Sam gave me a sad smile. “Why don’t we take a short walk down the beach? Take a moment to say goodbye to her before we start loading up theboat?”
“You know what? That’s actually a great idea,” I said gratefully. Sam understood my need to say goodbye. We would be leaving the last place she’d been alive. Her body and our mourning ritual had been stolen from us, and it almost felt as though I’d never gotten closure on her death. Sure, we’d left this house a few times over the past days and weeks, but it had still remained our base. We’d always returned. Now, with our eyes aimed on the distant horizon overseas, it was likely that we wouldn’t return for a very long while. Ifever.
The two of us made our way closer to the waves, the ocean spray dusting our skin. We fell into an easy silence as we picked our way down the beach. An orange glow lit up the sky and fingers of pink stretched out behind the hulking shadows of the house. It was a beautiful sight, one I’d come to appreciate during our time spent in RhodeIsland.
“I guess this is the last time we’ll see this view,” I said with a sigh. “The sunsets are beautifulhere.”
“It will be even better on the boat,” Sam said, slinging an arm around my neck and pulling me in close. The pace of our footsteps fell into a steady rhythm, our souls responding to each other’s, just as they had from the moment we’d first met. Something inside of me had recognized Sam for what he was. I’d seen myself in him, though I hadn’t understood that at the time. And it wasn’t just my soul that responded to Sam. My body practically yearned to be closer to him, to feel his skin againstmine.
I cleared my throat. “I bet Lilith loved the sunsets here. She liked prettythings.”
“Arkas liked them,too.”
I almost stumbled, my feet catching on the sand as the surprise flittered through me. Sam—and the others—had rarely spoken Arkas’s name aloud, let alone actually say something meaningful about him. I knew that he’d died, of course, and I knew that it had happened because of a Hydra. Maybe. That part was still fuzzy. And I knew that it had been Sam’s fault. Or Uriel’s. They all seemed to take a part of the blame, the ghost of Arkas haunting each and every one ofthem.
“What else did Arkas like?” I couldn’t help but ask. I’d tried to give my fallen angels space on the issue. Curiosity had tempted me to ask sooner, but I knew it was a touchy subject for them. I figured they’d tell me about Arkas when they were ready. Still, Sam had been the one to bring him up, so maybe now was thattime.
“He liked danger,” Sam said with a heavy sigh. “He liked animals and creatures, kind of like you, Erela. Except he liked even demonicones.”
“The Hydra,” I said, stopping short so that I could look Sam in the eye. “Don’t tell me he actually liked thosethings.”
He gave a nod. “He was convinced that there was more to the Hydra than met the eye. He wanted to…communicate with one. Try to understand how they think. So, he tried to catchone.”
My eyes practically bugged out of my head. “Catch one? But they’re…they’remassive?”
I distinctly remembered the Hydra that had trapped me in the Harlem River. The water had been murky, so it had been difficult to get a clear view of it. But it had definitely been about twice the size of a whale. I mean, probably that size. I’d never seen a whale myself. Still. The point is, the thing was huge. Not the kind of creature that anyone in their right mind couldcatch.
“Let me guess. His plan didn’t go sowell.”
Sam surprised me by chuckling. “Actually, Erela, he managed to catch the damn thing. It was when Uriel ordered him to return it to the ocean that things gotdicey.”
“Uriel?” I arched a brow. “OurUriel? The pacifist who hates givingorders?”
“That’s the one.” The smile slipped from Sam’s face. “I feel like the rest of this is his story totell.”
“Oh.” With a nod, I glanced toward the house. Sam might have been willing to talk to me about Arkas, but the others were nowhere near it. But of course, all of this still didn’texplain…
“You’re probably wondering why I took a vow of silence,” Sam finished the thought for me. “I helped him, Erela. I helped Arkas capture the Hydra, and then I helped him try to communicate with the creature. For a little while there, I thought we’d made progress, and I told Arkas what I thought the Hydra was trying to say.” He clenched his jaw tight. “But it was all wrong. I opened my mouth and said the words that doomed Arkas. Because of that, I vowed never to speak unless absolutely necessary, and still only when I could be certain that my words rangtrue.”
Chapter Four
Erela
Sam didn’t shareany more of his history with Arkas after that, but he’d given enough details for me to get a pretty clear picture of what had happened. But I was still curious, particularly about Uriel’s part in the whole ordeal. As we all boarded the boat the next morning, I couldn’t help but cast a few curious glances his way. He’d always been the friendliest of the fallen angels, but he’d also been the biggest enigma. There was a darkness lurking in his eyes, and pain. He tried to hide it, but it wasthere.
Az, I understood. He was wicked, but charmingly so. He was angry about what had happened to his family, and he wanted nothing more than to get revenge on those who had harmed him. Ramiel held the weight of his leadership on his shoulders, finding it difficult to open up, even to his fellow fallen angels. And Sam. Well, Sam was a lot likeme.
“You enjoying the show?” Uriel asked with a lopsided smile when he caught me watching him stack a few boxes of supplies on the deck. His muscles rippled as he moved, bulging against the thin cotton material of his t-shirt. It occurred to me that he’d never made a move to kiss me. Was that because he didn’t want to? Or because he didn’t thinkIwanted to? These were the importantquestions.
A flush crept up my neck. “Always.”
“You alright?” he asked, pausing in the box stacking. “You seem quieter thannormal.”
I was wondering why you haven’t kissed me, Ithought.
But out loud, I said, “I’m so sorry about what happened on the boat,Uriel.”
He grinned, leaned forward, and tweaked my cheek. Heat flushed into my neck. “It was an accident. Accidentshappen.”
