“I thought that meant it camewithvegetables.” Every day I spend in this realm I discover something new. How will I survive the rest of eternity without this…excitement?
Or without Willow?
“Here,” she says. “Take mine?—”
“Absolutely not. What kind of angel would I be if I stole something so precious, it can work miracles?”
Her smile is worth a thousandveggieburgers. And a thousand grilled cheese sandwiches. For the first time in my existence, I feel a sense of peace. I thought I knew happiness. Or at least, contentment. Satisfaction. I was wrong.
This moment is greater than the sum of every single second that came before. Elegant in its simplicity. Sharing a meal with Willow, seeing her smile, despite the darkest of threats…
I would do anything to stop time for an hour—even a minute. But if I could, that might make what I feel now less precious. So I pick up my burger and take another bite, savoring the unique flavors. Even the texture I found so off-putting at first is palatable now. Pleasant, even.
“Oh!” Willow’s eyes light up, and she plucks several potato chips from her plate and dumps them on mine. “Try another one of my mom’s brilliant ideas. Put the chips between the burger and the bun.”
I arch a brow. “Why?”
“Trust me, Gabriel. Or…trust my mom. You won’t regret it.”
“Your mother is a genius.”
The food is long gone, and we found two seats on the upper deck of one of the train’s viewing cars. The domed, glass ceiling lets us see for miles, and though I wish we could hide safely in our room, remaining in public might help draw out the bastards hunting her.
Willow chuckles and settles closer to me. We hold hands, and though she’s tense, the overwhelming sorrow she felt earlier is still at bay. “Mom was a physicist. Dad worked for the CDC. They’re both retired now.”
After a beat, the sadness returns.
“I wish I’d been able to see them one last time.”
Turning to her, I cup her cheek. “I can take you to them right now.”
“Gabriel, no. They’re on safari in the Serengeti. I can’t just…magically appear in the middle of their tent—with anangel—tell them I love them, and vanish again. Either they’ll drop dead from shock or spend the rest of the trip thinking they’re in the first stages of dementia.” Her expression softens, the silver flecks in her blue eyes catching the light in a way I never want to forget. “It’s better like this. The last time we talked was right before…everything. They were about to leave for Africa, and they were so excited. I told them I loved them. I know they love me. It’s okay.”
“It is far from ‘okay.’” The words are harsher than I intend, but Willow only offers me a sad smile.
“You’re right. None of this is okay. Or fair. It’s completely fucked up. I should be grading papers or working on my lecture about the rise of paganism in the nineteenth century.”
I feel the exact moment her sadness turns into outrage. “This magic I had no idea existed a month ago is going to take everything from me. I shouldn’t have to choose between dying and being a pawn in some sick plot to kill millions.”
My shoulders stiffen, and I ball my hands into fists. “You will not have to make that choice.”
“You’re right. Because if you can’t destroy the Blade, thereisno choice. We won’t find it tonight. We’re too far away. But it’s still calling to me. It knows I’m coming. I’m terrified we’ll get there—whereverthereis—and AURA will be waiting. I can’t let them take me again. I won’t.”
A single tear trails down her cheek before she swipes it away. My heart breaks for her. I have never felt so helpless in all of my existence.
I take her hands in mine. “What do you need? Tell me. I cannot sit here and do nothing.”
“I needyou.” Her anger is gone—replaced by something new. “I don’t want to waste what little time I have left. I’m here. Now. With a handsome, protective angel I want to strip naked and doverysinful things to.”
Shock steals my ability to speak for so long, the hope in Willow’s eyes starts to fade.
Do something. Now!
“Fuck it.” I haul her into my arms and claim her lips. Her taste, the way her tongue tangles with mine, and her low, throaty moan shatter my control. This woman is mine, and I am hers. Damn the consequences.
TWENTY-ONE
Willow
