Chapter 3
Three
Cleo
Iturn and stroll back to the soft cream-toned sofa—more of a love seat, really, but it’s deep—sinking into it and slouching to rest my elbows on my knees, cradling my jaw in my palms. I part my lips, close my eyes, and focus on breathing.
Is it warm in here? I lift my eyes to the temperature reader resting on the wall opposite of me.
The temperature is perfectly ordinary, which is odd considering everything inside me is screaming that nothing is actually ordinary at the moment.
Now, I wouldn’t go as far as to describe my present situation as extraordinary, because that would imply that all is well—better than well, even—when in fact, all is undeniably not well.
I’ll admit, it’s been some time since I felt this level of stress in the afterlife. Eloras is a paradise of sorts, abundant in pastel clouds with platinum beams of starlight throughout, complete with a sheer layer of refreshing angel mist.
Many of the angels who live here have bright countenances and even brighter smiles, which I’d credit to our leaders.
The Archangels in charge have made this realm a home for countless angels over the last several thousand years.
The angels who reside here have completed their mortal lives, most of which served guardianships of their own at one point.
I unexpectedly awoke in Eloras after meeting an early end to my life nearly half a century ago, when I was only twenty-three years old. Choosing between ascending immediately or serving a guardianship was simple. I chose the latter.
A majority of Guardians who serve guardianship missions immediately opt to ascend after completion. I didn’t. That choice was also relatively simple for me, but that’s not relevant.
Four lead Archangels—Luke, Annalise, Nial, and Jessenia—serve as judges of sorts over the hundreds who reside in this realm.
The Seraphim who rule the Golden Realm chose each of them.
Three of the four Archangels have been here since the beginning, sent directly from Aurathine, otherwise coined as the Golden Realm.
In contrast, the final Archangel, Jessenia, is a newer recruit who’s only been in Eloras for a few centuries.
She's still learning, so she shadows the elders in their judgments and counsels, then occasionally greets new angels who awake after death alongside other stationed greeters.
The Archangels were gifted their light magic from the Golden Realm’s wells of divine light energy.
All angels in Eloras are given divine energy, but unlike the Archangels, we aren’t given the power to access all our sacred energy.
This is why Kai crossing the veil shocked me—he had to dig extremely deep within himself to conjure enough light energy to cross the veil.
The Archangels hold additional gifts that lower-tiered angels, like Kai and me, do not.
They were granted the ability to warp time as we know it, create illusions, alter memories, and more.
We aren’t given the privilege to know all the gifts Archangels hold in this realm, as we cannot exercise such divine light power ourselves anyway.
I’ve always been rather curious about the unknown gifts myself.
Although, I am thankful to hold the gifts I have.
For instance, angels in this realm are given the power to heal.
To cultivate the gift of healing, we practice healing one another in training.
Healing can drain angels, but as long as it’s done in moderation, it isn’t harmful.
It’s essential to choose when it’s necessary to exercise this gift wisely.
Drawing that energy from within and transferring it to someone else is soothing, but receiving it is even better.
Typically, Guardians’ judgments go well.
Only souls with good intent get offered the chance to be Guardian Angels—adults who made thousands of objectively good decisions throughout their mortal lives.
Consequently, they tend to behave exceptionally well while watching over their assignment.
Sure, occasionally, some Guardians break minor rules, but rarely do Watchers have to intervene and prevent Guardians from committing severe crimes against divine law.
Guardianship timelines also vary. Some serve a guardianship for years, whereas others only serve for a handful of months—it all depends on the state of mind of the assigned living being.
Kai served as his sister’s Guardian Angel for about two years, give or take.
He seemed to enjoy the mission. When watching him in his final moments in the land of the living with his sister and her boyfriend, the genuine smile that stretched across his face was nearly contagious.
During those last few seconds, it failed to meet his eyes, though. I doubt he even realized it. I found it odd that his smile didn’t reach his eyes.
In contrast, my Guardian experience was quite different.
I served a stranger—Meredith—for about a year.
She struggled heavily with PTSD after serving as a nurse in the military and witnessing ungodly things unfold right before her eyes.
A petite woman with a bold presence, she and I were close to the same age at the time.
She may have only served in the war for a handful of months, but its terrors crept their way into her and altered how she processed fear.
She struggled like this for over four years before I joined her side.
She frequently took cover when doors slammed too loudly, intensely observed her surroundings with the keen eyes of a hawk, and wept into the late hours of the night all while living alone. Unlike Kai’s assignee, Meredith never found a partner to lean on.
During our time together, I funneled all the healing light I could muster straight into her.
We got into a comfortable routine. I’ve never been much of a hugger, but on tough days, I’d wrap my arms around her and transmit my divine healing aura.
After only a couple of minutes of transmitting that light into her, she’d finally exhale, allowing her shoulders to slump and her chest to stop heaving.
Sometimes, people just need a minute to decompress.
Eventually, she grew strong enough to soothe herself without my aid. At the beginning of my guardianship, she was alone, and by the end, she remained alone. Oh, but how she had grown.
I found the conclusion to her healing journey inspiring. Rather than relying on other living beings to aid her in her endeavor for peace, she had to depend entirely on herself.
Upon my guardianship’s completion, I teleported back to Eloras and met a Watcher who greeted me at the bridge to the headquarters.
She briefed me on what to expect during the judgment.
I found her role fascinating, though our interaction was far less climactic than the encounter I just shared with Kai in my office.
