“Not in Norway. Here. I’ve seen him here. He… visited me.”

She felt him tense beneath her hands. “What?”

“In dreams. But they weren’t dreams. Or not exactly dreams. And I wasn’t scared. He showed me things,” she said quietly. “I thought it was just to reassure me. They didn’t seem important. There was something about my grandmother. We talked a little about you—”

“Ava.” His voice was frigid. “You were seeing Death in your dreams, and you didn’t tell me?”

What could she say?

“It was only twice. And there was so much going on. We were traveling everywhere. Besides, I didn’t know if you’d believe me,” she muttered. “It hardly seemed real.”

“What on earth would make you think that?” His voice creeped past irritation and rose toward anger. “When have I ever not believed you?”

“I don’t know. Stop yelling at me.”

“I’m not yelling!”

Ava gave him an arched brow, and he set her to the side and leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. She could see his temper in the set of his shoulders.

“I’m allowed to be angry that you hid this from me.”

“I didn’t hide it. They just didn’t… come up. Two dreams. In the weeks we’ve been traveling and plotting and fighting Grigori and discovering mind-blowing revelations. So much was happening that it didn’t seem important when it was just about my grandmother.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to know about your grandmother?”

“But it’s not…” She sighed. “I wasn’t scared of him.”

“You’re making excuses.”

She was making excuses. Mostly she was embarrassed that she hadn’t told him before. She really had forgotten, and it made her feel like an idiot.

“These dreams, they were only about your grandmother? About me?”

She bit her lip, felt her heart race in her chest. Now she was the one whose memory was fuzzy. She had a new respect how Malachi had felt for months while he recovered.

“No. Not just…”

He took a deep breath. “What it is?”

“There was more in the dreams. But I can’t remember.”

Malachi frowned. “What more? Did you see Jaron again?”

“Not Jaron. I think I might have seen Volund.”

Malachi swore and rose to his feet as he began to pace across the room. “Were you in danger? How could you not have told me, Ava?”

“I didn’t remember Volund until now!”

He spun. “How could you not remember that?”

Why didn’t she remember? Ava knew she wouldn’t have kept something important from her mate. That was past forgetfulness and into negligence, so why…

“Will I remember?”

When you need to.

She hadn’t forgotten. Not completely. Azril had hidden it from her.

“Stupid, know-it-all angels!” Ava leapt to her feet. “He hid it, Malachi. Just like Jaron. Azril hid it for some reason. I don’t know why.”

Ava heard laughter in the back of her mind and felt the memories push forward, timid creatures peeking from the corners where Azril had tucked them. The smell of incense. Muffled voices. Gold eyes and black energy.

“What do you remember?” Malachi put his hands on her shoulders. “Anything, reshon. It could be important.”

“They couldn’t see me. I saw… there were three of them. The three angels Damien was talking about. I don’t remember all their names.”

“Svarog, Volund, and Grimold?”

“I’m not sure.” She shook her head. “I think so? It’s not important.”

“It is important. What did they say?”

She murmured, “‘Eliminating threats. It’s still not that clear. Something about the monastery, maybe?” Her heart ached. “If I’d remembered, we might have been able to warn them.”

“They could have been talking about any number of things. Maybe Azril wanted… He doesn’t have wants. Death only follows the command of the Creator. And if the monastery hadn’t been attacked, Kostas and Kyra would never have come to Vienna.”

She blinked. “You think Azril wanted them to be here?”

“Who knows what the angels want? Was there anything else?”

Ava searched her memories, wading through a cascade of images and voices. “Svarog,” she said. “He and Volund don’t like each other.”

“That’s not surprising.”

“They really don’t like each other. They want to take Vienna.”

“It is the center of the Irin race.”

A headache lurked as Ava struggled to make sense of the new images. She closed her eyes and thought back to the last dream. An image came to her a moment before the door slammed shut in her mind.

“They’re here,” she said with a gasp. “They’re already in Vienna. They were in the Library.”

She felt Malachi shiver.

“They were in the Library? Actually in it? What else? If there’s anything I can tell Damien—”

“Something about the third one.”

Yes.

For a second, she thought she caught the reflection of Death smiling through the mirror in the entryway.

“Is it Grimold? He is an ally of Volund’s,” Malachi said. “Though Volund is widely understood to be the more powerful.”

“Yes. I think they called him Grimold. And there was something about his children, but…”

“Max and Kostas believe Grimold’s children are the ones already in the city.”

“But there’s more. ‘All of them,’” he said. There’s something about Grimold’s children we don’t know. Something we’re not expecting.”

Chapter Twenty-three

MALACHI TRIED TO CALM HIMSELF and sift through the new information Ava had given him.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand how information could get lost in the chaos of travel and fighting. And really, the revelations Azril had given her were not much more than what they knew already. Mostly, he was irritated she’d concealed it. And he was worried by Death’s fascination with her.

Ava rubbed circles over her temple. He wondered if a headache was building. She still looked confused, and Malachi was angry for her. To have your mind violated was a terrible thing. He’d never felt as helpless as he had when he’d lost his memories.

Convicted by the guilt in his mate’s face, Malachi knew he had to confess his own omission, even though he’d been pushing it to the back of his mind for weeks.

“I’m so sorry, Malachi. I don’t… I don’t know how I forgot. It’s just, my dreams are never clear and there’s been so much—”

“Ava.”

“What?”

He took a deep breath and spoke quickly. “I may have seen Volund in dreams. I didn’t know what to think. Part of me thought they were only nightmares. But now I don’t think they were.”

Her mouth dropped. “What? How long?”

Malachi shook his head. “Weeks. I haven’t seen him since Italy. He told me he couldn’t get to you but he could get to me.”

He could see her irritation spike.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, unable to hide the anger in her voice. “You’re angry at me, while you—”

“I didn’t know if it was real or imagined. Not for sure. Why would I worry you if I wasn’t certain? You were dreaming about Death and didn’t tell me.”

“His name is Azril.”

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re friends now. He’s the angel of death, Ava. And I’m not going to apologize for trying to protect you.”

“So typical! You try to shield me from worry as if I can’t handle it. As if I’m still the grieving widow you found in Oslo—”

“I had no way of knowing they weren’t just nightmares.”

“You still should have told me. Even if you did think they were nightmares.”

“Why, so you could worry too?”

“You really don’t get this whole ‘sharing the burdens’ thing, do you?”

“Am I supposed to ignore my instinct to protect you?”

“No, but you’re not supposed to protect me from you!”