Unlike her usual attire, she is dressed in one of the many black dresses I had crafted for her. Chiffon, with two small straps slipping over her shoulders and a plunging V-neckline that showcases her feminine features nicely. There’s a second layer of fabric on the inside, visible between the jagged edges of the bottom of the dress, that sways distractingly around her thighs as she walks towards us. For a brief moment, my body reacts in an unbecoming, animalistic way that I have to force out of existence.
I should not have given her such an inviting wardrobe.
Her eyebrows raise as she pauses midway, looking back and forth between the Messenger and me. “I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?”
“No, not at all,” the Messenger replies immediately, and quiteconvincingly.
KAE
“Good evening, Kae,” Abaddon says as I sit down next to him.
I pause, glancing at him with one eyebrow raised, before skipping straight to filling my plate. Was that a faint trace ofpleasantnessI just heard in his low-rolling voice? The world truly is coming to an end. “What did I miss?”
“We can talk about it after dinner,” Dusk mutters, uncharacteristically sour. Even if he was acting strange this morning, I’m even more concerned now.
I put my fork down before I’ve taken my first bite. My stomach growls in protest, having missed lunch in favor of more training. Relentless, endless training. Alone.
“Why not now?” I ask.
“There’s no need to keep her in suspense,” Abaddon, with his attention still fully devoted to me, wedges himself back in. “The Messenger has accepted a new assignment from the Council.”
My eyes shoot to Dusk, hoping he’ll deny it, but his crestfallen expression only causes a knot to tie around my heart. “You’releaving?For how long?”
“I…” His shoulders sag. “I’ll come visit every chance I can get, but it’s an indefinite appointment. I’m sorry, Kae. I don’t have much of a choice.”
Abaddon scoffs, making me think for a moment he might know something I don’t, but he otherwise keeps his mouth shut.
I ignore him. “Where will you be going?”
“A bit of everywhere,” Dusk answers, pulling the knot on my heart even tighter. “All over the planet.”
“Then take me with you.”
His eyes briefly flick to Abaddon, strangely enough, before returning to his plate. “I can’t.”
“You can’t?” I slip my hands to my sides to hide my balled fists. “Or won’t?”
Maybe it’s not fair of me to be hard on him when he’s just been traumatized, but I’m angry, sad, disappointed—all the above and more. I have so many emotions going through me, it takes everything I possess to keep from crying.
Most of all, I’m just tired of being so lost and alone.
“Even if I were willing to risk your safety, the Council would never allow it. You’re not cleared for the areas I’m going, Kae. You’re not even a citizen of Elohim, let alone a qualified field agent.” His tone is so matter-of-fact that it comes across as callous. “And you have to focus on your job here. All this, even if it’s indefinite, is only temporary. I have faith you’ll eventually succeed?—”
“Maybe it seems temporary to an immortal who’s older than dirt!” I fail to keep my voice steady as I throw my hands in the air. I’m tired, so tired, of being lost and alone. “Nobody has the slightest fucking clue how I’m supposed to get the magical padlock off this place. I train all day long, six days a week, and I don’t feel a bit different. Certainly not any closer to controlling my biblical parasite. I could be trying for years.Years, Malak. That’s a lot for a human with a limited lifespan?—”
“I know, I know. That’s why I’ve asked Abaddon to take over your training.”
“Him?”I point towards the King. My temper is a wild, loose thing. “He’s even more inhuman than the locusts are! I’m going to go insane down here!”
Dusk presses his fingers to the bridge of his nose, and Abaddon frowns. Faintly, but definitely still a frown. I suppose I offended him. Unfortunately, I can’t bring myself to care right now.
“The point is I don’t have a choice.” The golden angel finally breaks, a flash of frustration corrupting his perfect face. “The Council gives instructions; I obey them. That’s how it’s been for over two thousand years, and that’s how it’ll be for thousands more.”
I know I’m projecting. I’m not Dusk’s responsibility. I know that. But damn if it doesn’t feel like I’m being thrown to the wolves.
I’ve given up so much to be here! My home, my family, my future. I’ll never know if I could have gotten into med school. I left my dad in an empty house, and my best friend is worried sick about me. I kill my body every single day to prepare fortheirbattles. To givetheman army. All for them to just snap their fingers and take my one companion away?
“Well,” I sneer, “good to know you’re such an obedient lapdog for them, Malak. The Council will be thrilledwith your performance. At my expense, of course, but who gives a fuck about one lowly human? As long as she’s functional for her little prophecy piece, it doesn’t matter if she’s miserable?—”
