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His eyes flashed.
“Of course I do. It’s just more complicated . . . for us, Maddy. There’s a lot more to it.” Then softly, almost to himself, he murmured, “Or so I’ve been told.”
Maddy nodded, feeling the excitement begin to bleed out of her. She sat back on the mat, feeling suddenly cold and alone without his touch.
“I’ve never done anything like that,” she said with an embarrassed smile.
“Me neither,” Jacks said. He was thoughtful again. He looked down at his Divine Ring and ran his fingers over the sacred inscription. Then his eyes flickered back to Maddy.
“I want to give you something.” He slid the ring off his finger. “Up until this week, I’ve never wanted anything more in my life than to wear this ring. Not as a piece of jewelry, but because I thought I could find meaning in saving others, in being a hero. But the meaning I’ve finally found in my life is from meeting you.” He set the ring on the palm of his hand and held it out. “I want you to have it.”
Maddy looked at the ring. The light created a million tiny reflections that danced around his palm.
“I can’t take it,” she said, and closed his fingers back around it.
“I’m not asking,” he said.
He took Maddy’s hand and slid the ring onto her finger. It was stunning, but far too heavy for her to wear. She reached up to her neck and unclasped the simple chain necklace that hung there.
“This was my mother’s,” she said, taking the chain and threading the ring through it. “It’s one of the only things I have to remember her by.” She pulled the chain back around her neck and clasped it. The ring rested heavily in the basin of her chest, just below her collarbone. She looked into Jacks’s eyes.
“Will you explain it to me sometime?” Maddy asked in a quiet voice. “What else there is to it. For . . . you.”
Jacks smiled. “I promise. Later.” He contracted his wings, wincing as he did.
“They’re sore,” he said.
“Come here,” Maddy said. She sat cross-legged and held out her arms. He laid his head on her lap.
She sat there holding his head, playing lightly with his hair with her fingers. In response he lifted a hand and ran it along her back.
“Doesn’t it feel strange?” he asked.
“Doesn’t what?”
“Not having wings.”
Maddy considered.
“I guess if you’ve never had them, you don’t miss them.”
Jacks smiled at her. “I guess.”
His breaths became slow and measured. After a minute, Maddy realized he was asleep. Even Angels have to sleep, she thought. Then, before she was even aware of it, her head had dipped, her eyelids closed, and she slept too.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
The neon sign for Kevin’s Diner had long since been extinguished, but the parking lot was populated with ACPD police cars, as well as a number of strangely uniform, black Escalade SUVs. A single light filtered out from the nearly empty dining room.
Kevin sat in one of the booths, the lamp over his head making his eyes look sunken and hollow. He gazed out the window at the dark, foggy city. A patch of gauze was taped over his forehead where the shattering window had cut him, but otherwise, he was
okay.
He turned his attention back and looked at the Council Disciplinary Agent sitting across from him. The Angel was imposing, with a build at least a foot taller than Kevin, a perfectly symmetrical face, and a sharp, square jaw. Other agents stood around them or milled about the darkened diner.
Kevin sighed and eyed the Angel, who hadn’t moved.
“Even if I knew where they were going, I wouldn’t tell you. I’ve already told the police everything I know. You don’t even have the right to question me.”
