“What?” Alexander looked at my paper. “Hate flying, do you?”
Seth walked up to us and smiled. “Last time we nearly crashed.”
“Empusa made things interesting,” Atlas chimed in and reached for Alexander’s hand to introduce himself.
Alexander’s gaze flickered to his piece of paper. “It appears I’ll be joining you.”
I nodded. “Just how many of your people are helping us?”
Alexander looked down at the ground, almost as if he was uncertain or nervous. “All of them.”
“I’m sorry, did you say all?”
Alexander’s head snapped up. “Yes, all. As in, if we fail, an entire race of people will fall.”
I looked Alexander straight in the eyes. “We will not fail.”
Atlas slapped my back. I almost felt like I was in the middle of a football game huddle. You know, if football players were twelve feet tall and a mix of angel and alien races.
I stuffed the piece of paper into my pocket, not wanting to deal with my travel just yet. I set out to find Michael.
“I’ll meet you guys at the flight.” I didn’t make eye contact with anyone as I walked toward the main chambers, where Michael usually resided when he was at Headquarters.
My fist clenched at my side as I readied myself for battle. Michael wouldn’t want to tell me any information, but I needed to know what he knew. I couldn’t keep Athena from harm if I wasn’t privy to the knowledge he had. I raised my hand and banged on the door.
It opened swiftly. Nerves took hold as I stepped into the large room and waited. Michael’s chair turned. His eyes blazed white, giving me a clue that he had just been speaking with El. And I, being impatient, decided to interrupt. Great.
****
Flute-like music filled the room as Michael rose from his chair and slowly approached me, his eyes turning from blazing white down to a more normal blue.
“Sit,” Michael ordered.
I sat on the nearest chair and leaned forward, resting my head against my hands as my elbows poked into my legs. “What do you know?”
Michael sighed. I could see the weariness in his eyes as his gaze flickered from mine to the table and back again. “Not much.”
“Tell me.”
“My, my, you’ve gotten brave in the past twenty-four hours.”
“I love her.”
“As do I.” Michael’s eyes never left mine.
I shook my head. “Not the way I do.”
At that, Michael chuckled. “I should hope not.”
My teeth clenched. “If I don’t know what you know, how can I help her? How can I save her?”
“Who says you will be the one doing the saving?”
Enraged, I stood up and paced in front of him. “It is my job. It is my fault that she was taken in the first place. I fell asleep and…”
“No,” Michael said smoothly. “It happened just as we predicted.”
I froze. “Excuse me?”
Michael sighed. “We did not think it would happen so soon, nor were we aware of the extent of Thanatus’s power, but it was assumed that since he was a dream-walker, he could enter through her sleep and take her.”
“And you didn’t tell me because…?”
“She’s safest where she is.”
I bit my lip to keep from cursing in the presence of one of the archangels “She’s safer in Sheol? Than in my arms?”
Michaels gaze hardened. “You tell me.”
I looked down at the floor. “Nothing happened.”
“Yet,” he said quietly. “She must have the freedom to choose, if, in fact, you are what she chooses.”
Now? He was bringing this up now? I wanted to punch something as adrenaline pumped through my system. “I would never do something irrevocable.”
Michael leaned forward “When El made your race, he made you special, unique. You feel everything, good and bad. You can control the emotions of those around you, but at the same time, you possess the emotions of those near you. You know as well as I that the minute she professed similar feelings for you, it was the hardest thing you’ve ever done in your existence — leaving her in that room.”
“How did you even know?” I sputtered.
“I know you.”
Unfortunately, he had me there. “Nothing happened.”
“I know. And again, I imagine that when the time comes for her to choose, she will of course decide to be with you. But until that choice is made, she isn’t yours to possess, Adonis.”
I closed my eyes, and fear clenched my chest. I hated that he was right. I wanted her more than anything in my existence. Leaving her had been difficult. Several times I’d walked back to her door only to curse myself and go back to the couch. It was never easy with our race. We felt everything. I’d heard her soft breath escape her lips when she’d drifted off to sleep. I could still taste her tongue on my lips, and every time she’d twisted and turned in that bed I’d felt as if I was there, feeling her body pressed against mine.
Michael chuckled. “It seems I’ve made my point.”
“Fine,” I said through clenched teeth. “I still want to be in charge of extracting her from the situation.”