Eventually, she grew strong enough to soothe herself without my aid. At the beginning of my guardianship, she was alone, and by the end, she remained alone. Oh, but how she hadgrown.
I found the conclusion to her healing journey inspiring. Rather than relying on other living beings to aid her in her endeavor for peace, she had to depend entirely on herself.
Upon my guardianship’s completion, I teleported back to Eloras and met a Watcher who greeted me at the bridge to the headquarters. She briefed me on what to expect during the judgment. I found her role fascinating, though our interaction was far less climactic than the encounter I just shared with Kai in my office.
The Watcher’s job looked like my cup of tea. I’d been seeking a solid reason to stay, so the timing worked out well.
During my judgment, I asked for a chance to stay in Eloras as a Watcher.
“Why would you choose to stay here when you’re eligible for immediate ascension to the Golden Realm beyond?” Luke’s piercing electric blue gaze bore into mine from his throne’s starlit golden dais; the golden glow in his gaze hinted that he was attempting to exercise soulsight, but my mental shields remained steadfast.
Most Guardians focus heavily on learning how to use soulsight during their Guardian training. I, however, primarily focused on mastering the ability to keep colleagues out of my mind during practice. I had no desire to share scraps of my mind, nor do I now.
To block others from seeing into your mind, you focus on the energy waves the angel is exuding to enter your mind and ward them off using your waves of divine energy. This act creates a shield to block the waves from invading your mind. It takes a strenuous amount of self-discipline to keep shields in place, but it’s worth it.
“Why shouldn’t I?” I retorted, keeping my chin held high. Apparently, not many Guardians chose to become Watchers at the time. “I’d get to spend more time with my friends here.”
“What friends?” Jessenia chimed in from Luke’s left side in a starlit seat of her own, tilting her head and blinking her silvereyes innocently. Had it been anyone else who said that, I’d have been offended. But Jessenia is the purest. She genuinely had no idea what friends I was referring to. To her point, I didn’t, either.
“Oh, Jessenia, how we cherish your pure heart.” Annalise stifled a chuckle, sitting to Luke’s right who suppressed a grin of his own. Nial maintained a smug look, crossing his arms, sitting in the golden throne next to Annalise. “In all sincerity, we find it peculiar you’d choose to stay. If you ascend, you’ll almost immediately get to reunite with your—”
My head pounded as she neared the end of that sentence, and I spoke without thinking, interrupting Annalise, the graceful one. “I want to continue helping angels in Eloras. I love helping people. I believe my sole purpose is to help others.”
I rested my hand over my heart for dramatic effect. At first, Annalise appeared caught off guard by my interruption, parting her lips and widening her ebony eyes. Jessenia smiled curtly in response as a look of confusion crossed Luke’s face.
Then I heard a deep rumbling laugh from their right. I whipped my head toward the sound, seeing Nial clap his hands in amusement. I narrowed my eyes at him, not missing how unruly his black hair was. He appeared as though he had just rolled out of bed.
Wow, I knew I wasn’t known for being friendly, but I was quite perturbed by their response.
“Could’ve fooled me, Miss Graves,” Nial drawled as his amber eyes peered into mine, a spark of curiosity caught in his gaze. “But considering we’re always looking for more Watchers, I don’t see the problem here.”
He glanced at his cohorts, and they all locked eyes. Jessenia raised her eyebrows in surprise, Luke pushed his hand throughhis golden waves, and Annalise pressed her lips into a firm line. Mind speaking among a group—how intriguing.
Kai got a lot of mind-speaking practice with his sister’s partner due to the bond. In fact, the first time his thread ever tugged me had to do with his interaction with Jasper in the forest.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get that luxury. During my guardianship, I mind spoke with a few stray animals, but I never got the chance to mind speak with living beings like Kai did. That’s when Kai’s journey of rule breaking began to unravel.
Shortly after the Archangels’ internal discussion, they permitted me to stay as a Watcher indefinitely. Thankfully.
It took me several weeks to learn the ropes of watching, but my watching mentor, Stephen, taught me everything I needed to know.
I learned how to unlock a different component of divine energy—thread bonding. I found this aspect to be relatively intuitive. Essentially, to connect with Guardians, Watchers reach inwardly to pull out a thread of divine energy to connect with each of their assigned souls. It’s a bit trippy at first, but after years of practice, I’ve grown to enjoy fabricating these types of bonds with my Guardians.
I’ve been assigned hundreds of Guardians over the past few decades. Anytime they get remotely close to breaking a larger divine law, I feel a tug on the thread and frequently teleport to their side to intervene. Seeing as there aren’t many afterlife laws, we take offenses quite seriously. Our Guardians also have a 99 percent success rate at healing their assignment.
That said, I have witnessed a handful of angels who guarded their assignee for years without success. Even in instances in which the living beings didn’t fully heal, the Archangels still classified the guardianships as successful due to the carethe Guardians put into their missions. Most of those angels immediately ascended. Many angels who stay in the Middle Realm after their mission visit the land below from time to time. I haven’t visited the land of the living for leisure since completing my guardianship.
Settling back into my sofa, I curl up, loosely draping a light blanket around my shoulders. I glance at the wooden bookshelf next to me, shelves overflowing with fictional books consisting of fantasy, classic romance, and royal politics. I consider reaching out my hand and grabbing a book to escape in for just a little while, but I know better.
Not even my favorite romance novel could push aside my current state of dread.
Instead, I practice a grounding exercise, closing my eyes and running my fingers along the seat’s plush surface, focusing on the way it feels. I run my fingers in circles over it, counting down from one hundred, taking note of my office’s current scent—rain. I’ve always enjoyed rainy weather. Here in Eloras, we’re gifted shimmery angel mist every morning, but it’s been a long time since I felt the sensation of rain on a cloudy day…
Kai’s predicament—ourpredicament—is unprecedented in every possible way. What a mess we’ve made.
Four
Kai
