“Look,” Jared said, nodding to a spot up the beach.

Samuel stood at least two hundred yards away, too far away for my human eyes to tell if he was watching us or the ocean.

Jared nuzzled the hair just above my ear. “He has been granted a temporary new post.”

“To babysit us?” I asked. “He must be thrilled.”

Jared chuckled. “Something like that. Hybrids don’t have Archs. Have I ever told you that?”

“No, you didn’t.”

“We don’t. Our job to protect humans, that along with our knowledge and abilities makes having our own guardian angel redundant. Not to mention the curse….”

“But you still need protection, don’t you?” I asked.

Jared thought for a moment. “We are born to protect. I think He sees it as an infinite waste of resources.”

I nodded. “I see.”

Jared’s brows pulled in and he cocked his head a bit. “You seem different today.”

“I do? What’s wrong with me?”

Jared laughed. “Not your general well-being, I mean you. Your behavior. You seem less on edge. Why is that?”

My brows shot up, and I shrugged. “It’s not because I’m not worried, I can promise you that. I have one more year of college, I’ll be taking over Titan soon after…and I’m pregnant. The best part—my personal favorite—I have to be on guard for the next nine months just to stay alive long enough to deliver our baby, and hope the Creator of the Universe decides against his own rules to help us do that.”

“Ten.”

“What?”

“It’s actually ten months. Forty weeks is ten months.”

I frowned. “That doesn’t help.”

Jared stifled a grin. “I was proud of you at the hearing.” When I didn’t reply, Jared explained further, “With Michael. You made a great case. It might have been what kept me out of serious trouble.”

“What might have happened? If Eli had decided against you?”

“The worst punishment would be death.”

“But…,” I began, thinking as I spoke, “you can’t die unless I do.”

“Or if I’m found guilty of disturbing The Balance. Heaven has zero tolerance for both of those things.”

“The baby supposedly disturbs The Balance,” I said, touching my belly.

Jared put his hand on mine. “God didn’t create the baby, Nina, we did. Free will and The Law are on opposite ends of the universe. I could explain it for the rest of your life, and you still wouldn’t understand. Even I don’t fully understand it all. Just know that The Law is a constant, and The Balance is a variable. In our case, it depended on Free Will, and that makes The Balance a whole new beast.”

“My head hurts,” I said.

“I’m sorry. More water?”

I looked down to my glass. It was empty. “I hadn’t even realized I’d touched it.”