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“Nathaniel.”
I looked over Sierra’s head. “Yes, Father?”
“I do expect you to adhere to the law as it applies to Sierra. For all intents and purposes, you will be held to her standards.”
I nodded. “I understand.” I couldn’t believe the words came out so calmly. I didn’t feel calm at all. I tightened my hold on Sierra to keep myself from trembling. How was it possible to feel so much joy at one time?
I would be held to Sierra’s standards. He was giving me the same free will as He gave His humans. I could experience all of it. Life, love, joy, grief, commitment, parenthood.
I was free.
The light faded, and I buried my face against Sierra’s neck, shaking with silent sobs. She was alive, and she was mine. I was the luckiest bastard in the universe.
“I love you,” I murmured into her hair.
“I know.” She smoothed a hand over my head, carefully avoiding touching my back. “I love you too.”
Thirty-Two
Sierra
It washard to believe that I’d only been away from home for a grand total of forty hours.
After our meeting with God, Micah had come back and taken us to a giant manor house. As soon as we were inside, Nate had led me to a suite that was apparently where he’d lived prior to coming to Earth and moving into my place.
It was hard to imagine him wanting to give up the life he had here to live in my two-bedroom apartment with Kylie. If I’d had any doubt that he loved me—which I didn’t—it would have been erased the moment I saw his suite in Heaven.
Nate found me fresh clothes and shoes while we waited for Samuel and Joriel.
Even though Micah had said he was coming, it was a relief to see Joriel in person and know he was okay after his trip to Hell.
The four of us sat in Nate’s living room, swapping stories. Nate filled his brothers in on our conversation with God, explaining that he was going back to Earth with me permanently but would still be a part of the secret order. Joriel offered zero details about his meeting with Lucifer but did tell us he’d managed to find Carter Mandala and deliver the bracelet to him. Since Dantalion and all three of his sons were now dead, no one seemed worried about what exactly they had wanted from the man.
And then Nate and I were leaving. Nate packed up some art supplies and iron weapons, but he left everything else behind. He led me to an elevator with two down buttons. The top one glowed blue when he pressed it.
Now we stood in a lobby almost identical to the one in Georgia.
“Call Kylie,” Nate said.
I unlocked my phone, which Samuel had somehow retrieved for me. It proclaimed it was four in the morning. “Shit. It’s late.”
“I doubt she’ll mind. And we need a ride.” Nate shifted his shoulders and winced. Right—he couldn’t fly us home at the moment.
I dialed and waited, half expecting it to go to voice mail.
“Sierra?” Kylie answered. Well, she didn’t sound like I’d woken her up.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Holy shit. Where the fuck are you?”
I glanced at Nate. He held his hand out, and I gave him the phone. He rattled off an address and said something about seeing her soon. He hung up before handing the phone back to me.
We didn’t have to wait long before Kylie pulled up. She jumped out of the car and threw her arms around me. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”
I hugged her back. “I’m sorry. Don’t worry, I’m not planning on running away again anytime soon.”
By the time Kylie pulled into the apartment complex, Nate and I were both dead on our feet. Neither of us had gotten much sleep since Friday morning, and we’d both sustained traumatizing injuries. Our bodies were spent.
