Prologue
When the girl begged him to unveil himself, he saw it in her olive eyes. For the first time in quite some time, a trace of it lingered in her unflinching gaze.
He’d waited a long while to see it again.
He often wondered if it would ever return.
Against all odds, it did.
“Can I please see you one more time? Just once?Please?”
At that moment, he knew—he’d do whatever she asked. He never could say no to her. Instead of revealing himself instantaneously, he had to concentrate though. This would be his first time breaking a divine law of this magnitude. He didn’t know where to begin.
“The truth is, seeing me won’t make the pain go away, Irie,” he said lightly as a gentle breeze engulfed them—he had to tell her that. For all his jokes and schemes, Kai Greene could never truly lie to his sister.
He needed her to understand this wouldn’t fix everything.
But it would help. He knew it would.
As her eyelids fluttered shut, he blinked and focused harder. Although one living being had been able to see him up until this point, he hadn’t ever actually crossed the veil torevealhimself tosomeone. He wasn’t even sure how to do this, but for her, he’d try.
Following his instincts, he kept his eyes shut, drawing from his aura within. He reached deeper and deeper inside himself to tap into a well of untouched divine energy gifted from the Golden Realm's divine rulers. Once he discovered it, he grabbed hold of it fiercely within his own mind, channeling it through himself to collide with the thin veil blocking him from her gaze. He hadn’t ever used such strong divine energy. Most angels who haven’t ascended don’t know where to access this energy, but as if it were predestined, he somehow found the threads of this magic.
Divine law or not, he had to cross the veil.
Focus, focus, focus,he repeated inwardly as he pushed through the veil, holding on to his sister even tighter. During Guardian training, mentors specifically avoided teaching pupils how to cross the veil to prevent this act of rebellion.
Fortunately, Kai had never been a fan of rules.
Using all his inner energy, he continued to push his way through, hoping—pleading—this would work. If this worked, he knew without any trace of doubt that she would get the final piece of closure she desperately yearned for. Sure, maybe that piece wasn’t a necessity, but it would make her happy. That was enough for him.
Suddenly, his world seemingly cracked, and he crashed his way through the invisible barrier. He felt her, and not in the way he usually felt her when funneling his healing aura into her. He felt her soft breath on his chest, the warm wetness of her tears seeping into his shirt, her head resting directly under his chin. She thought his form felt more defined, but she assumed it was a figment of her imagination.
With her eyes closed, she sobbed into his chest while he rejoiced.
Itworked.
Kai crossed the veil. It shouldn’t have worked without proper training, but it did.
“I know it’s cliché as hell, but it’s not goodbye,” Kai whispered into her hair. “As much as it kills me to say it, you’re in good hands—I knowTrumanwill keep you very safe.”
She opened her eyes, and to her utter shock, hazel eyes peered back into her own. Her jaw dropped in disbelief, but he simply grinned in the way he always did.
“I want you to promise me to live every minute,” he said in reverence as he gazed into his sister’s eyes.
Then, he pulled away, fading into the sky where he’d always belonged.
You may wonder,What did he see in her gaze that caused him to compromise the integrity of his mission?
It washope. Pure, undiluted hope.
In one moment, three monumental acts simultaneously occurred, tangoing together in a dangerous dance that altered the threads of his fate as we knew it.
First, Iris Greene saw her Guardian Angel in the flesh.
Second, Kai Greene broke the afterlife’s most divine law.
And finally,shewatched it happen.
