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“Have faith?”

Aniel nodded.

It was humbling to sit with another who had been without his other half for so long and know he still had not given up hope. Or perhaps it was merely faith. A belief that, as Dina had said, all would be as it was meant to be.

He stood, clasping Aniel’s forearms. “Thank you, brother.”

He left, turning from the room to find Dina.

Chapter 39

Adalaide

Adalaide paced her foyer, staring at the grandfather clock in the hall.

Dina had promised to go with him even though he hadn’t wanted her there. Now, it was half past one, and she had seen no one—not Dina, not Gabriel, not a single one of the angel bastards.

Was she meant to wait forever? To sit in her home and wait to see if they had died? Did angels die? Could they be killed by the devil? She stomped her foot on the ground.

Blessedly, the boys had gone down without a fuss and were sleeping peacefully. She went to her room, sliding open the window to feel the warm night air on her face.

Her birthday had come and gone, and she had turned twenty-five with no one being the wiser. Dina had said they would set specific parameters which would dictate how the spell worked. Her Latin was rubbish, so she understood very little of the actual spell, but the gist was that she must die, Sanura must be present, and Adalaide must be twenty-five.

There were other factors, ones she didn’t understand, but those were the important bits. And she had turned twenty-five six days ago. It suddenly felt as though her life was a countdown clock ticking toward her end.

She wasn’t ready. Her babies weren't yet four months. She hadn’t heard their first words, seen them take their first steps, or watched them grow into the men they would become.

She leaned out the window, looking down, then up. Why was she always made to wait while they came and went as they pleased? She was through waiting.

Sending a blast of air beneath her feet, she angled herself out the window and shot up to the roof. There, she stared up at the expansive night sky and screamed for someone to answer her.

She was met with only the buzz of crickets and noises on the street below. “Come down here and answer me!” she shouted.

It was reckless and dumb, but perhaps all she needed was a bit of faith. Deciding, she backed up to the corner of her rooftop and ran, taking a flying leap, thinking: Gabriel, I will find you in Alaxia, and there will be no more hiding from me.

Her feet left the ground, and she was speeding up, up, into the sky. She fell again just as quickly, landing on the same rooftop. But it wasn’t her roof. It was bright and shimmered in gold. A pair of massive gates were secured before her, and beyond them, a gleaming castle, larger than she could have ever dreamed, sparkled in an unnatural light.

A massive glowing man landed before the gates and swung a sword in her face.

She danced back, narrowly avoiding the slice of a razor-sharp blade, and threw up a hand, marveling at the blue flame that burst free, even here.

The golden-haired angel lowered his sword. “You are Gabriel’s Naphil,” he said.

She bristled at the possession he placed on her. “I am no one’s anything,” she said.

“I shall fetch Gabriel, one moment.” He disappeared without waiting for her reply.

She spun in a circle, taking in the space. It was beautiful, to be sure, but it was lacking something. It certainly wasn’t how she imagined the afterlife.

Jophiel appeared before her, followed by Gabriel, whose dark eyes promised murder.

Jophiel rushed forward, embracing her. “Are you well? Are you injured?”

“I was awaiting news.” Adalaide leveled them both with stares. Gabriel was still glaring daggers at Jophiel, who seemed to be doing her best to avoid his gaze. “You never came back. I thought something happened to you.”

“To us?” Jophiel gave a nervous laugh. “We’re immortal. What could have happened to us?”

Gabriel shoved past his sister, getting between them. “Tell her what you’ve done, Dina.”

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