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‘It’s Ebony.’

‘All right then:
Eb-o-nee
. Is that the problem, that we forget your name sometimes?’

‘Of course it’s not that.’ I flounder as I try to explain. ‘I can’t just up and leave. I haven’t finished school. I have a farm to run. Horses. My parents are still missing.’

Shae smiles carefully and steps closer. ‘But you’re one of us.’

‘This is, um, happening too fast. I need time to grow used to the idea of being an … an … See, I can’t even say the word. And the one thing that made me think maybe I am one of you has disappeared. Without wings I’ll be a freak in your world.’

Shae looks at me, frowning, but what am I supposed to tell them? The guy I fell in love with strung me along with words I wanted to hear so he could finish his quest as quickly as possible and get back to his fiancée?

‘And where would I live?’

‘Ebony, on your return to Avena you will live in my house, of course,’ Nathaneal says, his eyes meeting mine.
‘I have plenty of room. You will have an entire wing to yourself.’

‘Don’t you think you should run that past your fiancée first?’

My question causes uproar.

Shae asks me where I heard that, and then accuses Jezelle of rumour-mongering.

Confused, I ask Jordan softly, ‘What did I say?’

He shrugs, and looks away to avoid eye contact.

Nathaneal’s eyes close – he’s probably embarrassed at being caught out in front of his friends. When he opens them, they shimmer with self-disgust.

Well, he should be disgusted with himself!

He tries to take my hand, but I pull away and everyone falls silent. He’s not going to worm his way out of this. I look directly into his eyes. ‘I know you have a fiancée in Avena waiting patiently for you to complete your quest. That’s why I’m setting you free from the last part of the mission, so you can return home to her.’

Gabriel limps up to his brother and pats his shoulder with an amused glint in his eye. ‘You have some explaining to do, brother.’

‘Whatever excuses you offer up, I’m not changing my mind,’ I say. ‘I may be young and naive, but I’m not stupid, and I’m not going to Avena with you.’

Shae gasps and I turn to her quickly. ‘I’m sorry, Shae.’

‘Don’t you want to meet your family? This news will crush our parents. Don’t you care?’ She turns away and smothers her face in Isaac’s shoulder.

‘I don’t mean to hurt you.’

‘It’s too late,’ she murmurs, and the two of them leave hurriedly after embracing Nathaneal.

I know they don’t understand how I feel, but since finding out about Nathaneal’s fiancée, I can’t bear the thought of living on Avena and seeing him with another woman, holding her, kissing her.

I catch a look between Gabriel and Michael that reeks of disappointment.

‘The law of our world is that you cannot be forced,’ Michael says. ‘This decision is one you must make, but I beg you, Ebony, to think carefully. If and when you change your mind, you won’t be able to make the Crossing on your own.

‘You know you’re still in grave danger here, Ebony? The Earth is Prince Luca’s free hunting zone. It’s part of the treaty agreed a millennium ago, with another millennium still to go before it runs its course.’

‘You remain unprotected,’ Gabriel chimes in.

‘The ritual?’ I ask.

‘That’s right.’

So far Jordan has remained quiet, but something makes him finally speak up. ‘
Man
, with all that’s happened in such a short time, it’s a wonder she can think straight at all. You’re all being too hard on her. Ebony shouldn’t leave until she’s ready. But don’t worry, I’ll watch over her. I’ll keep a close eye on her.’

Nathaneal says, ‘Thank you, Jordan, but I’m not returning home until Ebony is ready. You won’t have to carry the responsibility of protecting her on your own.’

I drop Jordan’s hand and poke my finger in Nathaneal’s chest. ‘Don’t you stay on my account! This world is not
your home. Go back to Avena, where you have a fiancée waiting for you! Don’t you think she’s missing you? Haven’t you stayed away long enough because of me? You would end up hating it here, and hating me because of that.’

‘Ebony, I could never hate you.’ He sees me frown and adds softly, ‘That would be impossible.’

Michael sighs. ‘Ebony, Earth is not your home either, and as for Nathaneal’s fiancée, where did you hear that?’

I glance at Jordan. The angels follow my gaze and under their scrutiny he steps backwards until he hits the tree.

Jordan says he loves me. Something like hope blossoms inside me, but fear that I’m on the wrong track keeps it down. ‘Jordan, did you make it up?’

‘No! I swear! Thane told me about her.’

