good to know.” I chuckle, patting the backpack. “I don’t think there are any beets here, but you’ll find plenty of peas and corn. The version of me who buys the groceries is healthier than the one who eats them. Too many aspirations, too little willpower.”
“Damn, I would love to get that on a T-shirt.” Harry wraps me in a warm hug. It feels like a mom hug. I sink into her, letting out a deep sigh. Harry shakes her head and leans back to study my face. “Honey, if your day is that bad, you should throw it back.”
“I’m not in the mood to dance today,” I tease.
“Not your ass! Gods, have you never gone fishing?” Harry laughs when I shake my head. “If the day is bad, toss it back and try again.”
I shrug. “How would I do that? Do harpies have a secret power I’ve never heard of?”
“Loads of them probably.” She winks, her lips stretching into a wide grin. “But resetting the day isn’t a magical power—it’s a mental one.”
I groan. “Count me out then. I’ll push through.”
“Suit yourself.” Harry takes the backpack from me, grunting under the weight. I smirk and help her hoist it onto the counter. Together we unpack it while talking about the kids. As I predicted, Anika is already conversational in English. She’s been translating for the newcomers to make their transition easier.
“They’re out back,” Harry says, tilting her head in the directionof her cramped urban patio. Seeing my raised eyebrows, she smiles. “It’s not much, but a powerful witch I knew back in the day spelled it for me as a favor. They have more room to play and exercise than it seems.”
I wrap my arm around her shoulders, squeezing gently. “You’re amazing, Harry.”
“I’m happy to do it,” she sighs. “But we aren’t swimming in other options around here. If you’re not a demon, shifter, or fae, you’ve got to figure things out yourself. I’ve had the chance to be a lot of things in my life. These kids deserve the same—better even.”
I nod, meeting Harry’s eyes reluctantly. “I can’t help thinking...” I sigh, then rip the bandage off. “That these kids are connected to me somehow. I’m the only angel around.”
“So what?” Harry taps her nails against the kitchen counter, the ink-black, hardened tips a sign of her nature that’s impossible to disguise.
I blink at her, confused. “I mean?—”
“Did you kill their parents, leave them all alone in the world, then drop them here in the desert to be food for the vultures?”
“Of course not, but?—”
“But nothing,” Harry insists. “There’s plenty of blame to go around without borrowing some that doesn’t belong to you.”
“I guess I hadn’t thought of it like that,” I admit, my forehead scrunching as I consider what she’s saying. Can it be that simple? I didn’t cause the problem myself, therefore I shouldn’t feel bad about it?
“That doesn’t mean you bury your head in the sand, Celine. You can do right by these kids—which you are—without drowning in misplaced guilt.”
“When did you get this smart?” I ask, studying Harry as if I’ll find her secrets written somewhere on her skin like mine are.
“Hmm.” She laughs. “Somewhere betweenfleeing the monster realm, shacking up with a wraith, and shaking my ass on stage at the Fang.”
“We miss you there,” I say, wiggling my eyebrows. “No one can match your moves.”
Harry sighs, and a twinkle lights up her eyes. “I know that’s right. Dancing is about more than having a good body you’re willing to show off. It’s about personality—the meaner the better.”
I grin. “Mean, you say? That’s it—I’m telling the other girls you said I’m the best.”
“Better to let the tips do the talking.” Harry winks at me, then dips her head toward the back door. “They’d love it if you said hi before you go.”
I nod, then head to the patio. With my hand on the doorknob, I watch them through the window. Angels from three different echelons playing in a harpy’s backyard. In the celestial realm, they may as well have lived on different planets. Now, after a few days on Earth, they’re moving as a unit—the universe’s cutest miniature support system.
Tears well up in my eyes, although I’m not sad. This emotion is far more complicated than that. Even my wings can’t make sense of it. Harry pats my back and remains silent. Blinking back the unwanted feelings, I open the door, smiling as the kids spot me and rush over.
Ladonis’s wing is bandaged and connected to his shoulders by an intricate splint. I’m relieved to notice that he doesn’t seem to be in pain anymore. Hope and surprise strike me back-to-back when he grabs my hand in his smaller one and pulls me down to sit on the ground.
For half an hour, I chatter to them in the common tongue, hearing about the animals they’ve seen. Anika may be the youngest, but she’s clearly their leader. My lips twitch as she corrects the boys’ descriptions of a squirrel. None of their arguments get heated, and from the long-suffering expressions ontheir faces, they’ve already accepted her need to ensure that only correct information gets transmitted.
By the time I go inside to leave, my stress has completely melted away. I slide the empty backpack over my shoulders, zip my leather jacket, hug Harry goodbye, and climb on my bike feeling lighter than I have in days.
