Without another word, my friend storms out of the room, leaving his dinner half-finished. I watch the door in a stupor, halfway expecting him to return with a level head, but he doesn’t.
It’s not long before I leave the dining hall, too.
Dusk is long gone, though. The only company I have on my walk back to my room is my racing thoughts and the violent protests of my aching muscles. I walk slowly, pausing over the little stone bridge on the blackwater creek, just as the fake sun is fading into its eerie night light.
I can’t shake the feeling that Dusk’s penance has something to do with me.
It has to. It makes the most sense. In Urim, he mentioned we were breaking some ancient laws, which I assume must be the Council Law. Even if he was so dismissive about it at the time, though… Was he faking the gravity of his transgressions?
Or is there something else he’s hiding from me?
As much as I hate to think it, he could be less trustworthy than he appears. He already shares so little with me about his world. What would be the difference of one more secret? I’m onlythe mission, after all. His loyalties lie elsewhere.
And so should mine.
I’ve been so caught up in adjusting to my new life here that I’ve already forgotten my underlying goal. Dusk might have good intentions, but he’s still just a soldier. Whoever this Council is, he’s subject to their will. And if I’m not careful, I’m going to unwittingly become a tool for them, too.
I have to step up my game. I don’t know if I can stop the apocalypse, but Idoknow the angels want me to believe I can’t. They want me to think it’s so completely impossible, I won’t waste any time searching for an alternative.
What they want me to believe, though, isn’t necessarily the unshakeable truth.
No matter how good they are, how Holy and ordained, they can still lie. They cansin.So much so, they even have a system to deal with theconsequences of it.
Starting now, I only have one goal—and it’s not to open the Abyss.
16
After a long walk by myself, I’m surprised to find Dusk waiting in the hallway, leaning against my door. I stop several paces away from him, frowning, yet curious.
“I wanted to apologize,” he says, pushing off and stepping towards me. “I lost my temper at dinner.”
One of my eyebrows raises. “Abaddon was being an ass. You had every right to be upset with him.”
“No, you were trying so hard to be civil, and I was only making it worse. I just…” He shakes his head. “I don’t know how he gets under my skin so easily.”
“Look, whatever beef you guys have, I don’t really care. Just keep it away from me.” I lean against the wall, sucking in a breath. “Which reminds me. Does your penance have something to do with me? With… Urim?”
“If I said yes, would you treat me any differently?”
So, yes. “That’s not an answer. I’d like confirmation.”
“Yes,” he heaves out, reluctant. “It does. However,you won’t be punished. You didn’t do anything wrong in the eyes of the Council Law.”
“That’s not… very… reassuring, but that’s not even what I’m worried about.” I rub my face, looking past him. “I wouldn’t have done anything if I had known there were consequences for you.”
He closes the distance between us in two long strides, suddenly bringing his hands to cup my face.
“I’m flattered, darling,” he breathes out in a whisper, looking me in the eyes.
I’m enveloped by his warmth, the feeling of angelic peace, and the smell of tulips. That goddamn flower scent is going to be the death of me. “What—what are youdoing, Dusk?”
“If I’m already going to pay for breaking the rules…” One of his thumbs drifts across my lips, his eyes darkening. “Then I might as well do it again.”
“I don’t even know what they’re going to do to you as it is?—”
“Shh, Dawn. Let me worry about that.” He drops his hands to my sides and dips his face to my neck, skimming his lips across my skin. “I can handle whatever they give me.”
He trails kisses down my neck to that spot, thespot, and bites in a way that makes me moan. Any reasonable thought I have flies out the window.
