When he stayed quiet, Nia pushed aside her tangled emotions for this angel, tried to ignore her dipping heart, and latched onto a thought that troubled her.
“Lore, that pillow I burned? It happened during my nightmare. If I took your powers, do you think that in my dream, when Kas was choking me, and I hit him…” She raked back the damp hair from her face. “Do you think it’s possible I somehow siphoned his ability, and that’s how I scorched the pillow?”
His expression grew contemplative. “I think you likelychanneledsome of his, which would explain why you didn’t retain it, unlike when you removed mine.”
“Ugh, I’m really glad I didn’t.” She shuddered. “Who knew what evil, depraved things I’d see?”
“I’ll teach you how to shield yourself, even in dreams—” He went quiet, a coolness sweeping over his features. “Give me a moment. I have to see him.”
“Who?”
“The seraph.”
Her stomach heaved. A high-ranking angel was there? “Okay. I’m gonna go get something to eat.”
Lore shimmered, disappearing from the room. Nia rose, uneasiness tightening the muscles along her shoulders. They couldn’t know she’d taken his powers, could they? Hastily, she shut her mind before whoever it was picked up onherthoughts.
She took Lore’s sheathed dagger from the bedside table and slipped the weapon into her boot. Grabbing a scrunchie from the drawer where she’d stashed her hair accessories, she coiled her damp hair into a loose knot and fastened it.
A little curious as to who this seraph was, the one who ruled over a formidable Power like Lore, she peered through the window but couldn’t see anyone. Dawn had broken, shaded in gloom. She opened the window, and still, she couldn’t hear a thing.
Ugh, they wouldn’t talk with a human so close.
As she shut the window, Nia spied the ruined pillow she’d chucked outside on the cracked, wet tiles. Aw, man. Guilt stirred at the thought of adding more work for whoever took care of this place.
Nia opened the balcony door, hurried out into the brisk air, and shivered. She rubbed her arms, then picked up the pillowand cast a quick peek over the balustrade at the forest far below. Nothing but swirling mist everywhere?—
“You’re hard to get a hold of, Loráed,” an unfamiliar low voice drifted downward in the light breeze.
Nia glanced up at the balcony ceiling, brushing the few strands of hair away from her face. Not like she could see anyone.
“My work keeps me so.”
Lore. She recognized his cool timbre.
Work?Fair enough, she understood he couldn’t really reveal the truth to a seraph.
“I was afraid you were going to be like Ashwin and decide to fall from grace. You know how that went.”
Lore remained silent.
Then, “I know, Loráed. I sensed the changes in you when we last met.”
Oh, crap.Her heart drummed in her chest as she waited for Lore’s response. The seconds stretched endlessly before he spoke. “It was a…momentary lapse on my part. Call it curiosity.”
Fierce pain ripped through Nia.No, he can’t mean that…
“I’m too old to change or live among humans when I have avoided them for most of my existence,” he said, his tone utterly indifferent. “My life’s dedicated to the Celestial Realm and keeping the balance. All this is nothing.”
The words hit her like physical blows. Nia swallowed hard, blinking back the burn in her eyes.
“Good, good. I need you back, anyway. I have something else that requires your attention.”
“The demon attack on the abbey yesterday?” Lore asked.
“It was nothing. A minor miscalculation…”
Even hearing that the angel had likely sent those demon minions didn’t gut her as much as what Lore said?—
