Madeleine laughed. “Glad to hear it, but I’ll be giving you a lot. Sure you’re up for all of it?”

She sounded as if she were joking. She wasn’t. A little wobble at the bottom of her voice told the tale.

Hæra said, “Do you think I’m up for less? What’s worth wanting, if not everything?” When Madeleine’s forehead creased—meaning she was about to make a principled objection—Hæra touched her mouth. “The secret lies in wanting the right things. You’ll see.”

Madeleine’s eyes grew wide and wondering. She cupped the back of Hæra’s sweaty neck and rubbed her thumb there. Hæra closed her eyes in pleasure. Made to be touched by you.

“The Catechism teaches that the existence of angels is a truth of faith,” Madeleine said quietly.

That got Hæra’s eyes open again. She frowned. “I’m not an angel. I never was. And now I’m human.”

Madeleine pulled, gently, until Hæra’s forehead pressed against her own. Hæra’s eyes fell shut at the sudden, solid reassurance of her. Madeleine slid her other arm around Hæra’s waist and held her close once more.

“Every angel is, I think,” she said.

EPILOGUE

THE SKY

ÆTLAQUOY, FIVE YEARS LATER.

“How soon can you be here?”

Over the phone, Hæra’s voice was equal parts impatience and excitement. Madeleine focused on the latter and grinned. “Soon,” she said. “I’ve got a few things to take care of before I leave, and you’ve got a few things to take care of before I arrive. Don’t you?”

“I’m almost done. Are you almost done? I don’t want to wait much longer, and you still have to get here.”

“I’m less than ten miles away,” Madeleine pointed out.

Hæra hmph’d. Then she said, sounding warmer, “Those words are still nice to hear.”

Madeleine’s grin grew wider. “They’re nice to say.”

Yes. Even after living on Jorsay for three years, it was nice to say that she was no farther from Hæra than ten miles rather than by thousands.

“However,” Hæra continued, “you could be even less than ten miles. You could be less than ten feet.”

The impatience in her voice was of a different sort now. Rather than the anticipation of an exciting event, it was the desire for Madeleine’s presence—immediately. Hæra was human, but sometimes the hunger was the same, and it came out at the most unexpected moments.

Madeleine didn’t mind. She felt the same way. Nobody was getting hurt by it, and it felt wonderful, so it was just fine. Her therapist in Lancaster had helped her see that.

“I will be soon. I can’t wait,” she said, and grinned. “Even though you’ve only been gone a few hours. Listen to what a pair of lesbians we are.”