“What did you just see?” Michael asked.

I described what I saw as best I could, but I couldn’t begin to explain what I’d heard. “What was it?” I asked.

“You’ve heard ‘In the beginning was the Word,’” he said, “but what people don’t know is that the Word was sung.”

“Were you there?” I asked. I’d never thought how far back his life actually went; it was staggering.

When he answered, his voice was sad. “Everything that lives now, that ever lived, was there. It’s just that nobody remembers it anymore.”

A shiver ran through me and I didn’t know what to say. As we lay there in silence, I realized then that there were so many things I didn’t know. There was an entire lifetime I hardly remembered and it was affecting my present life. I was in a world beyond my imagining, a world of angels and demons, with rules and consequences I hardly understood. But beneath all of it was love, as though it were the basis of everything.

Michael broke the silence first. “The others don’t like what I’m doing—with you.”

“They can see?” Of course they could. Arielle had said as much, but I’d convinced myself she was the only one who saw us.

“All of it. As long as I’m connected, I’m never alone. Which is why sometimes I disconnect so I don’t piss them off.” The shadows cast on his face from the dim light of my room made him look sad. He sighed. “I can’t lose them.”

I squeezed his hands. “I don’t want you to.”

“I can’t lose you either.”

I couldn’t tell if he meant now or if he was thinking of the past, but there was something in his voice that made my heart ache. It hung in the air between us. “You won’t. Even if…I mean, even though we’re just friends, I’ll be there for you. Always. I promise.”

He sucked in his breath and let it out slowly. “I’m tired of kidding myself. You and I could never be just friends, Mia.”

He paused. Could he feel my heart racing as I struggled to figure out what he meant? Surely he wasn’t going to give everything up. He couldn’t!

“But if I lose the others, I’d be useless against Damiel or any of the demons after us. And if you think they’ll just forget about me because I’ve walked away from the fight, you’re wrong. They’d hunt me down.”

“What about Arielle? She’s your friend. Wouldn’t she help?”

“She’s my sponsor. She can’t break our laws either, because she has to answer to them too. But the way I feel is my business, not theirs…” Still holding my hand, he took a deep breath and leaned closer to me, our sides touching. “What I do, on the other hand…”

A tremble ran down the length of his whole body right through me. Both of us froze. “I know,” I said. “I know.”

As I lay there in stillness, listening to his breathing and the quick, steady beat of his heart, I couldn’t help but wonder if the others could see us now. Couldn’t they see how hard he struggled to be what they expected? Didn’t that count for something?

***

I woke to the foreign sensation of movement as Michael gently slid out from under me, replacing himself with pillows. It was still dark out, but the sounds of life outside told me it was morning. Michael hardly looked rumpled.

“Good morning,” I said.

“Your mother will be home soon,” he said. “I should go.”

Stifling a yawn, I smiled at him. “I’m glad you stayed.”

“You should be. You drooled all over my shirt.”

I gasped, my hand covering my mouth, and he grinned at me, pulling on his shoes. I reached a hand up to smack him but was so tired I missed.

Chuckling softly, he kissed my forehead to bid me goodbye. The warmth from his lips shot all the way down to my toes.

“Thanks,” I said.

“Whatever for?” There was a ring of humor in his voice.

“You only stayed ’cos I asked you to.”

“That’s not the only reason. I just…” He hesitated.

“Just what?” I pressed.

“Didn’t know if I could trust myself.”

“What about now?”

He laughed under his breath as if to say Not at all. But his eyes had a different look in them than I’d seen before, as though he were less haunted, more present.

“I trust you,” I said.

“I know,” he whispered. “You wouldn’t have asked me to be here if you didn’t.”

He was right. I didn’t trust easily. But no matter what had happened in our past, I trusted him, and not just because it was so long ago that I didn’t care what he did. There was nothing he could do that I wouldn’t forgive or accept, and the idea of being in love with someone that much freaked me out—mostly because it didn’t feel wrong. It may have been against the rules, but nothing about loving or being with him felt wrong.

He removed his shirt and tucked it around his waist. Golden light glimmered behind the muscles of his shoulders as they prepared for his wings to connect. And then, with incredible grace, he leapt out my window.

Chapter Twenty-Three

When Michael picked me up for school I could still see something different in his eyes. He seemed more relaxed, like some war inside him was finally over. When I looked in the mirror, I noticed that my own eyes had changed, too. They shone wildly with a light that hadn’t been there before. We’d spent the whole night together, we hadn’t had sex, and the world didn’t end.

Walking around that morning, I was really clumsy, as though my feet were floating above the ground. When Michael was with me, he managed to steer me away from obstacles and even kept a straight face. On my own, though, I bumped into a garbage can, someone’s locker, and a boy with stringy red hair who gave me a dirty look before telling me to watch my step.

After lunch, Michael told me he had to leave for the rest of the day because Arielle needed backup on a tricky assignment she was working. I found it odd that he called them “assignments.” He didn’t look worried, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the demon he’d fought the night before. Michael was strong, but his opponents were horrifying. He walked on a battleground that I was grateful to have no part in. I didn’t want to know what evil was out there. I’d seen enough for several lifetimes.

I had a free period in the afternoon that I was going to use to study for an upcoming history quiz. I went to the library but found I had forgotten my notes, so I had to trudge down the empty halls to my locker.

When I opened it, a folded piece of lined yellow note paper fell out. I picked it up, unfolded it and read:

Dear Mia,

It’s too bad we couldn’t get together the other night. I was looking forward to getting to know you better.

Perhaps you want to reconsider?

Sincerely,

Damiel

My hands shook as I read the note a second time. Was this for real? I’d never seen Damiel’s handwriting before, so I didn’t know. It could have been written by anyone, Elaine even, or he could have written it any time since I’d first refused to date him. Why, then, would it only show up now? I had been at my locker not ten minutes earlier and there was no sign of it then. I scanned the still-empty halls for a clue as to who could have put it there. Could Damiel be back? I’d heard Michael mention it was possible, but so soon?

Relax. It’s probably an old note.

Something didn’t feel right. Without Michael around, there was nobody I could talk to who knew what a threat Damiel was. If I mentioned anything to Heather about that, she’d only think I was insane.

I spent the rest of my study period in the library, reading the same page over and over again because I couldn’t focus. As soon as the school day ended, I rushed outside to catch the bus. I was cutting through the parking lot when I ran into Farouk and Fatima heading toward their car.

“Need a lift?” Farouk asked cheerfully.