Shadow stayed away from me for days, and for the first time, it bothered me. I found myself with a shit ton of questions and no answers, and after many sleepless nights, I was desperate to see his grouchy face. I mean, he was a god, with centuries of life and knowledge under his belt. He had to know something helpful and I was anxiously needing answers.
“Still sweeping, I see,” Angel said, bursting through my dark thoughts. At some point my “Angel Face” nickname had turned into Angel, and now I couldn’t think of her by any other name.
I shot her a smile, feeling slightly cheered to see her in her normal lunch spot. “Are you actually joking with me at this point? Did Hell freeze over?”
She tilted her head. “Is that what humans think Hell is? A world of fire and torture?”
I nodded. “Yeah, for the most part, it’s all brimstone and burning. Eternal damnation. Blah blah.”
She considered this, her brow furrowed. “Is that the worst afterlife their minds could conjure? Because, for me, I’d take being burned day after day over other events. That’s just physical pain…”
The magenta of her eyes deepened, swirling into a magma spiral, and for some reason, I expected the color to spill from her irises and leak down her cheeks.
“You’ve lived through a hell worse than burning, haven’t you?” I asked.
She didn’t reply, the usual bread in her hands as she used it to sop up a soup she would never taste. For a moment, I freaked that I’d overstepped and the small grounds I’d made in a friendship with her would be destroyed.
“I have,” she said, and I felt a pang at the thought of her suffering. “And I’d take fire any day over an eternity of closing my eyes and seeing their deaths.”
Her voice trilled with the sort of sadness that was soul deep, buried in her very essence—creating a woman who would never be whole again. My heart ached, and I had to offer whatever comfort I could.
“If I could ease your demons,” I said, reaching out and placing my hand on hers, “I would do it. Even at cost to myself. And I hope that one day your torments settle, and you find a semblance of peace.”
I had demons of my own, and maybe that was the reason we’d become friends. Angel’s demons played well with my own, and while I already knew I hadn’t suffered losses like she had, I did get it. And I would support her whatever way I could.
After all, a woman with a loyal female friend at her side could literally destroy or save worlds.
Angel squeezed my hand before releasing me, and her energy felt a little lighter as she went back to playing with her food. With a chuckle, I returned to mine as well, and we sat in a companionable silence.
When she finally got up to leave, I cleared my throat. “What’s a girl gotta do to find out your name? I mean, you’re ‘Angel’ to me now, but I’d still like to know the real you.”
As she turned her head back, mischief danced in her eyes, the color much lighter than before. “I don’t use my name any longer. As far as I’m concerned, it’s dead and buried, like my heart.”
For the love of fucks everywhere. She was stunningly tragic, and I already hated that my friend had been through this kind of torment.
“‘Angel’ it is, then,” I breathed, my throat growing tight.
She nodded. “I like that. See you tomorrow, Mera.”
Then she was gone in a flurry of mahogany hair and amber-tinted wings. My appetite disappeared as I stared down into my half-eaten food, wondering how I’d misread her so badly from the start. Initially, I’d thought her attitude toward me had been due to our vastly different stations in life. I was a lowly shifter and she was this goddess of a woman. But then she’d told me that no one ever sat in her area…
Except one dumbass shifter. Who had somehow lucked out in garnering her interest.
I jumped when a hand landed on my shoulder. Tilting my head back, I found Angel standing above me. “Thank you,” she whispered. “You’re the first being to talk to me in five hundred years. I come here to smell the food and feel the energy, but other than that, I’m always alone.”
I’d had it all so wrong.
Jerking to my feet, I spun and wrapped my arms around her, holding on as tightly as I could. “You never have to be alone again. If you ever need help or someone to talk to… or anything at all… come to me. I’m your friend now. Your family, if that’s what you need. We can protect each other in this fucked-up world.”
She held on like her life depended on it, and despite the slight crushing of my ribs, I didn’t even try to pull away. When we finally parted, she smiled brilliantly, and I was hit with how perfect my chosen name was for her.
She placed her hand on my chest, just above my breasts. “We call our family treasora. Our treasure. I am honored to bring you into the fold of mine.”
Her free hand then went to her own chest, pressing against the armor she wore, and a glow burst from it and landed against her palm on my chest. The glowing string of gold slithered into my chest, a tingling sensation following it.
“We are bonded now,” she murmured. “A bond that will grow stronger over time. In a few years, you will be able to reach out to me with your thoughts. And I will do the same.”
I was left breathless and confused as she stepped away, giving me a final nod before she once again left, this time for real.
Whoa.
I stood there in shock, both content and confused by what she’d done. I liked it, though.
“It’s a great honor,” a deep voice said from behind me.
I turned to find Shadow casually leaned against a wall, his shoulder propped in a way that made his already impressive biceps larger. Today, he was dressed casually in torn-up jeans, a tight Henley-style ribbed long-sleeved shirt, and army green boots, laced up his calves. He’d look human, if it weren’t for the impossible height and the face blessed by the gods. If anything, the more I was around him, the more his beauty captivated me. From the top of his tousled curls to the tips of his boot-clad feet, there was not a flaw on him.
At least not physically.
“Honor?” I echoed, still a little off-kilter from Angel’s actions.
“That she would bond with you in such a manner.”
He straightened, stepping toward me. “And once again, here you are, gathering powerful allies to your side. Allies whom no one else could tame, no matter how they tried.”
“Angel is a powerful ally?”
His smile was brief. “Angel, is it? Yeah, that fits. Let’s just say, she’s one of the few beings who might actually hold her own against me.”
He seemed amused by this, and not at all threatened—outside of a small flame burning in his irises. Feeling like I should divert his attention from Angel, whom I was coming to understand had been allowed to exist here because she mostly kept to herself, I cleared my throat. “Did you need me for something?”
He nodded. “We’re locked on to another creature from the Shadow Realm. Time to head out.”
I smiled. “Dude, anything is better than sweeping. Even demon hunting beats that by a mile.”
His eyes got a tiny bit wider. “You’re still sweeping?”
I nodded. “Yep. Got me some genuine arm muscles, but your already spotless library is not getting any cleaner.”
The slightest lip twitch. “I’ll find something else to keep you busy.”
I had the scary thought that maybe his “something else” was going to be way worse than what I’d been doing so far. “You know, sweeping is great,” I added in a rush. “I’m most definitely making a dent in all the, uh, dust.”
He shook his head. “Come on, Sunshine. Let’s grab the next creature before it kills more of your precious humans.”
For once, even hearing that dreaded nickname didn’t upset me. Hurrying after him, I caught up in seconds, almost tripping over a smoky entity. “Inky!” I exclaimed. “I haven’t seen you in days. How are you, buddy?”
Inky swelled up, sparks flying as it wrapped around me. “That good, hey?” I said with a laugh. “Yeah, I missed you too.”
Shadow shot me an odd stare, calculating, but without the malice he usually showed in my presence.
“No closer to working me out, are you?” I said with a smirk.
Not that I was surprised, since I hadn’t worked myself out, either, but it was still fun to taunt him.
“I’m starting to get a clearer picture,” he said, nodding his head like he was putting it together. “Much clearer.”
Something told me the moment he worked out my secrets, whatever appeal he’d found in keeping me around would disappear very quickly. Time to return to the woman of mystery who was worth more alive than dead. For the sake of my entire planet.
