Chapter 1
One
Kai
Saying goodbye is hard for her. I knew it would be. However, I couldn’t have predicted how downright impossible it’d be for me to let go of them.
For a single moment, everything feels perfect.
Holding Iris and her boyfriend in my arms feels right.
As much as I want to sit in this moment forever, my stomach is twisting, and a sense of dizziness is taking over.
The Middle Realm has hooked me—roughly, I might add—and is reeling me back in, similar to the way a parent might yank their child’s arm after they’ve gone astray.
Now that I’ve tasted the life I once had, I don’t want to kiss this world goodbye. In fact, if I could, I’d press my lips against its edges and kiss it for the rest of time.
…I may have taken that a bit far, but you get the point.
I let out a long, somewhat obnoxious sigh in defeat, knowing it’s best to give in to the forceful tug.
This is actually my first time feeling the tugging sensation.
Considering angels don’t ever cross the veil to reveal themselves to humans, I imagine my afterlife body isn’t built to sustain this realm anymore.
I try to fight the tug a bit longer, but I don’t want to piss off the Archangels even more than I probably already have, so I give up.
Choking back tears, I say goodbye and close my eyes, traveling through space and time to end up back where this chapter of my afterlife started.
The Middle Realm.
Once I land on my own two feet, the tugging sensation ends.
When angels travel between realms, they depart and arrive at the start of a glistening selenite bridge that leads upward to this realm's headquarters. It's an opulent palace of sorts and exactly what you’d imagine an angelic castle to look like, but, dare I say, it’s even more pristine.
While the rest of this realm is built on the land, the realm’s headquarters float high above the land on a layer of fluffy clouds at the end of the selenite bridge.
The Middle Realm’s air is crisp and soothing like the gentle patter of rain on a cloudy day. Thankfully, we still experience day and night here. It’s cool—we can see more colors in the sky as angels than we did as mortals.
A majority of the angels here a spend their days at the headquarters, fulfilling their assigned roles while opting to spend evenings in their homes, usually located just outside the main palace in the living quarters.
Some angels choose to live in simple homes, others choose apartments, and the lucky ones who have high statuses or have stayed here a long time live in mansions of their own. We call our homes ‘havens.’
Despite all the buildings in this realm being located outside the headquarters, a thick barrier of glass separates this realm from the Golden Realm. The glass serves as a veil, revealing the colors and clouds of the world beyond while concealing the finer details.
Visiting that realm is impossible until ascension, but you can still see it vaguely from down here.
In fact, there’s a chamber located at the top of one of the many staircases in the headquarters encased by a miniature dome of glass, magnifying the Golden Realm’s sky.
The Golden Realm is vast in comparison to the Middle Realm—it has to be less stuffy.
I was tempted to ascend right after my death, but I knew my sister needed me more than I needed that extra level of peace.
Now that I’ve experienced a taste of Earth in the afterlife, I’m not as inclined to rush my ascension anymore. If I’m still even worthy to ascend, that is.
Once an angel accomplishes their assignment in grace—whether that be guarding, watching, or serving—they’re rewarded with a set of shiny new wings and permitted to ascend to the Golden Realm. It’s rad because angel wings aren’t all the same color. We don’t even get to choose the color.
Most angels immediately ascend after they complete their mission, but some do opt to stay in the Middle Realm until they feel truly ready to ascend. Angels that remain in the Middle Realm work as Guardians, Watchers, Hunters, Officers, and Educators.
Different positions have different responsibilities. Honestly, I don’t know much about the other positions, because my sole focus over the past couple of years has been guardianship. My mentor, Matt, only taught me and the other pupils what we needed to know.
I learned how to use the divine abilities given to all Guardians, such as soulsight, teleportation, and healing.
I gathered the basics of divine gifts in the Middle Realm by practicing with my cohorts. It took some time to get used to the new light energy within me, but after some time, teleportation and healing felt as easy as breathing.
Soulsight, on the other hand, has been a different story.
Essentially, soulsight is similar to mind reading, but not as clear—it’s like an off-brand, generic version of mind reading.
To use the gift, Guardians simply have to gaze into the eyes of others and choose to tap into the power.
Then, they will see various images and sometimes words highlighting the soul they’re assessing.
Instead of receiving clear thoughts when looking into minds, though, I often see an assortment of juicy images I usually have no idea how to decipher.
Sometimes, I understand the pictures I see.
Other times, I see odd items—like lemons, for example.
Lemons. I mean, how could lemons possibly make that much of an impact on someone’s life?
I’ve gotten more used to exercising soulsight over time, but it’s never been quite as easy for me as it is for other Guardians to use. Call me crazy, but I don’t know if I like intruding on people’s minds—it’s almost like showing up in sweats to a pool party you weren’t invited to.
The easiest gift, and most dynamic, has been teleportation. I love that gift. I can’t help but crack a smile just thinking about all the places I’ve teleported to over the past few years. It’s what young Kai always dreamed it would be.
To teleport, you simply set your mind on a designated place, whether it be in the land of the living or the Middle Realm, close your eyes, and bam.
