34 THEN, NOW, FOREVER
BONUS CHAPTER
THEN, NOW, FOREVER
S HAMSIEL HURRIED DOWN THE GRAND HALL OF THE C OURT of Ceremonies. The Tribunal meeting had gone longer than expected and she was already impatient to leave. Adriel’s summons could not have come at a worse time.
Passing through the grand double doors, she nodded and smiled at passersby, mostly court guardians laden with armfuls of scrolls and archangels reporting for duty.
Once outside, it took all her self-control not to launch down the steps two at a time, but she was practiced at containing herself.
She was practiced at keeping secrets, at spinning half-truths and white lies.
And she had long since given up feeling guilty about it.
Her steps did not falter from their graceful gait that made her almost appear to float beneath her robes. Her face did not break from its pleasant expression. Her hands remained loose and relaxed at her sides.
Behind the impenetrable wall in her mind, however, her thoughts were racing.
What if we’ve been caught? she couldn’t help but wonder. What if Adriel is summoning me to tell me the Realm has discovered my secret? She had no idea how the Tribunal would seek to punish such an egregious transgression of the rules.
She reached the teleportation point at the base of the Court of Ceremonies steps, beneath a covered pavilion supported by white stone pillars.
She wished for a moment to collect herself, but there was nowhere private here.
Angels flashed in and out on their way to various duties, some greeting her as they went.
Still, after returning their salutations, she paused briefly to close her eyes, draw in a deep breath, and regain her equilibrium. Maintaining her secrecy was her top priority, even if it meant putting on a false front to her beloved mentor.
Calm restored, she focused and flashed into the familiar parlor of Adriel’s home. She turned immediately toward the comfortable chairs where they normally sat, overlooking the verdant gardens complete with a small waterfall and trickling stream. But Adriel was not there.
A noise behind her captured her attention, and she turned.
There he was beside the bookshelves, his shining silvery-blond hair reflecting the sunlight that entered through the skylights above.
She smiled with fondness at the sight of him, but that smile quickly faded when she saw the expression upon his face.
He stood with a tome open in his hand, its pages weathered with age. He stared not at the book, however, but straight ahead, his celestial eyes distant and unfocused. A frown creased his proud brow. He looked as though he was peering into a world unseen—another time, another place.
“Sir?” Shamsiel asked, stepping carefully closer. She was not afraid of him but rather wary of disrupting whatever trance he appeared to be in.
She found it odd that he had summoned her when he seemed so lost in his mind.
Perhaps it had been a mistake? Perhaps while musing over some problem deep in his psyche, his contemplations had strayed to her for the briefest instant, and the power of his mere thought had caused the summoning to reach her?
“Sir, it is Shamsiel.” She thought it wise to announce her presence in case he could hear but not see her. “I am here, responding to your call.”
She wanted to ask if he was all right, if he needed help, but that would be foolish. He was a vastly powerful angel whose abilities went far beyond what she could even comprehend. Her “help” would surely be quite useless to him.
She drew closer still, peering down at the book in his hands. Perhaps it would give her a hint as to where his mind had gone to so trap him in its depths.
Her brow furrowed deeply as she noticed that the pages were covered in both Sheolic and Empyrean script. But why? Who would dare scribe such a thing, and for what purpose?
She could not decipher the Sheolic—it was not proper for an angel to learn any of the demonic magic or speak its dark tongue—but of course she could easily read the Empyrean.
Stepping even closer for a better look at the text, so close she could feel Adriel’s soft breath against her cheek, she had just enough time to make out the word “sword” before a low voice spoke in her ear.
“The evolutionary cycles have reached a tipping point.”
Adriel’s sudden words startled her, and she leapt back with an audible gasp.
“The ancient imperium must fall for the new age to dawn.”
Her hand flew to her racing heart. Apologies for her impropriety were on the tip of her tongue, but they faded away before they could form when she saw that he was still not looking at her. His eyes were still unfocused, still gazing straight ahead into some great nothing.
“Two enemies must heal the rift, lest all the worlds be consumed by their strife. One thousand broken promises, one thousand times betrayed.”
