Page 8 of Death Match

Looking at Michael now, at how he was grinning at me with hope and esteem on his face, like Eli did most of the time, I realized I had been wrong to assume he’d be like Azrael right off the bat. I shouldn’t have postponed this meeting for so long because of my worry and misguided prejudices.

“Not to worry, though,” Michael went on, drawing me back to the conversation at hand. “After you complete the Trials, your memories will be restored and you will feel like you again.”

His words made me pause.

Feel likemeagain… What did that mean, exactly? Even though I knew who I was supposed to be, I was still struggling to find out who I was and what being Jade Blackwell was really all about. Just the idea of being more confident and comfortable in my own skin and hitting that level felt unreachable, impossible, but oh so important to me.

The imposter syndrome was real.

“Come. Take a walk with me.” Without waiting for our response, Michael began walking down the long stretch of the singular room.

When I glanced at Eli, he gestured with his head that we should follow, so I strode up to Michael’s side. Eli trailed close to my heels.

The beautiful scene of Hawaii still dazzled through the windows to our left. Birds soared in and out of frame, gliding on the breeze before disappearing all together.

“I am sure Elijah has told you much about what you have to face in the coming Trials?” Michael started, his gaze swinging from me to Eli.

“Can’t get him to shut up about it,” I replied, which earned me a snort from behind me. “But he hasn’t gone into the details about it. Just about how crucial it is. Blah, blah, blah.”

Michael chuckled again. “Yes, well, the details would come down to me. Elijah wouldn’t know those exactly because Guardians don’t have to experience Trials like the Archangels do. They have their own training, which you’ll be joining, too, when you’re ready for it.”

“Training?” I asked, surprised by that. “Like what kind of training?”

“Fight training. Weaponry. Marksmanship,” Eli chimed in. “The skills you’ll need for the coming war.”

I’d seen Eli wield his golden spear twice—once in Hell against the Halflings, and again in our fight with Azrael. He was a force to be reckoned with while fighting with that thing. My combat skills, on the other hand, were sloppier but efficient. They had worked for me so far, but I wasn’t opposed to learning something new.

“Eli had mentioned something about a sword, too?” I said.

“Ah, yes. You’ll get yours once you’ve completed the Trials, along with all your gifts under your control,” Michael answered. “It will be your companion in battle and will only listen to your commands.”

“You make it sound like it’s alive or something.”

A sly smile lifted Michael’s lips. “That’s because it is.”

“Uh, what?”

“Well, partly so. It will be an extension of you and your power. And something only you can master.”

A weapon that was a part of me and could channel my power? Wow.

I couldn’t help it. Excitement rose up from my inner child at the thought of holding a real sword. And not just any sword either. A cool-as-fuck, badass sword that only I could wield.

Talk about job perks.

I had no shame in saying guns weren’t my thing. I’d had such a hard time aiming the one Cole had given me. Maybe that was because swords were where I shined.

Training sounded fun. I could do that, but it was the Trials that freaked me out. And honestly, I didn’t know why. Maybe it was a subconscious thing coming out from my regressed memories? Or the pressure I was feeling from knowing I couldn’t fail? Not sure. Both seemed logical to me.

“So, what are the Trials, exactly? What should I expect here?” I asked Michael and glanced across the room. The end was just as far as it had been when we’d begun walking. As if we weren’t moving at all, or the far windows were stretching out farther with our every step.

It reminded me of a fun house or an optical illusion.

Trippy.

Michael nodded, as if he were expecting this exact question eventually. “The Trials are a group of tests, of sorts. They’re specially designed to challenge your mind, body, and soul. They are catered to you personally, and so every Archangel’s Trials will be different. And the number of Trials will also range per person.”

Nausea churned in my gut. His answer still had uncertainties in it, and I didn’t like that. Not knowing what to expect was part of what freaked me out.

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