‘Not at all.’ Despite what we knew was ahead, I had never been more sure of my answer.
I talked him through my abilities, pausing to take time on a few things – my angelic Sight, for one. I warned him against using it. He totally agreed and even doubted that he’d easily tap into that power anyway. He certainly couldn’t feel it as easily as he could the senses. I told him more about the dreams I’d had with Uri and Nox, and with my angel maker. I fidgeted as I explained how they could come to me and cross the realms.
He saw that I was nervous, finally explaining everything.
He put a finger over my lips. ‘Slow down. Most of this I already knew. Griffin and I suspected you’d been dream-walking from what you’d told us. We knew you just needed time to work it all out yourself. We think you inherited that particular skill from your mother.’
‘Oh.’ It made sense, Evelyn being a dream-walker herself.
Settling in to the tell-all, I filled him in on my most recent dream, too. ‘Uri and Nox offered to accept Lilith back into the angel realm, where they can deal with her immortal spirit, but we’d still need to end her physical form beforehand … They said I could cross her over. Maybe someone else can after we’re …’ I couldn’t quite finish the sentence. I was damned if I was going to burst my love bubble just yet.
Lincoln’s brow furrowed. ‘What do you mean, cross over?’
I polished off the last off my eggs and gave him my most adoring smile.
‘More?’ he asked, seeming to enjoy my response.
‘Please,’ I said. Eggs on toast had never tasted so good. I followed him into the kitchen as he dished out what was left and answered him. ‘If we return her, she’ll go to the pits of Hell and we risk her finding a way out again. The angels can’t take her from the human world. But they said I could bring her over to them and then … I’d need an anchor to get back.’
‘What kind of anchor?’ he asked, and I could almost see the cogs in his mind ticking over.
‘A powerful person. They said it needed to be someone who was near my body. Someone who shared a bond with me, either blood or through one of the passions.’ Which really, left my options quite broad. The ‘passions’ pretty much covered any intense emotion– fear, hatred, sorrow and, of course, love. ‘You, for example, would be perfect.’
Lincoln swallowed hard and turned away. Of everything I’d said, this seemed to worry him the most. ‘What if I … I mean, could anyone else work?’
I pondered. ‘Maybe Evelyn, or I suppose …’ I hesitated.
‘Phoenix?’ Lincoln guessed.
‘It’s possible,’ I admitted.
I ran my hand down his worried face. ‘It’s not as if we’re actually going to be around to make it happen.’
He saw my concern and his expression eased but I could still feel his anxiety through our bond and I didn’t know why. He swiped the last piece of toast from my plate. I withheld the growl – he had cooked everything, after all.
‘We’re not giving up, Vi. We might be going to her willingly, but that doesn’t mean an opportunity won’t present itself to us. If we see a chance to end her, we take it.’
I nodded. We needed to be smart and consider everything. But still, it was too much to imagine we might actually survive this.
Our food demolished, we gravitated back to the verandah and I found my way onto his lap, where we stayed, wrapped in a blanket, whispering to each other all the things we’d never said before, sharing all the dreams we’d had for the future. Our future. All the things we knew we’d never have.
Eventually, fantasy gave way to reality.
‘Everything is about to end, isn’t it?’ I asked.
Lincoln stroked my hair and ran his hands down my arms before kissing me – just a light kiss on my lips, but one heavy with his love and I soaked it up.
‘Not us, Vi. Everything else may end, but not us. What we have … We’re endless.’
CHAPTER THIRTY
‘Let your plans be dark and as impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.’
Sun Tzu
By late afternoon, the honeymoon was over and we were arming up. Phoenix was due soon and we wanted to be ready. I’d found a pad and pen earlier and while Lincoln patrolled the perimeter I’d taken the time to write some letters.
Goodbyes.
I stared at the folded pieces of paper, before packing them away in my bag. One for Dad, one for Steph and one for Evelyn.