“The divine angels. Michael and his band of immortal Guardians make sure it’s carried out.”
“Christ,” she murmured with a shake of her head. “Angels, Guardians…”
“I know it’s a lot to take in, but let’s get this test done first, okay?”
And it brought him right back to their situation, and why they were leaving.
“Do your people not like humans?” she asked quietly.
Stars!Not what he wanted to talk about, but he didn’t want to lie to her. “It’s not just humans but any other species. It’s an ancient rule formed by our Creator. It’s been adhered to from the moment we came to be. Well, except for the divine angels who Fell and mated with my kind since we were created in their likeness.”
She cast her gaze to her hand and fingered the scar there. “I see.”
“It’s an archaic rule that has been thankfully rescinded since humans have become mates to my kind. But my people are slow to accept change.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment, then those dark eyes met his, and Aerén knew she understood what he wasn’t saying. “But only for those humans who possess the blood magic, and I don’t. So, I don’t make the cut. That’s why you’re worried.” Then she smiled, even if it appeared a little strained. “Good thing I’m not staying in your world, isn’t it?”
“Leya, stop.” He grasped her hands and crouched in front of her. “I’m not giving you up, and I don’t care what anyone says. You are mine, and we will be together. Now, the favor I spoke about.”
“What is it?”
She still didn’t make the connection.
“Will you ask your sister to take the scroll test?”
“Hana?” She frowned then her face paled beneath her light brown coloring as it finally connected. Her mouth opened then shut. “You think she…?”
“I think the magic came toyoufirst.”
“And I gave her my blood soon after.”
“Aye.”
She swallowed and rubbed the bisected mark on her hand. “So, I did have the half-moon scar Brenna mentioned…”
He nodded. “Come, let’s go get this test done.” He grasped her hand, helped her up from the boulder, and aimed for the exit.
“You mean my sister should?”
“And you.”
“Aerén, you have to stop thinking of me as a Chosen. Our paths crossed because I was merely a conduit for your world’s magic and transferred it to Hana by giving her my blood. If I was meant to be a Chosen, don’t you think your world’s magic would have remained in me?”
There was a tone in her voice—a hurt—that had him stopping. “Leya,” he said softly. “Despite your disbelief, I still feel there’s something in you. So, we’re doing this test again.”
CHAPTER25
Leya steppedthrough the portal into darkness, a cacophony of insects chirping their greeting. Moonlight glinted between the looming, interlacing canopy of trees, streaming a tapestry of silver light onto the ground, and she shuddered, burrowing into her parka.
Man, from the intense humidity of Cidéra, to the mind-numbing cold of Dregarus where Aerén opened a portal, and now she stood somewhere in her world, trying to adjust to the cooler air enclosing her.
“I’ll meet with you later,” Aerén said to Thiorr and Drav’n, reaching for her hand. His warmth seeped into her.
“My lady?” Drav’n hesitated a beat, and Leya eyed him curiously. She’d rarely spoken to any of the enforcers except for Lykon. “I never got a chance to apologize.”
She frowned. “For what?”
His expression darkened. “My sibling. He…he was responsible for the incident at the river yesterday.”
