“Tristan, let’s go.” Rigidly, Jarod began to stalkaway.
“Wait,” I calledout.
Jarod halted, his bloodied shirt sticking to his back, and glanced over his shoulder at me. “Forwhat?”
For me,I thought but then looked at Asher. Had Asher been sent to escort me back to the guild? Since when did Seraphim collect Fletchings from their missions? Was I introuble?
“My cousin will see you home,” Jarod said. “Apparently, you two havemet.”
Tristan cocked aneyebrow.
“Small world,” I mumbled, fingers clamping around my forearms, crimping my pebbledskin.
Jarod scrubbed one hand through his gelled locks, flipping back a curl obstructing his obsidian eyes. “Take care,Leigh.”
The use of my angel-given name iced me almost as much as histone.
It sounded likegoodbye.
As he finally walked away, Tristan tailing him, I told myself that I’d see him again. Sinners didn’t sign off; only Fletchings had thatpower.
As long as I didn’t sign off, Jarod Adler would remain mysinner.
Chapter 25
“You’re pretendingto be his cousin, Seraph?” I snapped as we made our way out of the restaurant after I’d collected Jarod’s fallen jacket. I hadn’t meant for my words to come out reproachful, but I felt blindsided. This wasn’t fair of me, though. Asher had tried to tell me, not in so many words, to stay away fromJarod.
Asher slid me a look, his eyes impossibly colorful in spite of the darkness of Rue Levert. “I’ve come to know himwell.”
“But cousin?” Lies didn’t cost feathers once wings were filled out, but still, it was in poor form to lie. Especially when you were at the top of the hierarchy and expected to set anexample.
Asher loosed a deep sigh. “I apologize, Leigh, but you’re familiar with celestial policy. We’re not allowed to discuss sinners withFletchings.”
I bit my lip and nodded, tightening my grip on Jarod’s jacket. “Am I in trouble? Is that why you showed uptonight?”
“The Ishim told me they were collecting souls in Paris squandered by a man namedTristan.”
I searched our darkened surroundings for Ishim or Malakim but found no other angel. No other human either, for thatmatter.
“I assumed Jarod would be here,” Asher continued, “and since you took him on, I expected you would be,too.”
“Which doesn’t answer my question, Seraph . . .” I returned the full force of my stare on him. “Am I introuble?”
Asher ran a big hand through his shoulder-length golden locks. “Yes.”
My mouth went very dry. “How muchtrouble?”
“We’re not supposed to influence Fletchings, but, Leigh”—he stopped walking, and my heart climbed into my throat—“you need to signoff.”
“Why?”
“Do not ask for I cannot tellyou.”
“Please.”
Asher scrutinized the graffitied storefront of a hookah shop where fluted glass pipes were coated in a layer of dust so thick it was impossible to guess their colors. “Do you want toascend?”
“Of course I want toascend.”