‘It’s true,’ Nathaneal says, and my blossoms shrivel up and die. ‘But she’s not waiting for me at home.’

‘I beg your pardon?’

Muffled laughter wafts over from the other angels. Nathaneal sends them a withering look and they stop. ‘She’s not waiting for me at home because she’s here.’

‘Your fiancée is living here? Who is it? Do I know her?’

‘Ebony, I didn’t want to tell you like this.’

‘Like what, Nathaneal?’

‘I get it!’ Jordan hits himself in the forehead with the palm of his hand. ‘It all fits. I’m such an idiot! Why didn’t I realise sooner?’ he mutters, then looks directly up at Nathaneal. ‘It makes sense – why you searched the entire planet from one pole to the other to find her, and now that you have, you can’t leave.’

Nathaneal stares back at Jordan without agreeing or
denying the ‘accusation’, if that’s what it is. His narrowed eyes look as if he’s trying to suss out how Jordan feels.

‘Well, I don’t like it,’ Jordan tells him. ‘In fact, I’m really pissed off … How do I compete with an angel? An angel Ebony happens to think is beautiful and perfect?’

I yank on his arm when I hear him say this. ‘I never said those things to you.’

He shrugs. ‘I know you think them because they’re in your eyes every time you look at him.’

He points a finger at Nathaneal. ‘I’m right, aren’t I? Ebony is really –’

‘If you know what’s good for you, Jordan,’ Nathaneal tells him, ‘you’ll keep this information quiet for the moment.’

Michael, Gabriel and Jezelle burst out laughing and take this moment to say their goodbyes. They each embrace Nathaneal, and wish me good luck. Jezelle apologises to Nathaneal for leaving him with a beat-up Porsche, and then they walk off through the forest, or what used to be the forest.

Meanwhile, my patience runs out. When it’s just the three of us, I put my hands on my hips and stare pointedly at Nathaneal and then at Jordan. ‘One of you had better tell me what’s going on.’

Nathaneal seems to melt with softness when his eyes meet mine. ‘Ebony, I wanted to tell you. It was just too soon.’

I squint at him, then glance at Jordan, needing some clear answers, but he just throws his hands in the air and says, ‘Sorry, Ebony, but I know what’s good for me.’

I stare at Nathaneal. He takes my left hand and, without
taking his eyes from mine, he kisses my wrist so lightly his lips could be mistaken for a feather. I feel tingles from his touch go all the way to my toes.

‘Sweetheart, I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to frighten you, and, well … I held out a hope that you would remember who you are.’

‘Will you tell me now?’

‘I would rather tell you in the comfort of my home where we don’t have to concern ourselves with anyone who might be listening.’

‘I need to know now, Nathaneal. My whole life has been a lie.’

‘I promise to always tell you the truth.’

He brings my hands up between us, drawing me in close to his body, then leans down so that our foreheads are touching. ‘In Avena, certain facets of our lives are preordained. My marriage is one of those.’

‘Ohhh.’

So now I understand. It’s an arranged marriage. My heart lifts a little at this news. He probably doesn’t love her. The way he kissed me, he
can’t
love her. I know it’s me he loves now.

‘Can you get out of it somehow?’

He shakes his head.

‘So why are you smiling?’

‘Because my fiancée is you, Ebony.’

‘Me?
Me!
’

He smiles and brings his mouth so close to mine I’m tempted to forget anything else he has to say and drag his head down to kiss me.

‘OK, I’m out of here,’ Jordan says, sounding annoyed. ‘Hand me the keys, will you, Thane. I’ll give you some privacy and go collect the Lambo.’

Nathaneal digs into his pocket and throws Jordan the keys. ‘Take your time.’

We watch Jordan run off through the forest, and when he’s no longer in sight Nathaneal picks me up in his arms and swings me around. When he stops, but before I stop laughing, he brings his face in close, his beautiful blue eyes melding with mine, and he whispers, ‘I found you at last.’

‘It took you long enough.’

He laughs and I wind my fingers through his hair and pull him down to me. Against his lips I whisper, ‘I’m glad you’re staying.’

‘The first time you were kidnapped I was too young to protect you, but that’s not the case now. I promise you, Ebony, no one will separate us again.’

My life sucks. It always has and now it sucks even more. Thane promised it would get better once we found his kidnapped angel. But he lied. He lies all the time – by omission, of course, because angels don’t lie.

