Page 53 of Light

Adalaide peered beyond Jophi but saw no one.

“He has gone. He has little interest in spending time among mortals.”

Adalaide nodded, wiping the green goo coating the sword on her skirts and lifting a hand to her cheek. “It burns.”

“Come, we must wash it off before it takes off your skin,” Jophiel said, ushering her toward the kitchen.

Adalaide went, setting the sword down on the marble counter as she undid the buttons on the sleeves of her blouse and rolled them up. She reached for her bar of soap and twisted the faucet.

“Stop!” Jophiel extracted the bar of soap from her hand and scanned the counter. “Do you have salt?

Adalaide frowned but pointed to a canister labeled “salt” beside the others.

“Right,” Jophiel said, unscrewing the lid and scooping out a handful of the grainy substance. She lifted it to Adalaide’s cheek and rubbed rough granules over stinging skin. When she finished, she pointed to the running water. “Now, you may rinse.”

Adalaide obeyed, letting the cool water run over her skin.

Jophiel twisted the faucet and handed her a towel.

She patted her cheek, eying the angel as she busied herself cleaning up the mess.

“What do we do now?” she asked.

Jophiel’s wings twitched, giving off a bit of an iridescent glow Adalaide hadn’t noticed before. As she gazed at the long white feathers laying layer upon layer, over one another, on the angel’s back, she noticed for the first time that there was a faint glow edging them.

It trailed up the ridge of them and ran upward, forming a delicate circle around her head.

“Is that a halo?” she asked incredulously.

Jopheil touched a hand to her head. “It’s the sign of my completed bond.”

On instinct, Adalaide touched the top of her own head.

Jophiel smiled. “Only full seraphim receive them. And only after the bond has been completed in Alaxia.”

The words struck a memory in Adalaide—something Gabriel had said or thought once about her having another chance to change her mind later.

“I’m not truly bonded to him then?”

“No.”

Her shoulders sank. “Oh.”

“You must accept him again after your final death.”

She’d been afraid of death before, nervous about the afterlife and what it would mean, but with two small infants dozing above stairs who were reliant upon her for survival and a witch after them, she couldn’t imagine giving up her life now and leaving them unprotected.

Gabriel hadn’t returned. She doubted he’d realized it had been another month; he had no concept of human time. It soothed some of the pain she felt at his long absence, but she couldn’t hope he’d do better at caring for their children if something happened to her.

“Gabriel told me it's the amulet she’s after. What if I got rid of it? Or,” she swallowed, “gave it to her?”

Something in Jophiel’s eyes flashed. “You must never return the amulet to her. She would kill you the instant she had it to ensure no one could ever trap her again.”

“I don’t understand. What have I to do with it?”

Jophiel gave her an appraising stare. Indecision warred on her face before she said, “Come, let me tell you the story of your ancestors.”

They moved to the sitting room, each taking seats on opposite chairs when Jophiel began.

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