“We must go,” the third said, and all three lights moved in unison, Melinda cradled between them.
“Wait!” Sebastian barked. “Our sister— Kara!”
“The Dark One has her,” the angel in front replied, stepping out ahead of the others. He moved toward us—not to speak, but to bend low and retrieve something from the ground.
I stiffened instinctively, readying another spell—until I saw it.
A coin.
Smooth. Large. Gold.
The same one that had clinked on the stone floor earlier.
The angel’s hand closed around it.
And everything inside mefroze.
That coin…
I knew that coin.
Because I made it.
Desperation launched me forward, voice cracking with urgency. “Wait!”
The angels paused mid-step.
They didn’t speak.
They didn’t move.
But I could feel their attention shift—three beings of unseeable light suddenly aware of me in a new way.
My breath hitched, chest burning.
Please…please let me be right.
Tears welled and blurred my vision, but I strained to see beyond the glow. Just a glimpse. One glimpse, and I’d know.
“Where did you get that? Can I see it?”
I didn’t wait for the angel to answer. I stepped forward and plunged my hands into the light. My fingers landed on cloth—hischest. I slid them upward to his shoulders, then down his arms, following the line of muscle until I reached his hands.
“What are you doing?” the angel demanded, jerking back— but not fast enough. My fingers snagged the coin hanging from his neck, and I yanked it free.
“That belongs to me!” he snapped.
“Nova!” August grabbed my hips, pulling me away. “Do you want me to kill an angel? What the hell are you doing? I’d rather you attack him than—thantouchhim like that!”
I didn’t answer.
I was already staring at the coin, turning it over in my palm. Light bounced off the worn surface, making the five slashes etched into it gleam like old scars.
Five marks.
One for each of us.
Finn. Cloud. Odin. Sofia. Me.
