Chapters (81)
I nod, digging my nails into my palm to help me focus. “I can’t say I’m not tempted, Raffe. Being safe sounds wonderful.” I give him a sad smile. “Maybe I can take you up on your offer just as soon as I get my family back together. I mean, if you’re still around and are willing to help.”
He sighs. “I miss the days when females could be ordered around and they’d have no choice.”
“Sure that wasn’t just a myth? I’m pretty sure nobody ever ordered my mom around—ever.”
“You’re probably right. The unruliness of the women in your family must go back for generations. You’re like a plague upon the land.”
“So long as we’re also a plague upon angels, I’m sure everyone else will forgive us.”
“Oh, you’re definitely a plague upon at least one angel. Is there anything I can say that will stop you from going to the aerie?”
I pause to think about that. “I wish there was. My life would be a whole lot easier.”
“What if I refuse to help you get there?”
“Then I’ll walk or drive.”
“What if I drag you into a prison and lock you up?”
“Then I’ll use my nifty little sword to cut my way out.”
“What if I leave my sword outside the prison?”
“You won’t. If you can’t have it, you want me to have it, right? We’re better off together than apart.”
Our eyes meet.
“Besides, who’d let me out if something happens to you?”
He throws me a sideways glance, like the thought of something happening to him is ridiculous.
“Beliel is probably still at the aerie,” I say.
“And why would you think that?”
“The doctor who operated on Paige thinks that she’s drawn to Beliel. Who knows what strange animal sense they put into her? She might have a sense of where he is.” I lift Mom’s tracker. “I’m tracking Paige. She’s tracking Beliel. You can’t stop me from following Paige so why not take advantage of the situation and just fly me there?”
He glares at me. “I’ve had to watch you die once, isn’t that enough?”
“All you have to do is make sure it doesn’t happen again.” I give him a sunny smile. “Simple.”
“The only thing simple is you. Stubborn little…” His grumbles fade to the point where I can’t hear them, but I suspect they’re not compliments.
Eventually, he puts out his arms.
It’s unnerving to be so close to him that I feel his heart beat against my breasts. I hold him tightly as he opens his wings and we take off into the night.
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