“But wait. How are Cleo and I able to communicate within our minds so clearly? Neither of us is an Archangel, so that doesn’t quite make sense, does it?”
Nial and Luke sigh in exasperation. I roll my eyes at them outwardly.
“You’ve built a very special connection with each other. When she was your Watcher, the thread connecting you both exceededthat of a normal Watcher-Guardian thread. Once your life began in Eloras, your connection only grew, blossoming into something deeper. Consequently, your minds are often interconnected. You both share a divine, mental type of angelic connection we call asoul tie,” Annalise explains gently with a knowing smile. “You’ve gotten to see more of Cleo’s striking mind than we have during our entire journey with her.”
I glance at Cleo, her nose and chin held up high. Playing it cool as usual. She can’t fool me, though—I see a sparkle in her eye upon hearing about our soul tie. Hell, I might be blushing, myself. I’ve never even heard of a soul-tie connection. Soulmates, of course.But soul tied?
I have a million questions, but I determine now isn’t the time. If we make it out of this room together, I’ll leave the soul-tie research up to Cleo. She’s good at that stuff.
“Carrying on,” Luke says. “You completed your trials. After a lengthy counsel, we’ve determined your results. Kai, time and time again, you broke rule after rule in Eloras. From revealing your full angelic form to a living human being to sneaking into the mortal world below without permission more than once, you’ve disgraced the realm. Cleo, although you didn’t necessarily break divine laws, youdiddisobey direct orders in keeping Kai’s heinous actssecret. Consequently, we knew the only way to determine how to proceed would be to enter you both into somewhat mentally, physically, and emotionally draining trials. The decisions you made during your trials are greater than you realize. Your own decisions have determined your fate today.”
A beat of silence passes among us all, and my heart lunges into my throat.
I grab hold of her petite hand, unsure of what lies ahead but knowing I can get through it with her by my side. She grasps myhand, squeezing it, similar to the way she did in the library all those weeks ago.
It’s the little things I love about her—like the way she holds my hand or how often she scowls at me. I feel like I’ve been searching for this kind of love my entire existence. Now that I’ve found her, I’m never taking her for granted.
I’ll be fine, even if our fate is unfavorable. I mean, how could Inotbe with the angel of my dreams standing by my side?
…Damn, that was cheesy.
And I couldn’t care less.
Thirty-Three
Cleo
Your own decisions have determined your fate today.
Well, that’s great considering I have a knack for making the wrong choices as of late. From the exhausting trial I just went through to the Archangels’ all-knowing eyes, my emotions are heightened.
His love confession has also thrown me off-kilter. For some reason, despite how terrible this could turn out, a wave of relief washed over me like I’ve never experienced the second he said those three words.
Three little words—seemingly uneventful when used apart.
But when strung together into a sentence, they hold such vast power.
The power to calm weary souls.
The power to fight intrusive thoughts.
The power to heal deep scars.
My heart needed those wordsdesperately.
I needed to remember that Ideservelove.
As soon as he said those words, I swore I heard a clock strike the hour within my mind. For the first time since I took my last breath, that clock started ticking.
We may be doomed, but at least we’re doomed together. I will not allow any sentence to part us. Should they imprison him, I’ll follow closely behind. Should they exile him, I’ll pack our luggage this instant. Should they burn him into dust, I’ll burn with him.
I can’t imagine my world without Kai.
I see why his loved ones mourn him as fiercely as they do.
He’s something special—the kind of being who leaves your life a thousand times better than it was.
Nial looks into my eyes with a knowing look, then looks down at his feet. I raise a brow and tilt my head at him as Luke readies to give us his verdict.
