“He means,” Eamon said quietly, “that my assignment is complete. Carlo’s been arrested, and you’re safe. Time for me to be reassigned to a new case, a new protectee.”
“No.” The word escaped before I could stop it. “That’s not… We can figure something out. There has to be a way?—”
“Actually,” Gabriel interrupted gently, “there is.”
We both stared at him.
“Eamon,” Gabriel continued, his voice taking on a formal tone, “you have fulfilled your destiny.”
“I protected Charles. That was the assignment?—”
“The assignment was secondary.” Gabriel stepped closer, and I caught the faint scent of ozone and something that smelled like…like starlight and the sun, like endless meadows and soft rains, like fluffy clouds and newborn puppies. He smelled like life, like the universe, like…love. “Your true purpose was something far more profound.”
Eamon frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“Every guardian has a destiny beyond their protective duties, though many never discover what that is.” Gabriel’s expression grew almost fond. “Your test was never really about keeping Charles safe from Carlo Ricotta, Eamon. It was about learning to love. Learning to trust that you were worthy of it. Learning to choose mortal love over immortal duty.”
The words hit me like a physical blow. “This was all a test?”
“Not a test in the way you’re thinking. The danger wasreal, the threat to your life genuine. But Eamon’s assignment to protect you was…shall we say, carefully orchestrated.”
“By you?”
“By El. They saw what Eamon needed to learn, and they provided the circumstances for him to learn it.” Gabriel’s smile was soft, almost proud. “The willingness to sacrifice everything—his powers, his immortality, his very nature—for another person’s happiness is what El has always hoped their guardians would discover.”
El? Was that their name for God?
Eamon was staring at Gabriel like he’d spoken in a foreign language. “Are you saying this whole thing was planned?”
“Not planned. Guided. There’s a difference.” Gabriel’s expression grew serious. “Your feelings for Charles are genuine, Eamon. Your love for him is real. That’s what made the test valid. El doesn’t create artificial emotions. They simply provide opportunities for authentic ones to develop.”
I felt like the ground was shifting beneath my feet. So much new information, and my mind didn’t seem capable of processing what I’d heard. It was too…vast. Too big for me to comprehend.
Eamon reached blindly for my hand, lacing our fingers together. “So what happens now?”
Gabriel turned his full attention to Eamon. “Now you choose. You can remain as you are—an immortal guardian, bound to serve El’s will, protected by divine law from mortal concerns. You’ll be reassigned to a new case, somewhere far from here, and in time, your feelings for Mr. Garrity will fade as all mortal attachments must.”
The blood drained from my face. He would forget me…but somehow, I knew I would never be able to do the same. He’d always be in my heart.
Eamon squeezed my hand. “Or?”
“Or you can become what you’ve spent three centuries protecting. You can become human, Eamon. Mortal. Free to live and love and choose your own path, with all the joys and sorrows that mortality brings.”
The silence that followed was deafening. I slowly turned my head to stare at Eamon, watching his face as he processed the magnitude of what Gabriel was offering.
“There would be no going back,” Gabriel added quietly. “The choice, once made, is irreversible. You would age as humans do, face illness and injury, and eventually, death. Your memories of your time as an angel would remain, but your powers would be gone forever.”
“Eamon,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper, “you don’t have to?—”
“Yes,” he said immediately, turning to face me fully. “I choose mortality. I choose humanity. I choose you.”
He shouldn’t make that decision so impulsively. It was too vast for that, too enormous. The consequences were literally life-and-death. Surely that merited a few minutes of deliberation. “You need to think about this. This is immortality we’re talking about. Three centuries of existence, supernatural powers, a divine purpose. You can’t just?—”
“Charles.” Eamon cupped my face in his hands, and his touch was gentle but firm. “I’ve had three centuries to think about it. Three hundred years of watching humans live and love and create beauty in the brief time they’re given. And I’ve never wanted to be part of that until I met you.”
“But—”
“I don’t want immortality if it means losing you,” hecontinued, his green eyes blazing with certainty. “I don’t want divine powers if I can’t use them to make you coffee in the morning or help you bake bread or grow old beside you. I don’t want an eternal purpose if it doesn’t include loving you for whatever time we’re given.”
