‘Very,’ Uri replied.
‘Anyone care to elaborate?’
‘New Orleans is a … complicated territory. Many bad things happen there,’ Uri said.
‘What bad things?’
‘Things not meant for this world,’ my angel maker answered.
‘We recommend that you stay away from the city,’ Nox added.
My eyes widened. ‘You want me to hide from a fight. Since when?’ I didn’t bother to add that there was no chance I wouldn’t go after Spence. I assumed that was already understood.
‘To clarify, we don’t all recommend you avoid the city,’ Uri offered.
‘I do,’ Phoenix said.
Nox smiled. ‘See. He does. And he knows you so, so well.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘You do realise I can hurt you here,’ I threatened Nox, reminding him that my blood – the very weapon the angels had instilled in me – was just as lethal to them when they chose to inhabit human forms as it was to exiles.
‘We are all acutely aware of that,’ my angel maker said, his perfectly articulated words sending a shiver down my spine.
I took in his chiselled jawline and seamlessly structured features, his perfectly neutral but purposeful clothing of grey pants and white shirt gracefully disguising a warrior’s physique with none of the carelessness of Uri and none of the vanity of Nox. My angel maker was simply all about task and function. ‘That in itself is part of the problem.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ I asked.
His lips pressed together, just enough to give away his slight hesitation. Along with Phoenix’s frustration it only served to make me more curious. But Phoenix stepped forward, stopping my next question. ‘They can’t say, Violet. I can’t either.’
I snorted. ‘Since when do you follow the rules?’
He bit his lower lip. ‘Being an angel makes it impossible for me not to. Why do you think so many of us exile? All I can tell you is that you already know part of it – so think back.’
‘Back to when?’
‘To the time you try hardest to forget.’
I looked away, knowing that this had something to do with the night we took down Lilith and the man with the briefcase.
But I need more to go on.
‘I can give you everything you need,’ my angel maker said, causing me to narrow my eyes at him.
‘Did you just read my mind?’ The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. ‘Everything, huh?’ I mused. ‘How about starting with your name?’
‘I already gave it to you.’
‘Lochmet. Yes, but that’s not your real name, is it? I know that my mother knows your name. She’ll tell me if I ask.’
He nodded. ‘Most likely. But you have not asked her because you know that you are not ready for the answer.’
I scoffed. ‘Then how about you just answer once and for all what I am?’
‘I answered that the first time we spoke.’
I thought back, shaking my head. ‘No. All you said was that I was you and you were me.’
‘And that is what you are.’
‘So, I’m a warrior? But I’m human?’ I swallowed nervously. ‘I’m not an … I’m not becoming an angel, am I?’
He clasped one hand over the other gently in front of himself. ‘Is that what you want?’
I didn’t need a countdown to consider. ‘No. I want to be human.’
‘Then you must allow yourself to have the one thing that humans have that angels must not. The very thing angels envy most.’
‘What?’ I asked, dreading the answer.
‘You already know. And when you surrender to it, when you allow yourself to be most vulnerable, you will be empowered and your time will arrive.’
‘You’re talking about love,’ I said, knowing that it was the strongest emotion and gift of humanity.
Except in my case.
He bowed his head. ‘You have the choice that we never will – to love fully and, most importantly, to be loved fully in return.’
I closed my eyes and whispered, ‘But I’ve lost my love.’
‘Love is never lost – only ever waiting to be found. You have been staring your answer in the face for a long time now, denying it and refusing to do what you must.’
I swallowed, glancing briefly at Uri. ‘Surrender to it?’
‘No, child. Surrender to yourself. Only then can you be the leader of your destiny.’
Not for the first time, I felt the weight of my angel maker’s expectations and the great fear that I was not what he believed. Not enough. ‘I’m not a leader,’ I confessed.
‘Said like a true leader,’ he replied. ‘And when your time comes, they will choose. If they choose to follow you, you will never doubt their loyalty for all your days.’
‘Is that it?’ I asked.
He nodded once.
I stood up and dusted off my clothes, now irritated. ‘I don’t even know why I bother. You need to learn how to speak without the cryptic. Then maybe I’ll actually understand something you say before it’s all over.’
My angel maker simply took in the view. ‘It is the way it has always been.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘Well, maybe it’s time you evolved.’