Why did he just give me such a look? What does that even mean?
Oh, great. My shield. I accidentally left my guard down. He must have been reading some of my thoughts, meaning he heard me internally gushing about my lover.
Heavens. How mortifying.
“Let’s make this quick, shall we?” Luke nods to the others. “We have determined you both are eligible to ascend to the Golden Realm. In turn, we are gifting you new sets of wings at once.”
My jaw drops immediately. I’m aghast. “Excuse me?”
“Is there a problem, Cleo?” Nial asks, feigning innocence again.
Kai gently nudges me.Now may not be the time to challenge them, sweetheart.
But why wouldn’t they punish us? Don’t we deserve to be held accountable for what we did?
“Don’t think too hard on it.” Nial nods his chin at me. “You both passed your trials, which, unbeknownst to you, were tests to determine whether you were ready to ascend. Yes, he broke a lot of rules, but we don’t look at violations at face value. We can see that—despite how foolish his actions were—he never broke a rule to hurt another soul.Thatis what ultimately matters. So, yes. You both are getting your wings and are eligible to ascend, should you choose to.”
“Just no more rule breaking.” Annalise scowls, looking directly into Kai’s eyes.
Jessenia rises from the dais and approaches us. Still unconvinced this is actually happening, I take a step back, tugging on Kai’s arm to join me. Nial chuckles.
She approaches Kai first, stepping behind him. “May I?”
He simply nods, not second-guessing her. Leave it to him to be all too trusting of these benevolent, ultrapowerful angels.
Only the whites of her eyes show as she slowly waves her hands in intricate patterns. Threads of golden magic flow from her fingertips to his back.
She’s giving him wings.
I’ve never watched someone receive their wings before.
As she weaves her hands in intricate motions, feathered wings slowly sprout from his back. They’re huge—larger than my old set of wings by far.
The light yellow shade of gold is so bright it’s nearly blinding.
I glance at his hazel eyes and see a thin line of silver tears brimming in his eyelids.My love.
He truly must have thought this day would never come. My chest aches as I watch him gain the best gift he’s ever received—his freedom.
Finally, Jessenia brings her hands down to rest at her sides. “It is done.”
“Couldn’t have chosen a dimmer shade of gold, huh?” I joke, gazing at her, still standing behind Kai. Her icy-blue eyes meet mine.
“As a reminder, we do not choose wing colors for angels. We construct wings from the essence of their soul within. His soul has a yellow-golden essence; therefore, his wings are golden.”
My wings being so dark makes perfect sense, seeing as they’re a reflection of the essence of my soul. Fitting.
I huff, then turn toward him. He immediately pulls me into him and bends down, exhaling a deep breath into my hair. He whispers, “At last.”
“At last.” I smile at him and run my hand through his honeyed hair.
He breaks away and immediately turns toward Jessenia. “It’s her turn.”
He hasn’t even taken the time to admire his own wings; he’s so caught up in me getting mine back.
“What’s the rush?” I chime.
“If you don’t get your wings back in the next ninety seconds, another rule break is in order,” he says in a low voice.
