It wasn’t that she’d been stalking him, but she’d been waiting nearby in hopes she would have a chance to speak with him alone.
“Of course,” he said, motioning toward the darkened office on the main floor.
Acadia led the way inside, the lights coming on when she willed them to. Obsidian joined her, then closed the door behind him.
“What’s on your mind, Acadia?”
The idea of this had been simple. Now that she was here, now that she was supposed to come up with the words, Acadia wished she’d simply walked on by when she’d seen the male approaching her.
You can do this. The words were a mantra in her head, had been for the past half hour as she waited patiently for Obsidian to be finished. Shecoulddo this. She would.
Squaring her shoulders, Acadia stopped pacing, pivoting to face the enormous angel.
“I’m going to simply get this out there,” she said quickly. “Before I lose my nerve.”
After all, she had spent the better part of the last two days trying to come up with the appropriate way to relay this to Obsidian. Her official conclusion: there wasn’t one. The only thing she could do was lay it out there and hope for the best.
He nodded, then perched on the edge of the heavy wood desk that sat in the center of the space.
“I’d like to be relieved of my duties. Feeding thefiestreigh.” She swallowed to wet her dry throat. “I’m not trying to shirk my duties by any means, and I’d be more than willing to perform other duties, even work alongside theheurospif that’s where I’d be most helpful. I just…”
When she peered up at Obsidian, she noticed he was smiling.
“What?”
His eyes softened. “Acadia, despite popular belief, you are not a prisoner here. Nor have you ever been. Not in my eyes. We appreciate you more than you’ll ever know, but not once have we ever seen your contribution to this war as a requirement.”
She wasn’t sure what to say to that. Acadia had never felt like a prisoner, but she knew all too well what was required of her. According to God, at least.
“You love him,” he stated.
“More than anything,” she admitted.
“Have you told him as much?”
Acadia shook her head. “Not in so many words, no. It’s like … when those words come out, it’ll be official. No turning back.” She sighed. “I fear revealing too much of myself.” She realized how it sounded and quickly continued. “Not to him. I think Kaj knows deep down. It’s more … I know what’s at stake. Where my duties are concerned.”
“Understandable.” Obsidian’s head tilted. “But he loves you. And he’s willing to do whatever’s necessary to make you happy.”
“That’s the problem,” she blurted. “I don’t want him to do anything because of me. I know about Michael’s proposition. Kaj let me read his mind. Michael wants him to resurrect the original vampire in return for freeing the Fae.”
It was just like Michael to manipulate a situation like that. Hanging something like that over Kaj’s head … he was a noble male. He would do what was right for those he cared about. Which made this doubly unsettling.
“It makes sense that he’d want to do that,” Obsidian said. “But I don’t think you have the whole story. It’s not solely about freeing you. The vampire race is at risk. Kaj has to make a decision for his people, but the scales are weighted because he knows it will benefit you as well.”
It pained her to know that Michael would use her against Kaj.
“Trust me. You’re not the only one worried about this domino effect Michael’s set in motion. I don’t know what’ll happen to us once the Fae are freed,” Obsidian said, his tone reflecting concern. “Not that I’d want it any other way.”
She hadn’t really thought about this from his perspective. Without their blood, thefiestreighwouldn’t be able to survive here on Earth. Fae blood was their life source, the means to their survival. It not only allowed them to survive, it provided a homing beacon so that they could be monitored, one of the Almighty’s prerequisites for allowing them to come to Earth.
“We won’t leave you,” she said, taking a step toward him. “If that’s what you’re worried about. It’s more than duty for us as well.”
“Those are the chains that keep you here. That’s simply fact, Acadia. I would never force anyone to remain here. That’s not how I operate. Nor do my brothers. But there’s no denying you’re a necessity for us. Without the blood of the Fae, the angels wouldn’t be capable of remaining here.”
Not unless they’d found theiramsouelot, anyway. Obsidian and Eclipse were safe because they had their own life source now. The other warriors, as well as thefiestreigh…
“They could feed from the angels Michael’s providing to the trainees,” she said.
