“Calm down, calm down,” Nial drawls, stepping off the dais. “Cleo. Are you ready?”
“What are you doing?” I question him as he towers over me. Goodness, Archangel males are outrageously tall.
“Jessenia doesn’t get to have all the fun. Plus, I gave you your set of wings in the first place all those years ago.” I raise an eyebrow at him, and he sarcastically gasps. “Don’t tell me youforgot.”
I break into a cheeky grin as Jessenia takes her seat on the throne again. “I’ll never forget the first time I earned my wings.”
“Hopefully, this time will be your last,” he mumbles, stepping behind me. “I’m happy for you. Friend.”
Then, he begins to work. A tingling sensation spreads across my entire back for several moments. I glance to my left at Kai, expecting to see a big goofy grin on his face.
Instead, he’s staring at my wings in awe.
Reverence, even.
“What? What is it?”
“And my work is done.” Nial claps his hands, walking past me back to the dais.
“Oh, Cleo.” Kai shakes his head, his eyes widening in disbelief.
I turn my head to see what he’s seeing. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the color—it’s different. It appears my wings are no longer dark.
No, not dark at all.
They’re light.
Very light.
The color of starlight—white gold. Nearly platinum.
“What happened?” My lips part.
“It appears the storm that had you in its grasp at the time of your death has simply dissipated,” Annalise says from the dais, with a gentleness in her tone I haven’t heard in decades. “The light of your soul has taken over.”
Something tells me there's nothing simple about that.
Holding back tears, I gaze into Kai’s warm eyes.I have you to thank for this.
He winks.Right back at you, angel.
Annalise clears her throat. “Now you both have a critical decision to make. Ask yourselves: are you ready to ascend? When that answer is yes, you may ascend the stairs to the next realm. While there isn’t an immediate rush, we want you to be aware.Some angels have waited a very long time to greet you in the Golden Realm.”
My chest tightens. Could they be referring to whom I think they’re referring to?
Kai wraps his arm around my neck, kissing my head. One of my favorite gestures of his. “Cleo and I will think about it and get back to you. Sounds good?”
“Um. Yes. That sounds good.”
“Great, because I’m ready to get thehellout of here.” He smirks. “Thanks for the second chance, guys.”
“Technically, this is your third, but who’s counting…” Nial sighs before pinning me with his amber stare. “Please give ascension fair consideration. Eloras is only a pony ride away from the Golden Realm, so you can visit certain places—like the library—occasionally.”
I nod my head, then Kai pulls me away.
I will consider it. I will.
But first, it’s time to celebrate.