You’re there. It takes zero muscle or brain power, and it only takes a little divine energy.
It’s the best. Period. And unlike mortal air travel, other angels can’t track exactly where you teleported to.
The only limitation for Guardians is that they can’t travel too far away from their assignment.
So, I had to stay near my sister throughout my mission.
Considering I love Chrysocolla Cove as much as she does, it wasn’t half bad.
Now that my mission is over, I could potentially travel wherever I’d like to go… in theory.
Healing was fairly simple to learn, too.
During my mortal life, I watched tons of movies about characters who had healing abilities.
Interestingly, the primary focus of healing in those films was healing physical ailments and injuries.
However, here in the afterlife, we're gifted healing powers to heal less noticeable wounds—the emotional ones. The wounds other living beings don’t often see.
Matt assured us that this particular act would take up a majority of our time in the Guardian field, and man, was he right. I did it hundreds of times for my sister after the accident—my death.
You gathered that, right? The fact that I’m dead and have returned to the realm for others like me who have transitioned into angels?
Of course you caught on. Smart cookie.
Anyway, after my death, she needed all the warmth she could get.
Ah, Iris, also and better known as Irie. My little sister.
My early departure from life over two years ago nearly broke her. And although her grief fought hard to consume every fragment of her being, she fought even harder. Every step she’s taken since my death has been a battle, and hell, she’s fought beautifully.
Looking at her in the eyes today filled a hole in my heart I didn’t even realize existed. I needed that moment as much as she did.
Revealing myself to her was my choice. Was it the right one, objectively speaking? Maybe not.
But did it feel right? Absolutely.
I take a deep breath—probably the deepest breath I’ve ever taken—and walk across the bridge to the golden front entrance of the headquarters.
Noticing the pale yellow clouds floating on either side of the path, I pass through the gate and ascend a marble staircase that leads to the bridge ahead.
The clouds give off an illusion of privacy along the route—I can’t see beyond them on either side, but I’m well aware that if I step off the path, I won't land on solid ground.
Once I reach the double-doored entrance, I gulp another breath of air and stride through the opulent, tall doors with my head held high, walking through the grand hall to the main foyer.
The foyer, located centrally in the headquarters, is surrounded by several grand birchwood staircases, leading to training rooms, classrooms, the library, and more on upper levels.
While staying here, I spent most of my time in the training rooms, classrooms, and my quaint living haven back across the bridge in the living quarters.
I’d rather be caught dead—the irony—than spend time at the library willingly.
No offense. You do your thing.
A sea of winged angels flows through the palace around me as I reach the center staircase leading to the throne room, a few floors up. Just as I’m about to take my first step onto the stairs, I’m pulled sharply from behind. I grimace. What now?
You know, Matt always liked yanking me around during my training sessions with him. Maybe he’s here to watch my ascension. Well, he’ll be sorely disappointed when he learns what I’ve done.
I spin around with a smirk plastered on my face, glancing up to greet my mentor, only to see…
no one. I mean, no one near me, that is.
I see a lot of angels, both winged and not, passing through, but my perpetrator is nowhere in sight.
It’s as if they evaporated into thin air.
I lift my eyes to the upper floors surrounding me in case Matt took flight and I somehow missed him when, in an instant, someone yanks me again, and okay, yeah, I have to say, this is getting old.
This time, they pull me downward by the collar of my shirt.
Oh. That’s why I missed her. I expected to see Matt, who’s roughly the same height as I am, but instead, my assailant is at least a foot shorter than I am.
She whispers sternly, “Follow me.”
The first thing I notice is her deep navy blue wings tucked tightly against her back, detailed with a handful of black and silver feathers.
Deciding it’s best not to question her, I follow her down a wide hallway to the left of the foyer I haven’t ventured in before.
Shortly after my kidnapping, we reach a tiny room at the end of the hall. Upon entering, she doesn't bother to turn on the lights, and then hastily locks the door behind her and walks past me, keeping her back toward me. She’s breathing hard.
Logically speaking, a woman just locked me inside a dark room.
I should be unnerved. But I’m not.
“It’s good seeing you again.” I toss her a crooked smile in the dark, hoping she can still see my expression. “Mind telling me why we’re here? Should I be whispering right now?”
She scoffs, and although I can barely see her, I know she’s shaking her head.
Oh, she’s not happy with me.
“You’re going to be the death of me,” she mutters, stepping farther away into the dark, nearing a small desk.
I take a step toward her. She doesn’t step away—I like that. I like that she isn’t backing away.
“I hate to be that guy, but you’re already technically dead, so…” She lets out an exasperated groan. “I mean, we both are. The only difference is one of us has flashy wings and the other was about to get a wicked set of his own before he was so rudely interrupted.”
She whips around and stalks close to me, our faces mere inches away from each other now. “Would you please be serious for once in your damn afterlife?” she hisses. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
Oh, now this is interesting. She knows.
She pins me with a look of concern.
I might be reading the situation wrong, but she looks… restless. Damn, I’m more screwed than I thought, aren’t I?
“I know exactly what I did,” I breathe, keeping my cool. “The real question is, how do you know?”