“You know, we haven’t talked much about your guardians,” I say. “I’m sorry you lost them.” Malach gave up a lot for me, and I’ve barely asked how he’s coping. I glance at my feet as a trickle of shame rolls through me.
He lifts my chin, his fingers painfully gentle. “Don’t worryabout me, Celine. Every choice I have made has led me to you. I have no regrets about my path, even when I find it hard to walk.”
I lean into his touch. “I know that, but I want you to know I’m always here to listen, Malach. Even if it seems like someone else needs my time—” I puff out a breath and roll my shoulders back. “Once upon a time, it was you and me against the world, and it still is, I promise. I won’t let you down.”
Malach’s gaze turns fierce. “You’ve never let me down. I’ll kill anyone who says otherwise.”
I smile and wrap my arms around his waist. He’s sturdy. Strong. An angel anyone would be proud to have by their side. I want to give him the same support he gives me. I hold him tight and hope it’s enough.
“You would tell me, right?” With my head buried in his chest, my voice is muffled. “If you needed my help?”
He stiffens. It’s subtle. I wouldn’t have noticed at all if I wasn’t wrapped around him like a vine. There’s a long pause, then his voice rumbles, gravel in my ear. “Of course.”
A chill runs through me. I can’t prove it without using my magic, but I don’t think Malach is telling me the whole truth.
And I don’t have a clue what to do about it.
Every time my eyes close, I see a new way it could go wrong.
I spend a sleepless night doing everything I can not to toss, turn, or accidentally elbow anyone in the face. Surrounded by deep, even breathing, I tell myself everything’s fine. Or it will be. I’m nervous about our escape. Terrified something will go wrongagainand our planning won’t be enough to keep everyone safe.
Ciprian could get squashed by Two-Toed Crag.
We could mistime the eclipse, and Alistair could freeze to death.
Luca could get snatched and mutilated by a veydra.
And Malach... Fuck, whenever I think of Malach my back itches like crazy.
When I crawl out of bed, my eyes feel as if someone replaced the lids with sandpaper. But there’s no time to stress, our recon starts after the first eclipse.
And that requires my full focus.
We watch as veydran scan the forest. They’re searching methodically, getting closer to Riven’s mountain with every step. My skin crawls. Inaccessible or not—no safe house is ever safe when magic is involved. And complacency is the quickest way to be taken off guard.
We keep our distance.
And spend days watching.
Our uneasy alliance gets stronger. Patterns emerge. Numbers. Rough, then specific. Combined with Riven’s inside knowledge, our facts and figures get far more concrete.
Papers litter Riven’s living room table. I organize them methodically, only to find them scattered again an hour later. Dishes pile up in the sink, and the dust beneath the bed taunts me. Until, one day, I can’t take any more.
I find cleaning supplies in the cellar, shoved behind a jar of iridescent green preserves. Peppers maybe? Except they’re shaped more like pears. Either way, I’m not here for them, so I push them aside and grab a bucket stuffed with soap, a rag that’s seen better days, and a broom missing half its bristles.
It’s pathetic, but it’ll have to do.
I scrub the house with all the compulsive energy I’ve been fighting for days. By the time I get to the walls, my muscles are aching, but my mind is blissfully calm. I scrub a section, inspect the dust on my rag, then freeze.
Gods alive and dead.
Painted runes on the walls. The break in at my apartment. Malach’s headaches since we got here. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
The gateway. Someone sabotaged our destination, but I haven’t been able to figure out how. It’s a heavily regulated piece of celestial technology. Only Malach or I could activate it. I thought my father must have had it coded to my signature, but Malach activated the gateway.
His radiant heritage triggered this trip.
I pace. There’s a chance my father coded the gateway to activate if either of us touched it. That makes sense, but my stomach is churning.