The Watcher’s job looked like my cup of tea. I’d been seeking a solid reason to stay, so the timing worked out well.
During my judgment, I asked for a chance to stay in Eloras as a Watcher.
“Why would you choose to stay here when you’re eligible for immediate ascension to the Golden Realm beyond?
” Luke’s piercing electric blue gaze bore into mine from his throne’s starlit golden dais; the golden glow in his gaze hinted that he was attempting to exercise soulsight, but my mental shields remained steadfast.
Most Guardians focus heavily on learning how to use soulsight during their Guardian training. I, however, primarily focused on mastering the ability to keep colleagues out of my mind during practice. I had no desire to share scraps of my mind, nor do I now.
To block others from seeing into your mind, you focus on the energy waves the angel is exuding to enter your mind and ward them off using your waves of divine energy.
This act creates a shield to block the waves from invading your mind.
It takes a strenuous amount of self-discipline to keep shields in place, but it’s worth it.
“Why shouldn’t I?” I retorted, keeping my chin held high. Apparently, not many Guardians chose to become Watchers at the time. “I’d get to spend more time with my friends here.”
“What friends?” Jessenia chimed in from Luke’s left side in a starlit seat of her own, tilting her head and blinking her silver eyes innocently.
Had it been anyone else who said that, I’d have been offended.
But Jessenia is the purest. She genuinely had no idea what friends I was referring to. To her point, I didn’t, either.
“Oh, Jessenia, how we cherish your pure heart.” Annalise stifled a chuckle, sitting to Luke’s right who suppressed a grin of his own.
Nial maintained a smug look, crossing his arms, sitting in the golden throne next to Annalise.
“In all sincerity, we find it peculiar you’d choose to stay.
If you ascend, you’ll almost immediately get to reunite with your—”
My head pounded as she neared the end of that sentence, and I spoke without thinking, interrupting Annalise, the graceful one. “I want to continue helping angels in Eloras. I love helping people. I believe my sole purpose is to help others.”
I rested my hand over my heart for dramatic effect. At first, Annalise appeared caught off guard by my interruption, parting her lips and widening her ebony eyes. Jessenia smiled curtly in response as a look of confusion crossed Luke’s face.
Then I heard a deep rumbling laugh from their right. I whipped my head toward the sound, seeing Nial clap his hands in amusement. I narrowed my eyes at him, not missing how unruly his black hair was. He appeared as though he had just rolled out of bed.
Wow, I knew I wasn’t known for being friendly, but I was quite perturbed by their response.
“Could’ve fooled me, Miss Graves,” Nial drawled as his amber eyes peered into mine, a spark of curiosity caught in his gaze. “But considering we’re always looking for more Watchers, I don’t see the problem here.”
He glanced at his cohorts, and they all locked eyes. Jessenia raised her eyebrows in surprise, Luke pushed his hand through his golden waves, and Annalise pressed her lips into a firm line. Mind speaking among a group—how intriguing.
Kai got a lot of mind-speaking practice with his sister’s partner due to the bond. In fact, the first time his thread ever tugged me had to do with his interaction with Jasper in the forest.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get that luxury. During my guardianship, I mind spoke with a few stray animals, but I never got the chance to mind speak with living beings like Kai did. That’s when Kai’s journey of rule breaking began to unravel.
Shortly after the Archangels’ internal discussion, they permitted me to stay as a Watcher indefinitely. Thankfully.
It took me several weeks to learn the ropes of watching, but my watching mentor, Stephen, taught me everything I needed to know.
I learned how to unlock a different component of divine energy—thread bonding.
I found this aspect to be relatively intuitive.
Essentially, to connect with Guardians, Watchers reach inwardly to pull out a thread of divine energy to connect with each of their assigned souls.
It’s a bit trippy at first, but after years of practice, I’ve grown to enjoy fabricating these types of bonds with my Guardians.
I’ve been assigned hundreds of Guardians over the past few decades.
Anytime they get remotely close to breaking a larger divine law, I feel a tug on the thread and frequently teleport to their side to intervene.
Seeing as there aren’t many afterlife laws, we take offenses quite seriously.
Our Guardians also have a 99 percent success rate at healing their assignment.
That said, I have witnessed a handful of angels who guarded their assignee for years without success.
Even in instances in which the living beings didn’t fully heal, the Archangels still classified the guardianships as successful due to the care the Guardians put into their missions.
Most of those angels immediately ascended.
Many angels who stay in the Middle Realm after their mission visit the land below from time to time.
I haven’t visited the land of the living for leisure since completing my guardianship.
Settling back into my sofa, I curl up, loosely draping a light blanket around my shoulders.
I glance at the wooden bookshelf next to me, shelves overflowing with fictional books consisting of fantasy, classic romance, and royal politics.
I consider reaching out my hand and grabbing a book to escape in for just a little while, but I know better.
Not even my favorite romance novel could push aside my current state of dread.
Instead, I practice a grounding exercise, closing my eyes and running my fingers along the seat’s plush surface, focusing on the way it feels.
I run my fingers in circles over it, counting down from one hundred, taking note of my office’s current scent—rain.
I’ve always enjoyed rainy weather. Here in Eloras, we’re gifted shimmery angel mist every morning, but it’s been a long time since I felt the sensation of rain on a cloudy day…
Kai’s predicament—our predicament—is unprecedented in every possible way. What a mess we’ve made.