I frown. “There are still some things I don’t get. Lincoln said angels invited the thrax to Purgatory; they’d never have left their homeland otherwise. This may sound crazy, but I wonder if they wanted me to meet Lincoln. If they wanted me to be angelbound to him.”

Mom bobs her head. “Could be. Although, it was only a matter of time before you fell for a quasi boy.” She smiles. “I always hoped it would be that Zeke Ryder, but Cissy got him first.”

Okay, I just threw up a little in the back of my throat. Quasi boys? Zeke Ryder?

I shoot a plaintive glance at Walker. He’s biting his lips together, trying not to laugh.

“Trust me, Mom. I wasn’t about to snuggle up with a quasi boy any time this millennia. It’s too convenient that right after Verus puts out a call for the Scala Heir, she orders a gaggle of thrax boys to park their carcasses at our doorstep.”

Walker nods. “I’m sure Verus wanted you to connect with Lincoln. You’re too perfectly matched.”

True. But what does that mean? Anxiety tightens my skull. I rub my temples with my fingertips, trying to release the pressure as well as some new insights. Finally, some appear. “That leaves two big questions. Why Lincoln? And why now?”

“Why Lincoln?” Mom pulls a few frayed threads from the armrest. “Angels are always hatching secret plans to fix the universe, Verus especially. If you’re in one of her visions–and that vision says you must love Lincoln–you’ll never know the reason until it’s too late.”

I nod. That sounds true. Incredibly depressing that I may be Verus’s next vision-victim, but true.

Walker folds his long arms into his longer, loopy sleeves. “And why now? Perhaps the angels want to launch a war. It’s no secret they want ghouls out of Purgatory. Having a Scala with a backbone would help them in their fight.”

“To battle the ghouls, angels would attack an unarmed foe.” Mom frowns. “That they’d never do.” Her jaw drops slightly. “But they would prepare for a counter-attack if they thought demons were about to invade.”

I picture the angels giving advice to our headmaster, training my gym class and sending me one awesome dragon-scale fighting suit, free of charge. I point to Mom. “That’s it. The demons must be preparing to invade. Soon.” The moment the words leave my mouth, it’s like the temperature in the living room drops below zero. Another war? I’ve seen what Armageddon can do. Fear twists in my belly. This is a new level of suck.

Walker lets out a frustrated sigh. “They’ve been saying that since Armageddon’s War ended, and it’s never happened.”