Ha! Omission is more deceitful than straight-out lying, if you ask me. At least humans tell it to your face whether you like it or not.

How could he
omit
telling me his fiancée is Ebony? I mean, really, come on, man, how could he not find one lousy minute to break the news?

The thing is, I met Ebony first, and it was way before he came on the scene. I know that doesn’t mean I have some kind of claim over her. It’s just I knew, from the moment she rammed me into the brick wall on that night we first met, Ebony was the girl of my dreams.

‘Sucks, doesn’t it?’

I stop dead in my tracks. Where did that voice come from? I spin around outside the monastery’s front gate where Thane’s car is parked. I can’t see anyone so I click the key and unlock the doors. Taking another look around, I climb in the driver’s side, switch on the motor and wait for its purr to calm me.

Ready to take off, I click my seat belt. Then I catch sight of something moving in my rear-view mirror. I look over my shoulder and jump, practically hitting the roof. ‘What are you doing here? How did you get in?’

‘You’d be surprised at what I can do now,’ Adam Skinner says, sliding into the passenger seat.

There’s something weird going on here. Goose pimples break out over my arms and a shiver zings up the back of my neck.

Even his laugh is strange, changing pitch from deep to high. ‘What’s the matter, dude? Aren’t you pleased to see me?’

Though he sounds like Skinner, there’s something not right. ‘Well,
dude
, what do you want?’

He stares at me with a big goofy grin on his face that’s just not him. And his usual brown eyes are black. How could that happen?

‘In a hurry, are we? Can’t wait to watch the girl of your dreams being carried away on an angel’s white wings?’

I put the Lambo into gear and take off, burning rubber. I’m not in the mood for this. ‘I don’t know what you’re up to, but I’m about to pick Nathaneal up and he’ll know just what to do with you.’

He’s quiet as we reach the part of the forest devastated by recent events. ‘Stop,’ he says, and for no good reason I can think of, I do what he says. There’s something macabre about him today. If I play nice, maybe he’ll piss off quickly.

He points across the dead forest to where in the distance Thane and Ebony are lip-locked.

‘You brought me here to show me them kissing?’

‘We have a mutual friend.’

‘We do?’

‘Yes, and you know him very well.’

‘Tell me what you want and get out.’

‘You don’t scare me, Blake.’

‘Yeah? Well, you don’t scare me either!’

The second I say the words I regret them. His eyes roll up so only the whites are showing, he opens his mouth and an animal’s voice screams out of it, like a rampaging chimp.

‘What the crap is going on with you, Skinner?’

He smiles. ‘I’m a messenger.’

‘If you’re talking about Prince Luca, I’ve got nothing to fear from him for a long time. Is he your hero these days? By the way, why aren’t you locked up?’

‘He gave me freedom and power and many other skills that are going to come in handy during this life.’

‘I hate to burst your bubble, dude, but at what cost?’

He laughs. ‘That’s the beauty – I don’t have to answer to you or anyone any more.’

Nathaneal and Ebony start walking towards us. ‘They’ve seen the car. You’d better go.’

‘Not before I deliver my message.’

‘
Arghh
, for pity’s sake, man, what is it?’

Sharp pain sears my brain. I don’t know how, but Skinner’s doing it even though he’s not moving a thing, just piercing me with his eyes, darkened to almost all black. How strong is he now? I lift my hand – about the only thing I can move. ‘Enough, man.’ But he doesn’t stop. ‘Stop! I’ve had enough!’

Painstakingly slowly, he withdraws. ‘Remember the dream you had where you made a deal with the King of Skade?’

I take a deep breath and swallow to make my mouth work. ‘How do you know about that?’

‘Do you remember, Jordy? Answer the question!’

‘OK! Yes, I remember! I die and he takes my soul and releases my mother’s.’

‘Perfect. Well, he wants you to know he’s a generous king and is willing to release you from the covenant.’

‘Are you serious? Wait – what about my mother?’

He nods. ‘She will be released to Solomon.’

‘What does he want me to do in return?’

He laughs and nods in the direction of Thane and Ebony, walking towards us with their hands clasped together. ‘It’s simple. Split those two asunder. Do whatever it takes.’

‘Are you nuts? Look at them!’

‘Prince Luca may be physically wrecked at the moment, but his mind is still working perfectly and so are his armies of angels and demons.’