Chapter 32
Thirty-Two
Kai
Nial unbinds Cleo’s wrists with a snap of his fingers, and I fight to school my expression. I can only imagine what I’d do with that kind of power. Guess it’s a good thing I wasn’t bestowed with such gifts.
“That was you in my mind, wasn’t it?” she asks in a whisper, turning to face me.
She’s still wearing the same clothes she wore earlier—the gray sweater and plaid skirt.
The outfit that was nearly the death of me on Earth.
How is she always so effortlessly beautiful?
“For some reason, I didn’t recognize your voice…
I don’t even know if I had a recollection of who you were. ”
“Trippy, right? You can thank our Archangel best friends for that.” I glance at the Archangels, who appear amused.
“We are going to counsel amongst one another within our minds to determine how to proceed. Please carry on as you will in the meantime. Rest assured, we won’t eavesdrop this time.” Luke speaks boldly, glaring at Nial who holds his hands up, feigning innocence.
Unable to spend another minute not touching her, I stride to her side, sling my arm around her shoulders, and bend my head down to press a kiss into her hair.
“You saw everything, didn’t you?” she asks in a whisper. I nod solemnly. “Do you feel differently about me now?”
“Cleo. How could I? You’ve been carrying so much for so long. You’re strong—so strong. But I’m here now, so you don’t need to carry it alone anymore. Ease up a little and let me help, okay?” I place a kiss on her head as she leans into my embrace. “So. You love me, huh?”
Her demeanor instantly changes, cheeks pinker than a tulip in spring. I clamp my teeth over my mouth and bite back a laugh. “I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again, so I panicked, and I—”
“Whoa. Are you about to take the proclamation of your undying love for me back?” I quirk a brow.
“What? No, I just—” She groans. “That moment happened differently in my dreams. That’s all. I mean, not that I’ve dreamed about it. Dreaming about something like that would be pitiful.”
Of course, she’d think that’s pitiful. I smirk, then lead us as far away from the Archangels as possible, nonchalantly, while they casually discuss our fate within their minds.
While stepping farther and farther away from the Archangels, I brace myself, gearing up to say what I’ve been waiting to say.
I clear my throat, tightening my hold around her side.
“I’ve always feared love, Cleo. In fact, giving in to love has been my greatest fear for as long as I can remember.
I was scared of a lot of things related to love, like the idea that people loved the idea of me instead of the real me.
I was scared I wouldn’t be capable of truly loving someone in that way.
Ironic, seeing as I once told Irie that the only emotion that equates to fear is love.
But then they stole you away earlier. Until that moment, I thought I understood my biggest fear—”
I gulp, whispering into her hair.
“—I was so wrong. The premise of never holding you in my arms again shattered me into countless pieces. That scared me more than anything ever had. I realized in that moment how much was left unsaid. Sure, you withheld the truth from me about your journey to Earth. Of course, that hurt me. Losing you hurt a million times more.”
I turn her to face me. Tears brim in her eyelids, illuminating the brightness within her brown eyes.
I’ve told people I loved them in the past, but this is different.
This means something. No, not just something. It means everything.
“I love you,” I say in a low voice, earnestly. “I’d choose you in every lifetime, under every circumstance. I’m done running away. I’m running straight into your arms, angel.”
Her pupils dilate as her eyes search mine. After witnessing everything she’s been through, her lack of trust in others makes sense. Her lack of optimism, too.
Hell, I must have been the last person in existence she would’ve imagined slumming it up with—
“Thank heavens,” she whispers, her lips curling upward in that soft smile of hers I’m obsessed with. “If the feeling weren’t mutual, my dramatic declaration of love for you would’ve been even more humiliating than it already was.”
I sniff a laugh and push my hand through my hair.
That’s my girl.
My girl.
Cleo is my girl.
The traces of the pain I saw in her moments ago have weakened. She leans into me, resting her head on my chest. As her body eases into me, I inhale her scent of calming eucalyptus and slip my hands around her waist.
I consume the space between us and bring my mouth to meet hers. Soft, at first. Warm and slow. Then, a barely audible whimper escapes her curved lips. A sinful sound that drives me to tangle my hand in her hair. My free hand digs into her waist, gripping it tightly.
Mine. She’s all mine.
I want—no, I need—more. Just as I’m about to lift her to straddle me, her lips break away from mine.
“Kai… We have company.” Her cheeks turn pink again as she nods her head toward the dais. It’s clear the Archangels are preoccupied; otherwise, smart-ass Nial would’ve already picked fun at our indecency.
I don’t take the time to even spare them a glance. I lower my lips to her ear, flicking my tongue against her lobe, taking delight in the full-body goosebumps that spread across her tan arms in response.
“What difference does that make? Let them watch.” My voice comes out rougher than expected. I can’t ignore the burning sensation growing inside me. I need her. Now.
I lose all my senses when it comes to this starlit woman.
She releases a chuckle under her breath, then looks me up and down, eyes crinkling. “You never cease to surprise me, sunshine.”
This isn’t the first time she called me ‘sunshine.’ I mean, that isn’t my favorite nickname. Sunshine. I’ve never had a nickname, but I always imagined if I did, it’d be something cool, like, I don’t know, Ace.