His voice did not sound like his own. It was deeper, darker, and laden with an undercurrent of some terrible power.
“The Realm resists its own evolution, but the fate of the Nine Rings is sealed, foretold by the Dominations at its very creation. The underworld will emerge from the ashes of its own destruction.”
Shamsiel took another step back, chills racing down her spine. Indeed, she did not recognize the angel before her at all. It was as if another had overtaken his body and spoke in his stead.
“A sword of sacred steel wielded by a woman with flaming hands will strike the first blow. The second will defy the laws of the three worlds. Behold, their salvation shall be at the hands of the Beckoner, Destroyer, and Great Unifier. Fallen by choice, redemption earned that was never sought, the reluctant deliverance heralds the coming of the red dawn.”
Suddenly, Adriel blinked.
His features relaxed, and his gaze focused. He turned to look into Shamsiel’s wide-eyed face and smiled serenely, as if nothing at all was amiss.
“My humblest apologies, Shamsiel. I did not see you there.”
Her hand clutched at her chest to soothe her pounding heart. “Sir, you … What did you just say?”
He blinked once, slowly and decisively, as if he had never blinked before and was trying the gesture out for the first time.
Then, he closed the heavy volume in his hands with a sudden snap that caused her to jump yet again.
Her nerves were quite frazzled. Turning with a graceful motion, Adriel replaced it on the shelf … where it immediately vanished.
Shamsiel was so overwhelmed by the last several moments that she barely noticed the mysteriously disappearing book’s departure.
“Nothing of importance, I’m sure,” he said, still smiling softly. “I was reading, and I found myself a little lost in my head, I suppose. Sometimes I find that thinking aloud is an excellent way to process my thoughts. I’m sure you know what I mean.”
The only thing she was sure of was that there was a difference between “thinking aloud” and whatever she had just witnessed.
And she had definitely never fallen into a trance while reading and spoken what had sounded like some sort of ominous proclamation of the future.
She kept those thoughts to herself, however.
Instead, her mind raced to remember what he had said, but already the words were slipping away, her shock and confusion having stolen her attention.
“But what were you thinking about when you spoke aloud?” she couldn’t help but ask. “It sounded very … important.”
“I wouldn’t concern yourself with my ramblings. When one has existed as long as I have, I suppose there comes a time when the mind starts slipping.” He chuckled, but Shamsiel could not muster a smile.
“But, sir—”
“Did you have something to speak to me about? I’m afraid I must be off to attend some business.”
She blinked. “But … you summoned me.” Her head spun with confusion.
“Did I?” He frowned briefly. “Perhaps I truly am experiencing deterioration of the mind. I’ll have to take a dip in the Eternal Spring to remedy that.” His head tilted, that ever-present smile once again curving his lips. “So there was nothing you needed?”
She rubbed the back of her neck. She wanted to question him more about whatever had just occurred, but it was becoming obvious that she wouldn’t get any more information from him.
And she really needed to get to Raum. She was already a full day late to meet him thanks to the last-minute Tribunal gathering, and she knew he would start to worry.
With a shake of her head, she forced herself to dismiss the strange incident. “No, sir. I came only because of your summons.”
If whatever he had spoken about was important, she trusted Adriel to explain it to her. Maybe he really had just been lost in his thoughts. Even as a Principality, the highest rank in the Third Sphere, she had no idea what duties the Second Sphere angels undertook.
After a polite but somewhat stilted farewell, Shamsiel departed, flashing back to her own quarters to gather her supplies for the next month. The moment she left Adriel’s side, the incident slipped into the recesses of her mind, replaced by a growing excitement for the month ahead.
She had arranged everything meticulously, and she would be free to enjoy her lover’s company unfettered by the burden of her duties for the Tribunal.
She dressed in a red-and-gold ghagra choli, the long, flowing skirt and fitted blouse decorated with intricate embroidery, and then draped a sheer dupatta over her hair and shoulders.
After inspecting her appearance and deeming it suitable, she flashed straight to the place they had planned to meet months ago—the city of Udaipur in Rajputana.
Stepping around the side of a large stone building, she found herself on the edge of a bustling market.