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“That’s impossible. He’s a Morningstar. It’s in our blood,” Kai protests, and I hand him the crumpled piece of paper.
“Those were his suggested replacements.”
“Well, we can certainly do that, but only after we fight Michael. I need all the warriors I can get and after seeing him on that battlefield, he’s it.”
“Tomorrow?” I repeat, suddenly feeling as if the corset has been strung too tight.
“Yes… You’re not getting cold feet, are you?” Kai’s hand rubs my back, his other still gripping mine.
“No… I’ve never been more sure about it in my life. It’s more of… how’s my family supposed to be here for it on such a short notice?”
Kai lets out a deep breath. “Alice… I wouldn’t want them here, right now, and I don’t think you do either. Michael could come at any moment and they’d be at risk. They’re safer on Earth. If it makes you feel any better, there won’t be any guests. I’ve arranged something small and private, but if that’s not what you want—”
I shake my head, cutting him off. “No. It is. We need to do this. Promise me, though. After Michael is dealt with, I’ll get to go see them.”
“Promise… I can do you one better. After Michael is dealt with, I’ll bring them here to see you and your parents.”
My eyes flick up to meet his. Not a single drop of hesitancy lingers in his stare. “Really?”
“Really.”
29
Kai
My footsteps echo through the concrete dungeon below Hell Hold, built into the tunnel system. I hoped to have more time before coming back here, but I need answers. Closure more than anything. Grabbing the guard’s wooden stool near the entrance, I drag it toward my father’s cell, letting the screech of wood against stone alert him to my presence.
“And here I thought you disowned me,” he says, coming to the bars as I near.
“Disowned you? No. Imprisoned? Yes.” I take a seat facing him. His clothes are rumpled and bags hang low beneath his eyes. The dark brownish-black hair on his head looks thoroughly raked through with his fingers and the frown lines have already started to set in and become permanent.
“Why have you come?” he asks, picking at the stain on his once white shirt. Dirt is burrowed beneath his nails and a plate of what’s left from his dinner sits on the small wooden table to his right.
“I’ve debated how I’d approach this subject, but there’s no good way to do so. I’m here because I saw my mother’s memories before the castle returned to Hell Hold. I know everything.”
His eyebrows jump, disappearing beneath the mused hair resting over his forehead. “And just what do you think you know?”
“That you forced my mother to have me. That she spellbound Asmo to keep you from getting a weapon, and as soon as he stepped against you, you declared him an enemy… And likely the most daunting of them all, that she let Michael take her soul.” His laugh is sinister, echoing off the tunnel walls, which only adds to the eeriness. “What’s so funny?”
“You saw what you wanted to see,” he says, his voice crackling and cutting out.
“Then tell me, what really happened? All I ever saw between you two was love, yet I’ve seen the proof. I grew up believing you were a good man, that you were taking on Heaven and Michael to free the angels of their grace so they could feel emotions and experience love… That the children born from it wouldn’t be slaughtered the moment they drew breath. How am I supposed to believe any of that now when you’ve lied about everything else?”
My father leans against the bars, looking over my shoulder as if he’s waiting for someone else to join. “Is Alice truly gone?”
“You don’t deserve that answer… Not a single one of my mother’s versions of the future contain Alice running away to save Finn.Not one.I know that the prison world came from you. She might’ve altered it, but you convinced her to use it. Why?”
My father stays silent, a smile ticking up at the corner of his lips. “I’ll answer any of the questions you have, but first you must tell me something.”
Leaning back away from the wooden seat, my hands slap against my legs. “What could you possibly want to know?”
“Did you see the war?”
“No. Once I realized she’d changed the future, I didn’t think it would be worth seeing it. It would be different anyway.”
My father sits down, putting his back to me. “If you had, you’d already have your answers. There’s a very slim chance of your mother coming back, but there’s no version where we ever reunite. If she breathes, I don’t.” His head dips forward as he reaches for the bread off his tray of food.
“You were never trying to guide us down a specific path, were you? You were trying to create a new one where both you and my mother live…” He looks slightly to the side, just enough for me to see his jaw grind, telling me I’m right. “It’s why she spellbound Asmo, isn’t it? She thought by taking away your weapon, you’d never go to war. You found out, and forced her to conceive me. To get a do over.”