But fuck it. My angel can call me anything.
“Please, Cleo. Let me love you—”
“That is quite enough, Kai Greene,” a deep voice rumbles. Luke, this time. Well, at least it wasn’t Nial. The Archangels wave their hands at us in sync, beckoning us back to the dais.
Fuck me, I don’t have time for this. Can’t our fate wait?
“Stop pouting.” Cleo elbows me. “We will get more time together. Hopefully.”
I scowl, but as we approach the Archangels, I remember that our next chapter lies in their hands.
My scowl turns into a frown. A frown full of unwanted doubt and fear.
Our happily ever after is hanging on by a thread—a thread the Archangels are entirely manipulating.
And as hard as it may be to believe, I don’t think the Archangels particularly like me. Surprising, right?
I’m kidding. I know I’ve been a pain in their asses since the moment I died.
“Cleo Graves. Kai Greene,” Luke bellows. “You have completed your respective trials.”
Yes, obviously we’ve completed them. Now, if we could get to the conclusion of said trials, that would be fantastic—
“Kai, please. You should be aware by now that we can hear all your thoughts. Word for word. Tone and all. No, we do not only see flashes of images or hear some words and terms. We hear everything when we tune in. Surely you know this, no?” Annalise asks.
Oh, heavens. If they’ve been able to hear all my thoughts since the beginning, then when I showed up for my first hearing, they knew I was bullshitting them from the moment I walked in.
The Archangels simply nod in unison.
“Why didn’t you lock me up the moment I walked in? I thought I had a pretty strong shield. Does my shield not stop you from entering my mind?” I ask, pressing for answers.
“Her shield is rock-solid,” Nial answers before any other Archangel can, nodding his head toward Cleo.
“We have to try exceptionally hard to enter her mind, and truthfully, it isn’t worth the effort.
Your mental shield is strong, but young.
Think about it like this: where her door is locked, dead-bolted, and chained shut, yours only has one single lock.
It’s a solid lock. Just not quite strong enough. It’ll grow stronger with time.”
“So, you’re saying I’ve been an open book this entire time?”
Again, they simply nod in unison.
And I’ve never felt so stupid.
“No—” Jessenia interrupts my spiral. “Please do not punish yourself. Nial and Annalise are exaggerating slightly. We didn’t actually enter your mind during your trial until after Stephen burst into the throne room.
Sure, once we did enter, we saw everything.
But not from the beginning. You aren’t stupid. ”
My lips part in surprise. “I don’t know what I did to deserve your kindness, Jessenia, but thank you.”
“I’ll admit, I have a soft spot for the angels I greet in the afterlife. I don’t sneak away to greet angels in death often, but when I do, I tend to build a connection with them of sorts.”
“Carrying on—” Luke proceeds.
“But wait. How are Cleo and I able to communicate within our minds so clearly? Neither of us is an Archangel, so that doesn’t quite make sense, does it?”
Nial and Luke sigh in exasperation. I roll my eyes at them outwardly.
“You’ve built a very special connection with each other.
When she was your Watcher, the thread connecting you both exceeded that of a normal Watcher-Guardian thread.
Once your life began in Eloras, your connection only grew, blossoming into something deeper.
Consequently, your minds are often interconnected.
You both share a divine, mental type of angelic connection we call a soul tie,” Annalise explains gently with a knowing smile.
“You’ve gotten to see more of Cleo’s striking mind than we have during our entire journey with her. ”
I glance at Cleo, her nose and chin held up high. Playing it cool as usual. She can’t fool me, though—I see a sparkle in her eye upon hearing about our soul tie. Hell, I might be blushing, myself. I’ve never even heard of a soul-tie connection. Soulmates, of course. But soul tied?
I have a million questions, but I determine now isn’t the time. If we make it out of this room together, I’ll leave the soul-tie research up to Cleo. She’s good at that stuff.
“Carrying on,” Luke says. “You completed your trials. After a lengthy counsel, we’ve determined your results.
Kai, time and time again, you broke rule after rule in Eloras.
From revealing your full angelic form to a living human being to sneaking into the mortal world below without permission more than once, you’ve disgraced the realm.
Cleo, although you didn’t necessarily break divine laws, you did disobey direct orders in keeping Kai’s heinous acts secret.
Consequently, we knew the only way to determine how to proceed would be to enter you both into somewhat mentally, physically, and emotionally draining trials.
The decisions you made during your trials are greater than you realize.
Your own decisions have determined your fate today. ”
A beat of silence passes among us all, and my heart lunges into my throat.
I grab hold of her petite hand, unsure of what lies ahead but knowing I can get through it with her by my side. She grasps my hand, squeezing it, similar to the way she did in the library all those weeks ago.
It’s the little things I love about her—like the way she holds my hand or how often she scowls at me. I feel like I’ve been searching for this kind of love my entire existence. Now that I’ve found her, I’m never taking her for granted.
I’ll be fine, even if our fate is unfavorable. I mean, how could I not be with the angel of my dreams standing by my side?
…Damn, that was cheesy.
And I couldn’t care less.