Eyeing Uriel as he slowly ate his omelet, I huffed again. “You’re eating slow on purpose,” I grumbled, and he smirked.
“It’s not even eight o’clock. Be patient,” he said firmly, and I ducked my head with a pout.
It was difficult taking Uriel seriously when his features and short height made him look closer to sixteen years old than six hundred. But I knew better than to give him a snotty attitude. I didn’t think he’d send me to the corner for being a brat, but I didn’t want to tempt fate.
Finally, after a million years of chewing, Uriel finished his omelet and handed his plate to Obie. At his prompting, Delilah left the kitchen to get dressed as Obie did the dishes. Still in his pajamas, Uriel nursed his coffee and waved at me to follow him into the living room. Grudgingly, I trailed behind him and flopped onto the couch.
“Uriel—”
“I’m only gonna ask this once,” he interrupted, his face and tone serious, and I sat up, folding my hands in my lap. “And I’m not asking it because I doubt you or distrust your Guardians. I’m asking because I care about you, Riley. I’m your mentor, but more importantly, I’m your friend. As much as I want you to be happy, I also want you to be safe and healthy.”
When he paused, as if giving me an opportunity to speak, I said, “Okay.”
“I don’t want you to think about Gideon, Jai, or Noel. I don’t want you to think about me or the Council. About the Seven or the war. I only want you to think about yourself right now. Can you do that?” I nodded, and he released a heavy breath through his nose. “Is this what you want?”
He didn’t have to specify what this was. I knew what he meant.
My time in Heaven was almost done. I’d spent three months here, living in Uriel’s apartment, training every day, shadowing him when he went about his Archangel apprentice duties. I’d even earned money cleaning the training rooms and locker rooms a few times a week.
But it was time for the next step. I’d learned a lot this summer about myself, about my powers, about my past and the possibilities for my future. As much as I hated being separated from my angels, the past three months had been really good for me. I’d found a freedom I hadn’t even known I needed.
While I was grateful for everything I’d learned and experienced over the summer, I was ready to return to the mortal realm. I looked forward to my sophomore year of college, to hanging out with Danny and Bethany. I couldn’t wait to live in my own studio apartment and take my driver’s test. But most of all, I was ready to go home to my angels.
Because no matter how much I had learned and changed over the summer, there was one thing that remained the same. I loved them. It wasn’t hero worship. It wasn’t a manipulated or pressured unhealthy dependency. It wasn’t a fading, lusty infatuation. It was love, wholehearted and true.
They were my best friends, my protectors, my family. They were everything, and we’d been apart too long.
I ate dinner at their apartment every Wednesday evening, and since I spent my weekends away from Uriel’s place, I was usually with them on Sundays. Gideon had been teaching me to drive. Noel texted me all the time. Jai called me late at night when he couldn’t sleep, and we’d lie in the dark silently, listening to the other breathe until sleep inevitably claimed us.
But it wasn’t the same.
Our relationship, if I could call it that, was tenuous at best. Given the lack of privacy, I hadn’t been able to truly talk to Noel or Jai about the future of our romantic relationships. And broaching the subject with Gideon threatened a heart attack for both of us.
There had been no kisses, no intimate snuggles, no touching aside from platonic hugs. Not that I needed more than that, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it. I missed the possessive frenzy of Jai’s kisses. I missed Noel’s gentle but desperate touches. And now that my body had finally tasted lust and pleasure, I found myself wanting more.
But, my sexual awakening aside, I wanted to take the next step into independence and freedom. This was my life, and I was ready to start living it. And it wouldn’t be my life without my angels at my side. If they wanted me, that was.
So when Uriel took my hand and asked again, “Is this what you want, Riley?” there was only one possible answer to give.
“Yes,” I said, my conviction strong, my voice unwavering. “Yes, they’re what I want.”
Uriel smiled and squeezed my hand. “Okay. Then let’s get you home.”
As Uriel finished his coffee, Obie helped me lug my suitcase out of Delilah’s room and into the living room. I ensured all my electronics and cords were stowed in my backpack. Then I tugged on my shoes and sat on the kitchen stool. I fiddled with my phone with sweaty fingers, nerves fluttering in my stomach until I feared I’d throw up the omelet Obie had made for me.
Which was silly. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen my angels over the summer. Sure, in the last two weeks, I had only talked with them on the phone since they were busy remodeling the apartments. But why did it feel like my stomach was trying to eat itself at the notion of moving back home?
“Bye, Riley.” Delilah, dressed for her work in the Archives, stopped next to me and tugged me into a hug. She kissed my cheek, and I patted her back. “It’s been nice having you here. Don’t be a stranger, okay?”
“Okay. Thanks for letting me sleep in your room.”
Releasing me with a chuckle, she stepped back. “Anytime.” Then she bounced across the kitchen, and Obie handed her a packed lunch he’d made himself. “Be safe. I love you,” she said.
“I’m always safe,” Obie rumbled, and as he’d done every morning of the summer without fail, he kissed Delilah and said, “You look beautiful today.”
It always made Delilah giggle.
As Uriel emerged from the bedroom in sleek jeans and a polo shirt, Obie took his place to ready himself for his day. Obie was a Power, heading up a team of Principalities in the mortal realm. He was a juxtaposition. At work, he was the confident leader. At home, he submitted to a mousy Archangel.
“Ready, hybrid?” Uriel slipped on his shoes, and I jumped down from the stool and nodded. He laughed. “Don’t act so excited to leave.”
“It’s not that! I just—”
“I know. I’m just fucking with you.” He cupped my cheek and rubbed his thumb along my cheekbone. “I’m gonna miss having you around.”
I blushed. “I’m gonna miss you, too. Thank you for everything.”
“You don’t have to thank me.” He patted my cheek gently. “I’ll see you in a few days for training, okay? Just because you bested Adelle in one sparring match doesn’t mean your training is over.”
“I know.”
“All right. Let’s go.”
With one hand in Uriel’s, the other gripping my backpack for dear life, I wiggled in excitement as Uriel glowed bright as the sun. The fishhook snagged my spine and tugged, and I surrendered to the pull.
We materialized in the California sunshine, and the August heat immediately spurred sweat to prickle over my forehead and the back of my neck. The black asphalt of the parking lot radiated heat under my flip-flops, and I was grateful I’d planned ahead and worn shorts and a tank top.