“They deserve more than this. The horsemen made the ultimate sacrifice for the world.”
“For her, you mean,” Michael huffed.
“The world can mean many things to many people,” Evander observed. “Their world is her.”
Michael made a considering sound, as if he wasn’t entirely convinced. I pressed the advantage.
“Does the motivation really matter when the result is the same? Either way, they are a large part of the reason the apocalypse didn’t take. I don’t think any of us would be standing here right now without them.”
“What a novelty,” he muttered. “After all these years, I can’t say I ever predicted that the horsemen would help stop an apocalypse.”
“That’s because you refuse to allow yourself to feel anything more than apathy.”
He stared at me, something akin to confusion in his eyes. “What happened to you, Gabriel?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve softened. Once upon a time, you were the most stoic of us. You did your duty, delivered messages that oftentimes destroyed the recipient, and you never felt a twinge of guilt or remorse for it. Now you’re bargaining on their behalf to lessen their pain.”
“You can hardly fault me for that. After all the time I’ve spent among them, I can’t help that I want to, well, help.”
“What is it you’re after, Gabriel?” Evander asked, his expression unreadable.
I bit the inside of my cheek, an entirely human action that I didn’t recall picking up. “It just doesn’t seem fair that it should end this way.”
“When has anything about human life been fair?” Evander asked, genuinely curious.
“Well, it hasn’t. But that’s the point. After all they have done, shouldn’t they be rewarded instead of punished for their efforts?”
Michael snorted. “This isn’t a punishment. It is the way of things. We can’t change the outcome.”
“Why not?” I asked, stubbornly crossing my arms over my chest. “We’ve done it before.”
“You meanyouhave done it before. You just can’t help but insert yourself.”
“And where would we be right now if I hadn’t? Hmm?”
Evander nodded and stepped up next to me. “Gabriel’s right. Without his intervention, without Caleb, we wouldn’t be where we are now. Caleb saved Sunday, yes, but he also assisted with the possession and saved Dahlia from death’s door. He has been an instrument since day one.”
Michael huffed, but the tapping of his fingers against his leg told me he couldn’t dismiss Evander’s words as easily as he had mine.
“They almost succeeded this time,” I reminded him. “We have never been this close to a true end before. The world was moments away from being lost for eternity, and you know as well as I, heaven’s army would not have prevailed.”
“Especially against the Princes,” Evander added.
“Yes, yes, all right, fine. What is it you want to do, Gabriel? Bring them back? You know the cycle will merely start up again upon their return. That is the nature of their existence.”
“The board was always going to be reset,” Evander mused. “It always does once we wipe the collective memories of humanity, and a few decades pass. Even this time, with such a near miss, they’ll never know how close they came to oblivion.”
“Bring the horsemen here.”
“Very well, but I have conditions,” Michael said. “This can’t be as simple as returning them to their bodies to go on as if nothing happened.”
Evander’s lips twitched with the smallest of smiles. “It’s never simple, is it?”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“Was that a joke?” I asked, pressing the back of my hand to Michael’s forehead. “Are you unwell?”
