“By being entirely truthful,” Luke states, plainly. “You may share whatever details you find necessary; whether your guardianshiptakes five minutes or five hours to share, it matters not. What matters is—”
“The story you tell and its main character,” Jessenia joins. “We may have all the time in the realm, but—”
“Our time is precious, so waste it not,” Nial finishes. “Kai Greene, tell us about your sister and her journey to peace.”
Kai scans the Archangels and chuckles. “That’s it? You don’t rewind the tapes and watch the journey yourselves? You just… trust Guardians to be truthful because of their nature? You don’t even use soulsight for this?”
All four Archangels nod in harmony. I’ll never get tired of watching the way they finish each other’s thoughts. I’ve attended hundreds of judgments for my Guardians, and although the order in which they speak changes, they never fail to work in perfect synchronization.
“If that’s the case, you’re in for a wild ride. I’ve got a good one for you.” Kai winks at Jessenia nonchalantly, and for the first time in my afterlife, I catch her cheeks reddening.Is she blushing?
Looks like it.Kai’s voice enters my mind unexpectedly. I didn’t realize he could still hear my inner dialogue…Sit back and relax. I’ve got this.
Often, when an angel recounts their guardianship to the Archangels, they stutter, barely capable of forming coherent sentences. Odd, too, because most of the time, they haven’t even broken any major rules during their guardianship.
Kai, however, maintains the calmness of a candle’s flame despite breaking our most divine law.
He recalls his journey with his sister, starting with the very moment he died.
Kai took several days to wake up in Eloras after his passing. As unusual as it may sound, it usually takes time for the deadto awake in the afterlife. An angel greeted him as he came to his senses. Then, he skipped ahead to the moment he decided to guard Iris. He mentions how hard he worked to help her find peace after his early departure.
She means a lot to him. Enough that he was willing to risk his entire salvation. I can understand why. My family and I were extremely close in my mortal life. I’m not sure if I would’ve done anything differently in his shoes. Perhaps that may be part of the reason why I didn’t intervene the way I’ve been trained to.
Several minutes later, he reaches the part of the story I enter in, though he doesn’t realize that. My head grows heavy as I brace myself for impact.
He could ruin me entirely. I’m certain he will.
“…That’s when I realized Jasper could see me,” he deadpans as all the Archangels express looks of shock.
Heavens,no. He just told them Jasper could see him.
“He couldwhat?” Nial asks in a sharp tone, boring his gaze into Kai’s. The other Archangels look equally disgruntled.
“Yeah, he could see me. Plot twist, am I right?” He shoots them a playful gaze. I wonder if he knows who he’s playing with and what they’re truly capable of.
I gulp, swallowing as my throat tightens.
“Oh, c’mon, don’t look at me like that. Don’t worry, I solemnly swear it was for a good reason.” He tilts his head at them, recognizing they aren’t reacting. I’m willing to bet they’re all having a combined mental council as we speak. “You know, I was going to save that reason till the end of the story, but seeing as you’re allsoinvested now, I’ll spoil it. He and Iris share a very rare and sacred bond, if you’re catchingmy drift.”
Jessenia begins clapping her hands as Luke reaches over to stop her, shaking his head. She shrugs. “Well, I quite like this part of the story.”
“Me too,” Kai sighs.
“Cleo, did you know about this?” Nial tears his gaze away from Kai to me, motioning for me to stand.
Pull yourself together,Kai’s voice taunts me. For once, he’s right. I need to calm the hell down.
“Yes.” I nod, rising, then pushing my shoulders back and firming my stance. Matt’s jaw drops beside me.
“How long have you known?” Annalise questions me, eyeing me up and down.
“I had suspicions early on, Your Grace, but—”
“She put the pieces together long before I did and didn’t tell me nor anyone else. Pretty rude if you ask me, but I get it. Once she realized they were brought together by fate—”
“Forgive me, but I believe the question was for Cleo,” Luke states. I gulp again and nod slowly.
“It’s true. I determined the reason why they could see each other prior,” I affirm, attempting to appear disinterested.
