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4
“When you say you branded us with your magic, what do you mean by that?” Xander asked from beside me as Miss Sage drove.
We’d started to relax the further we got from the Academy without anyone pursuing us, but I still worried about the others. A part of me hoped I’d feel if anything happened to them since I had marked them with my power.
“I’m not sure, just think of it like a mark on your soul to protect you from angels,” I said after a moment. The pounding in my head had died down, but I still felt depleted from dealing with Raphael and protecting everyone.
Hell, the more I sat and thought about it, the more impressed I was with myself. I had no idea how I’d done it, I just knew I had and that I could.
I stared down at my ring as I twisted it on my finger. My mother had guided me, her voice clear as day in my head as she spoke to me.
“I feel a little different,” Diane mused as she sat perched on Xander’s lap. And he still looked as uncomfortable as he did when she’d planted herself there when we’d left.
Fitting six people into a five-seater hadn’t been easy, but someone had to share between the two vehicles.
“How so?” Miss Sage asked, although she kept her focus on the road.
“I can feel a magic inside me. Like it’s protecting me. I’m still warding the car though. You may have warded us, but they could be using modern technology and track us through cameras and shit,” Diane pointed out as she shifted her weight.
I met Xander’s perplexed gaze as his jaw set, and I had to hold back a grin at his uneasiness with Diane on his lap, wiggling around as she got more comfortable.
“So, where are we going?” Jack asked.
“Dezikiel told me where he’d planned to take you to find this angel Jophiel spoke of. So that’s where we’re heading. Hopefully they’ll meet us there,” Miss Sage explained.
“What if they don’t meet us there?” Xander asked.
“We still continue on. We’ve come this far,” she stated.
“Can’t you all just abandon me and leave me to do this on my own?” I mumbled quietly.
“Hell no, you’re stuck with us now, we’re in this together. If you can close the gates of Hell, I don’t want to be known as one who ditched you and left you to do it on your own,” Diane said sharply.
“We’ve already gone over this, Lily. No one is leaving you to do this on your own. We’re all in this together, we’ve already decided,” Miss Sage added.
“Really? Everyone decided that?” I didn’t believe they’d all made that decision.
“Everyone with us right now has made that decision. Miss Sage asked us at the motel if we wanted to continue on with you or find Mr. Baron and the others,” Paris spoke up. “And we all stayed.”
My chest tightened as it sunk in. They’d been offered an out, and they’d all chosen to continue helping me.
“Why?” I murmured.
“Because it’s the right thing to do,” Xander spoke up as he gave me a soft smile.
“Because if we can help you close the gates of Hell, I’m sure as shit going to be a part of that,” Paris smirked over her shoulder.
“Because I’m your friend, and I’m not letting you do this without me, same with Hadley,” Diane said with a grin.
Tears stung my eyes as my throat swelled up, but I swallowed it down. I really did have a family with them. A place that was truly home. They were all willing to stick by me despite it all, knowing full well what it could entail.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Jack murmured as he wiped a stray tear off my cheek with his thumb.
“I can’t believe you’re all…” My voice broke on the words, and I drew in a shaky breath.
“You’re stuck with us,” Diane said seriously as she touched my arm. “We’re going to do this together.”
I smiled as I wiped at my eyes, an array of emotions filling me up. Guilt, joy, appreciation. I was beyond lucky to have all of them by my side.
