My chest felt tight. “Seb...you could die. And it would be for a cause that isn’t even yours, really.”

Almost the moment I said the words, I got a flash of a small girl with big eyes – the same girl I’d seen once before. Run, niña! With a frightened gasp, she took to her heels, darting away through a whirling, dancing crowd.

I stared at Seb. “Who is that?”

He shrugged, his eyes distant. “I don’t know. A street child.” He told me what had happened; how he’d saved her from an angel. I sat without moving as I listened, picturing it all so vividly – and feeling limp with relief that he’d somehow managed to kill the angel with only a knife.

As Seb finished, he pulled a face at himself. “The whole time, I was thinking, You stupid cabrón, what are you doing? You’re finally so close to finding her, why are you risking it for this? But I knew afterwards that I’d do it again. That it was worth it.”

“Because she could have been you,” I murmured, watching him. He sat with his head down, playing with the cuff of his shirt; the strong features of his face looked almost sculpted. “You helped her when she needed you, the way you always wished someone would help you.”

“Yes, I guess that’s it.” Seb turned his head to look at me; he seemed to be studying me down to my soul. He smiled slightly. “Even when it happened, I knew you’d understand.”

My face heated; we didn’t talk much about how it had always been me who he was looking for – as opposed to just any half-angel girl.

He glanced down again, pushed his cuffs up to his elbows. “Willow, I’ll be wherever you are when it happens,” he said. “Let’s not bother arguing, okay?”

“Okay,” I got out finally. And in a way it felt inevitable that Seb would be there. But, oh god, I hated it – the two people I cared about most in the world would be risking their lives at the same time.

I’d stopped being aware of my aura as we talked, and now I brought it back into view. It still looked the way I’d last imagined: grey and unappealing. Purple, I thought, and watched it turn a rich plum colour. “So I guess I’ve got the hang of this,” I said at last.

Seb was gazing at my aura too. “Yes. Maybe a few more days, to make sure.”