“How do you know telepaths were trapped in that vault in the City of Ashes?” I asked Harker.

“After you returned, Faris gave me a heads-up to look for escaped ghosts, to capture them for him,” he said.

Nyx gave Harker an approving nod.

“Interesting,” Ronan commented. He looked upon Harker with surprise, which wasn’t an expression you often saw on a god’s face. “Nyx knows you well. She said you were an honorable man. Misguided, but honorable. She was sure that when confronted with everything, all the trouble one god went through to swing a punch at another, that you would turn on him.”

Nyx smirked at Ronan. “He is Leila’s protege, after all.”

The God of War sighed like he’d just lost a bet.

I turned to Harker. “Faris is the god you serve. The God of Heaven’s Army.”

“Yes,” Harker said, his jaw tight.

“Faris has been collecting telepaths since the gods’ arrival on Earth. That is no secret,” said Nyx.

“What was a secret was his brother’s indiscretions,” Ronan added.

“Zarion?” I gasped. “The God of Faith and patron of the Pilgrims? His high and holiness himself slept with a mortal?”

“Apparently,” Nyx said. She didn’t look the least bit surprised. She knew the gods a lot better than I did. “And Faris, ever looking for ways to take a stab at his brother, wanted to expose him, to embarrass him in front of the other gods on the council.”

“This was set up by Faris to expose Stash,” I realized. “Everything, including Nero’s trials. Faris knew we would break the seal to power the barrier—and that it would release the sirens, who’d been trapped and plotting their revenge for twenty years.”

“Yes,” said Ronan. “Faris knew the sirens would find a way to expose Stash, which would in turn expose his brother’s indiscretions. The two of them have been fighting for centuries. It was only a matter of time before one of them found something he could use against the other.”

“But why? They’re brothers. Why would they want to hurt each other this badly?” I just couldn’t get my head around that. I’d do anything for my brother and sisters. It didn’t matter that we weren’t related by blood. I loved them with all my heart.

“It is the way of gods and demons, pulling strings, playing with mortals,” Ronan told me. “We’ve been doing it for millennia on many worlds.”

I mulled that over, then said, “You are a god.”

“Yes.” His dark eyes twinkled with magic. He looked amused. The expression reminded me of Nyx.

“And yet you want to help us?” I asked.

“Nyx is very persuasive. And I once made the mistake of choosing the other gods over her, one I came to regret for centuries.” Ronan reached out and took Nyx’s hand. “I won’t make that mistake again.”

“How romantic,” I teased them.

Nero shot me a disapproving look. Apparently I shouldn’t tease demigods or their godly lovers.

Except I wasn’t joking. I was dead serious. Ronan’s words were very romantic. Especially for someone who was a soldier—and a god.

Nyx just chuckled. “Don’t let Ronan fool you. This is as much business as pleasure. There’s a divide amongst the gods. Factions are forming in heaven. The demons know it. That’s why they’ve been testing the waters so much lately, trying to get a foothold on Earth. They are just waiting for the gods’ council to stumble.”

“How many divisions?” Nero asked.

“Too many,” said Ronan. “Gods are not good at group acts. We prefer a solo performance, to be the main attraction. Alliances form, but at the end of the day, it will be every god for himself. Or herself.”

“We cannot allow this to happen,” Nyx insisted. “The gods must stick together. We must all stick together. Divided we are weak. Divided we fall.”

“What about him?” Damiel looked at Harker. “You trust him, Faris’s lackey?”

“I wouldn’t have agreed to make him an angel if I didn’t think he could be swayed. Leila always did say he’s loyal. He just sometimes needs a kick to the head to realize which way was right.” Nyx winked at Harker. “That’s a direct quote, by the way.”

“Leila is too soft, but she is an excellent judge of character,” Damiel allowed. “She can see right through people.”

“Cadence is the same way,” said Nyx. “She always saw something in you, Damiel, past the darkness and scathing sarcasm. She loves you.”

Damiel kept his expression guarded. Thinking about Cadence must have hurt. “All verbal flourishes aside, Nyx, you cannot deny what Harker has done.”

“You have done far worse,” she reminded him. “And it didn’t take Harker two hundred years to come around.”

“I’m not coming around. I’m simply choosing the lesser of two evils. Faris is a menace. Left to his rule, we will all burn—mortals and immortals alike.”

“Plus he’s trying to manipulate your son’s beloved Pandora into exposing her brother.” Nyx’s smile was as ruthless as it was kind. She sure was an interesting contradiction. “Getting sentimental in your old age, old man?”

“Are you?” he retorted.

Nyx laughed, even as Nero glared at his father.

“Don’t look at me like that, boy,” Damiel said, his voice as hard as granite. “She already knew about Leda and her brother. She knows everything.” His expression softened as he turned to wink at me.

I wondered if Nyx did indeed know everything. Did she know about the Guardians? She had spoken of Cadence in the present tense, as though she knew Nero’s mother was still alive.

I decided not to share my thoughts. Instead, I bottled them up, hiding them behind my growing mental wall. That’s what the angels and gods would have done—not shared their secrets unless they had to. I really was starting to think like them more and more.

“I did not realize Faris was acting against the other gods,” Harker said. “But this recent situation has been…”

“Eye-opening?” I supplied.

“Yes,” he agreed. “Eye-opening. It has made me realize Faris has his own agenda. When I joined the Legion, I swore to serve all the gods, not one single god. And I vowed to protect humanity. Faris is acting against that, against everything the Legion stands for. Against everything that I stand for. I wanted to end suffering, but my actions have instead caused so much of it.”

“Good speech,” Damiel said when Harker was finished. “How long did you practice it?”

I frowned at Nero’s father. “How did you get to be so skeptical?”

“I was the leader of the Legion’s Interrogators for many years, honey. I was paid handsomely to be skeptical.”

“I know he is genuine.” Stash spoke up. He set his hand on Harker’s shoulder. “He regrets all that happened—and the part that he played in it.” His gaze shifted to me. “Especially how he hurt you, Leda. He wants to make it right.”

“How do you know this?” Nero asked him.

“Because I can see into his soul,” Stash said, as though that were the most normal thing in the world.

Nyx folded her arms across her chest, her black leather suit a soft whisper of movement. “Interesting.”

“Interesting?” I asked.

“Every archangel and god has a few unique powers,” she explained. “Looking into someone’s soul, seeing who they truly are past the armor and magic, appears to be one of Stash’s.” She looked at Nero. “And you, General Windstriker? You’ve been watching Harker. What do you think? Can he be trusted?”

Nero met Harker’s eyes for a moment. He looked at me, then back at Nyx. “I agree with Stash’s assessment.”

“Well, then. It’s all settled.” Ronan extended his hand to Harker. “Welcome to the right side. Screw up, and I’ll kill you myself.”

Harker did not look surprised by Ronan’s bluntness. He met the god’s eyes and shook his hand.

“Splendid,” Ronan said. “Now here’s what I need you to do.”

26 Training with Angels

I crossed the line on the running track, which marked the end of my forty-seventh mile this morning. But Harker, who was running in front of me, didn’t slow down. He kept going. Nero was close on my tail, making sure I didn’t slow down either. Man, it was a good thing we weren’t human because my heart might have already given out. As it was, it just felt like it was going to burst through my chest. The two angels didn’t believe in doing anything half-assed.