“Just trust me. We'll be fine.” He tosses me a reassuring grin as his hazel eyes soften. My cheeks grow warm under his gaze.
Basking in his warmth for even a millisecond feels dangerous. He may appear harmless to the world, but I know danger when I see it, and he has danger written all over him. Knowing my fate rests in his hands brings me no comfort.
“Your judgment will take place this evening just after the sun sets. There’s no need to head to the throne room until then; they won’t let you in until it’s your turn. Believe it or not, it’s actually customary for Watchers to greet their Guardians like this upon their mission completion.”
“You’re telling me that yanking me into a dark closet with zero context iscustomary? Angels are so unhinged, holy hell.” He pushes his hand through his waves and fixes his gaze on our surroundings again.
I suppress a smile at that and flick on the lamp.
“Ah, well, thisclosetis actually my office. It’s not much, but I’m quite fond of it.” I gaze around at the small room, taking account of my white desk, cream-colored sofa, lamps, and bookshelf. Tonight, he may very well ruin everything I’ve worked for in one single meeting with the Archangels.
“Why do you have bedding in your office?” His voice disrupts my thoughts as he quirks his head toward the pillow and folded woven blanket resting beneath the sofa.
“And why is that any of your business?” I raise a brow, to which he groans. I don’t hide my smile this time. He notices.
“Whatever. Okay. Well, thanks for the rundown. You were very…efficient,” he says. “I guess I’ll see you at my judgment tonight?”
“That, you will. Enjoy your last couple of hours of freedom,” I mumble, reaching down to grasp the knob and turning it slowly. “If you choose not to tell, just know—your secret is safe with me.”
“Andyoursecret is safe with me.” He wiggles his eyebrows, stepping into the hallway and heading back toward the foyer.
We are indeed undoubtedly doomed.
Three
Cleo
Iturn and stroll back to the soft cream-toned sofa—more of a love seat, really, but it’s deep—sinking into it and slouching to rest my elbows on my knees, cradling my jaw in my palms. I part my lips, close my eyes, and focus on breathing.
Is it warm in here? I lift my eyes to the temperature reader resting on the wall opposite of me. The temperature is perfectly ordinary, which is odd considering everything inside me is screaming that nothing isactuallyordinary at the moment. Now, I wouldn’t go as far as to describe my present situation as extraordinary, because that would imply that all is well—better than well, even—when in fact, all is undeniablynotwell.
I’ll admit, it’s been some time since I felt this level of stress in the afterlife. Eloras is a paradise of sorts, abundant in pastel clouds with platinum beams of starlight throughout, complete with a sheer layer of refreshing angel mist.
Many of the angels who live here have bright countenances and even brighter smiles, which I’d credit to our leaders. The Archangels in charge have made this realm a home for countless angels over the last several thousand years. The angels who reside here have completed their mortal lives, most of which served guardianships of their own at one point.
I unexpectedly awoke in Eloras after meeting an early end to my life nearly half a century ago, when I was only twenty-three years old. Choosing between ascending immediately or serving a guardianship was simple. I chose the latter.
A majority of Guardians who serve guardianship missions immediately opt to ascend after completion. I didn’t. That choice was also relatively simple for me, but that’s not relevant.
Four lead Archangels—Luke, Annalise, Nial, and Jessenia—serve as judges of sorts over the hundreds who reside in this realm. The Seraphim who rule the Golden Realm chose each of them. Three of the four Archangels have been here since the beginning, sent directly from Aurathine, otherwise coined as the Golden Realm. In contrast, the final Archangel, Jessenia, is a newer recruit who’s only been in Eloras for a few centuries. She's still learning, so she shadows the elders in their judgments and counsels, then occasionally greets new angels who awake after death alongside other stationed greeters.
The Archangels were gifted their light magic from the Golden Realm’s wells of divine light energy. All angels in Eloras are given divine energy, but unlike the Archangels, we aren’t given the power to access all our sacred energy. This is why Kai crossing the veil shocked me—he had to dig extremely deep within himself to conjure enough light energy to cross the veil.
The Archangels hold additional gifts that lower-tiered angels, like Kai and me, do not. They were granted the ability to warptime as we know it, create illusions, alter memories, and more. We aren’t given the privilege to know all the gifts Archangels hold in this realm, as we cannot exercise such divine light power ourselves anyway. I’ve always been rather curious about the unknown gifts myself.
Although, I am thankful to hold the gifts I have. For instance, angels in this realm are given the power to heal. To cultivate the gift of healing, we practice healing one another in training. Healing can drain angels, but as long as it’s done in moderation, it isn’t harmful. It’s essential to choose when it’s necessary to exercise this gift wisely. Drawing that energy from within and transferring it to someone else is soothing, but receiving it is even better.
Typically, Guardians’ judgments go well. Only souls with good intent get offered the chance to be Guardian Angels—adults who made thousands of objectively good decisions throughout their mortal lives. Consequently, they tend to behave exceptionally well while watching over their assignment. Sure, occasionally, some Guardians break minor rules, but rarely do Watchers have to intervene and prevent Guardians from committing severe crimes against divine law.
Guardianship timelines also vary. Some serve a guardianship for years, whereas others only serve for a handful of months—it all depends on the state of mind of the assigned living being. Kai served as his sister’s Guardian Angel for about two years, give or take. He seemed to enjoy the mission. When watching him in his final moments in the land of the living with his sister and her boyfriend, the genuine smile that stretched across his face was nearly contagious.
During those last few seconds, it failed to meet his eyes, though. I doubt he even realized it. I found it odd that his smile didn’t reach his eyes.
In contrast, my Guardian experience was quite different. I served a stranger—Meredith—for about a year. She struggled heavily with PTSD after serving as a nurse in the military and witnessing ungodly things unfold right before her eyes. A petite woman with a bold presence, she and I were close to the same age at the time. She may have only served in the war for a handful of months, but its terrors crept their way into her and altered how she processed fear. She struggled like this for over four years before I joined her side.
She frequently took cover when doors slammed too loudly, intensely observed her surroundings with the keen eyes of a hawk, and wept into the late hours of the night all while living alone. Unlike Kai’s assignee, Meredith never found a partner to lean on.
During our time together, I funneled all the healing light I could muster straight into her. We got into a comfortable routine. I’ve never been much of a hugger, but on tough days, I’d wrap my arms around her and transmit my divine healing aura. After only a couple of minutes of transmitting that light into her, she’d finally exhale, allowing her shoulders to slump and her chest to stop heaving. Sometimes, people just need a minute to decompress.
