Everyone shuffled forward, Tap hanging back to wait for me.
“Ready for this part, Feather?”
“I’m nervous,” I replied honestly, squeezing his hand as he laced his fingers through mine.
“Me too. But excited, as well. They’ve all been dearly missed.”
Everything warmed considerably as the doors closed behind us and we followed everyone into the dining room.
At first, the silence was overwhelming. Then came the chaos. A plate breaking was the first noise, the next was sniffles. Chairs scraped the floor, then came full-on sobs. Exclamations andshouts took over, and then all the air disappeared again while everyone froze, afraid to move lest the moment break.
As the group moved toward the center of the room and stopped, I was able to see that Ramsey had indeed collected everyone. Hailon stood from where she’d been sitting at the dining table, Seir supporting her by the shoulders. Calla had gone to Rylan’s side, and he had his hand around her waist. Greta’s hand was over her mouth, Vassago a steady presence at her side. Merry and Grace were watching from near the kitchen door, clutching one another and both of them openly crying already. Magnus was the most terrifying one, standing silent with his mouth open as he stopped moving halfway between Grace and the table. In the end, he was the one who broke first.
“Rowan?”
“Magnus.” Greta’s mother breathed his name, then bent in half on a half-laugh, half-sob before standing straight again just in time for him to charge forward and slam into her with a hug so fierce it shook the room. “Oh, sweet saints. You’re found. You’re here.” The mountainous man gave in to silent tears as he squeezed his sister.
That broke the tension, and the others shuffled forward cautiously. Tap squeezed my fingers again and leaned down to kiss my forehead.
“You’re a marvel, Feather. You did this.”
I shook my head. “No. I hesitated. I got caught.”
He exhaled through his nose. “Perhaps, but you were brave enough, strong enough, to take on that angel all by yourself, knowing what could happen.” His eyes turned to me, serious and bright red. “You will never risk yourself like that ever again, Phin.Never.”
“I have absolutely no plans to do so,” I promised.
My parents joined us, giving the others some space. We sat at one of the long tables and Grace came over almost immediatelyto deliver a plate of snacks and a pot of tea. Then she was gone again, doing the same with some of the others who had broken away from the group to reunite with their loved ones.
Calla was timid with her parents, but Rylan was bridging the gap with his overtures to make them comfortable. Hailon and her parents were seated at one end of the long family table, with Seir standing protectively behind her chair. Greta was standing in front of her mother, who Magnus had finally released, their hands loosely clasped down by their waists for a moment before they embraced one another.
“Thank you,” my father said earnestly, his eyes on Tap.
“No thanks are needed. Finding your daughter has been the biggest gift of my life.”
Dad cracked a grin. “Obviously I have no ill feelings about demons like many of my kin, but this is truly something else.” He smiled, kissing my mother’s fingers, gazing down at her adoringly like he always had. “Four princes of Hell in one room? Several stone kin from the original twelve families?” He shook his head, long white hair shifting along his back. “Nobody would believe it.”
“Should I be worried that you’re going to tell someone such sensitive information?” Tap asked in return. I could see the tiny lift at the corner of his mouth, but my father didn’t.
“No! Of course not. We’re friends, are we not?”
Tap chuckled. “Yes, I believe so.” His expression grew serious. “What will you tell your council?”
My father grunted. “The truth. All of it. And if they ever want to see their numbers increase instead of the entire race crumbling to dust as they likely deserve, they’ll take it to heart.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“The reason the angel population is suffering is because I wasn’t at my post.”
Tap’s head tilted. “Could you elaborate on that? I thought you were an archivist.”
“I am.” He glanced at my mother, and she smiled, giving him a gentle nod and a comforting pat on the hand. “I’m assuming, as friends, I can trust you with some sensitive information the same as you trust me?”
Tap smiled. “Fair is fair. Please, I welcome it.”
My father, clearly nervous about whatever he was about to say, shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. When he spoke again, it was at a volume barely heard above the other chatter in the room. “My true Voice talent is quite literally speaking angels into existence. Much of my time in the archives was spent evaluating and filing the life records of all incoming souls. Once I used my Voice to approve them, they got their wings, work and housing assignments… whatever they needed to officially become an angel. Without me, without my Voice, that process doesn’t happen.” I inhaled and openly stared at my father. I’d been with him, all that time, and never knew any of that was happening. “And, relatively soon, there will only be the oldest of our kind left. And I can only assume eventually, even they will fade and perish.” He shook his head slowly. “Nothingis truly forever.”
Tap stared, stunned at that revelation. “Nobody else knows your true talent?”
