“There’s a place not unlike this on the northeast coast, called Whaligoe. The sea cliffs drop straight down, but if you know where to look, there are steps carved in the rock—three hundred sixty-five of them—that you can take to the water’s edge. Most of the sea around Scotland is dark blue, but down there, at the very bottom of Whaligoe’s cove, the water is the most amazing emerald color. It’s hard to describe, and I’ve never seen it anywhere else. Until today. Your eyes are the color of that water.”
I was speechless. It was the best compliment I’d ever gotten. He moved his head toward me, and I held my breath. He was about to kiss me. I closed my eyes and waited, but he must have changed his mind, because I felt a small breeze as he pulled away. I opened my eyes and saw that he was lying on his back. I was horrified that I’d misread the signals so badly, but only for a moment, because he put his hand on my shoulder and pulled me down next to him.
“Look at that.” He pointed to the clouds above as he kept his arm wrapped around me. I rested my head against his shoulder and decided I might like this even better than making out. Well, maybe not, since I’d never actually made out with a guy, and I was absolutely bursting to kiss him. But it was divine being nestled against him. We watched the clouds roll overhead. They were so low, I thought we might reach out and touch them.
He stroked the hair at my temple, and I fell just a little bit deeper in love with him. I didn’t want to move—ever—but I did want to know more about him, this amazing creature under my cheek.
“Tell me about your life,” I said. “About your most exciting mission.”
“Can’t,” he said. “It’s top secret.”
“What about the biggest battle you’ve ever been in?”
“Nope. Classified.”
“Seriously? I won’t tell anyone.”
“You think you won’t, but if you were being tortured, you might think again,” he said as he continued casually playing with my hair.
“Tortured? Who’s going to torture me? A demon?”
“Can’t say. Too dangerous,” he replied, adding, “I told you it’s not a good idea to know me. For the terrible conversation alone.”
“There must be something you can say,” I protested. I ran my fingers over his chest, exploring every dip and bulge. I drew a little heart and wondered if he could tell.
“Mmmm,” he said, pretending to think about it. “I’m not sure. There are a lot of rules against it.”
“There are angel rules?” I asked, desperately hoping they had nothing to do with dating a human. “Tell me one.”
“I’ve already told you one: we’re not allowed to kill humans.”
“Not even bad ones? Not even murderers?” I asked.
“Nope, none.”
“What about demons? Can they not kill humans too?” I asked.
“No, they can. They have their own set of rules, I’m afraid.”
“Are you allowed to kill demons?”
“Of course,” he said. “That’s sort of the whole point.” I wondered how many he had killed. I had a feeling it was a lot.
“Can humans kill demons?”
“Not without supernatural help.” He gave my shoulder a squeeze.
“That doesn’t seem fair,” I mused. “They can kill us, but we can’t kill them.”
“I haven’t found much about evil that’s fair,” he answered.
“What happens when you kill a demon?” I pressed.
“I really shouldn’t be telling you any of this,” he reminded me.
“You’re helping protect me,” I offered. “Knowledge is power.” I cringed inside. I sounded like a cheesy public service advertisement.
“Mmmm,” he answered, closing his eyes. I propped up on my elbow to get a better look at him. I hadn’t been this close to him while he was still and not watching me back, so I was able to study his features. They were perfectly made, as if chiseled by a great sculptor, which I supposed was true. I wondered if he had been made for me. My soul whispered that he was.
His skin was smooth and radiant. He certainly didn’t look like he was more than eighteen or nineteen years old. I wondered if he really was two hundred eighty-three. What would it be like to live so long? How many wars had he seen? How many presidents and leaders and inventions? Did time go more slowly for him since it was endless?
“What’s it like being immortal?” I asked.
“What’s it like being mortal?” he responded. “I don’t have anything to compare it to. I only know what I know.”
“But to know you’re never going to die? That must be nice.”
“Immortals can die,” he said, without opening his eyes.
“What?” I was startled. “I thought ‘immortal’ meant you couldn’t die.”
“No, it means we can live forever. ‘Can’ being the operative word. Just like we can kill demons, we can be killed by them.”
“What happens when an angel dies?” I asked.
“Same as a human. We go back to heaven.”
“And demons?”
He opened one eye and looked at me sideways. “I think you know where they end up.”
I laid my head back down on his shoulder. I didn’t feel like talking about death or demons any longer. Way to kill the mood, I reprimanded myself. “What’s another angel rule?” I asked, trying to make my voice lighter.
“The one that applies most readily to you is that a human can only visit an angel village during the day. You have to be gone before nightfall. In fact,” he said, shifting his weight and gently removing my head from his shoulder. “We’d better get back.”
I sat up reluctantly. I wasn’t anywhere near ready to leave. I wanted to stay, to bask in the warmth of his body. I wanted so badly to kiss him. Everything had seemed to be headed in that direction, but now the interlude was over. I wondered if I had messed up my big opportunity with all my questions. Why hadn’t I kept my big, stupid mouth shut?
He helped me to my feet, and I was relieved to find he kept hold of my hand. At least he still liked me, or was being angel-friendly with me, or whatever.
He led me back into the forest.
“Why do I have to leave by nightfall?” I asked as we crunched along the forest floor. “That seems like a stupid rule.”
“I suppose because if it weren’t a rule, humans would want to live with angels every time they found themselves in a scrape.”
“I guess that makes sense,” I conceded. Although I’d certainly volunteer.
“Humans are only allowed to stay in angel villages if a demon legion has locked onto them,” he continued, “and there’s no other way to keep them safe.”
“Has it ever happened here, in this village?”
“Aye. Just once. A girl got mauled by a demon and her Guardian angel found her just after the attack. Since her injuries were supernatural, he brought her back to heal.”
“The demons didn’t chase them in?” I asked.
“This is sacred ground. Demons aren’t allowed here.”
“What happened to her?”
“Our healers were able to save her, but she couldn’t leave, because the demons were tracking her. Every time she tried, she was hunted down again. She lives here permanently now.”
“She’s still here?” I asked. I couldn’t believe it.
“Of course,” he answered. “The village adopted her. You’ve already met her.”
My mind snapped to attention. “Rielly?” I asked.
“Aye,” Rielly answered. “The one and only.” I looked up and saw she was standing in front of us, waiting for us again. Gavin spotted her too and immediately let go of my hand.