"He's taking me where?" I sat upright in bed, narrowing my eyes a little.
Michael was taking me to Heaven? As in the Heaven? Was that even allowed? I could feel my heart pounding violently in my chest. I didn't want to go, as much as I wanted to Pledge to Heaven- the thought of having to go through rePledging without Grey and Siena by my side-
"It's the only way you can tether your soul to Heaven now that you've already died and Pledged before. You can't go back into your subconscious and tether your soul again. Now, you have to quite literally bind your soul to Heaven while you're awake," Grey explained.
"How?" I frowned.
"I have no idea. They wouldn't tell me," he mumbled.
"They-?"
"The Archangels," Grey clenched his jaw a little.
"Why won't they tell you?" I furrowed my brows and Grey shrugged.
"My guess? They know I wouldn't let you go if I knew. I doubt it'll be pleasant," Grey huffed.
I didn't want to think about what they were going to make me do to Pledge, and I especially didn't want to think about doing it without Grey by my side. I knew if he was there, I was safe. I had someone by my side, someone who wanted what was best for me, even if I couldn't advocate for myself.
"Please. Please come with me," I whispered.
"Greene. I can't. You know I can't. It's Heaven," Grey said softly, slowly meandering back to the bed and sitting down on the edge of it.
His cerulean eyes flicked back and forth between mine.
"I thought- wait, didn't Michael say you were welcome to come?" I bunched my brows together in confusion, remembering Michael telling Grey he was welcome to join us.
Grey sucked in a deep breath and ran his fingers through his midnight hair, a strand falling gracefully across his forehead.
"I want to be with you. I want to be there for you. I do. But Heaven, I-," he paused.
"Why don't you want to go back?" I narrowed my eyes a little.
"I don't want them getting any ideas," he grumbled.
"What do you mean?" I chuckled lightly, taking his hand in mine.
"They won't let us be together, Greene. If I become an Angel again, they won't let us be together. I'm not entirely convinced they won't try to stop us even now."
"What do you mean? Of course they will. They need me, and they will likely need you. We have leverage here," I frowned.
I wasn't even really sure if that was what I wanted. I knew I loved Grey with everything that I had, and that I would eventually want to get back together with him, but now? It seemed too fast. But the idea of never being able to be with him again- I couldn't bear it. He was it for me.
"They believe we were created to serve Heaven, and that is all. Any romantic love is treason. It distracts from duty," he sighed.
I paused.
"We'll figure it out. Please. Just come," I whispered, running my thumb over the backside of his hand.
"I don't want to bring any more attention to our relationship than I already have. The more Angels that see us, the greater chance we have of someone telling us we need to break this off," Grey replied.
"Then we tell them if they want us to fight for Heaven, they have to let us be," I shrugged.
"Once you Pledge, you can't pull that. You have to fight for Heaven," Grey frowned.
"Grey, they won't break us up. We won't let them. But please-please come. I don't want to do this without you," I squeezed his hand a little bit.
He clenched his jaw tightly. "Fine."
I smiled and leaned forward, gently pressing my lips against his. I pulled back after a moment.
"Coffee?" He murmured softly, his eyelids fluttering as he pulled away from me.
"Yes please," I hummed.
Grey stood up and walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen area. I pulled the sheets tightly around my nude body, sighing in content as the rain tapped against the window. He walked back in a moment later with two mugs, handing one to me and sitting down next to me on the bed.
"I missed this," he whispered under his breath as he took a sip of coffee.
"What?" I smiled.
"You. In my bed. And I particularly enjoy the lack of clothes," he chuckled darkly, his eyes drifting over me.
I rolled my eyes, chuckling. "I missed this too," I took a drink, holding the mug close to me to keep me warm.
"How long do we have until Michael gets here?" I asked, glancing in Grey's direction.
"He'll be here any minute," Grey rolled his eyes.
"What's Heaven like?" I breathed, furrowing my brows a little.
"Annoying," he replied quickly.
"Grey," I raised an eyebrow, chuckling.
"Bright. Annoyingly perfect. Suffocating because you feel every inch of you being examined all the time. Everybody is judging you constantly. Everything is clean. It's perfect to the point where it chokes you," he explained, his jaw clenching as he spoke.
"You were an Archangel, surely you must've loved it at some point," I said softly.
"At the beginning, yes. But as I realized that everyone up there had a stick up their ass and a superiority complex, I fell more and more in love with the idea of the mortal realm," he replied with a casual shrug.
"You said you fell because you didn't like being told what to do," I furrowed my brows.
"I don't. I received an order I couldn't follow through with. It'd been a while coming, but when I refused to obey, I fell," Grey let out a breath.
"You don't regret it," I said, more as an analysis than a question.
"How could I regret something that led me to you?" He scowled, as if the concept confused him.
A smile curled my lips and I leaned over, pressing my lips to his cheek. As I did so, a knock resounded on the door, earning a groan of dissatisfaction from Grey.
"Do I have to live up there once I Pledge?" I frowned.
"I don't know," he replied softly, his cerulean eyes flicking back and forth between mine.
"If I have to stay, will you stay with me?" I asked quietly.
Grey clenched his jaw. "If it came to that, yes," he stated firmly.
He stood up from the bed and pulled on some clothes before walking out of the bedroom to answer the door. I guess that was my cue. I followed suit, putting on my black battle suit I'd grown rather accustomed to wearing, and pulling my hair up in a tight ponytail. I didn't know what kind of tests they would subject me to- but I wanted to be ready. I walked into the living room, where Michael sat comfortably on the couch and Grey leaned against a wall casually.
"Ms. Greene, you look ravishing, as always. Are you ready?" Michael straightened his suit, his eyes blazing as they looked at me.
"Are you ready?" I looked to Grey, who tightened his jaw in response.
"Will you be joining us, brother?" Michael glanced back at Grey, who looked like he might spontaneously combust after being called 'brother'.
"Not for you, for her," Grey replied gruffly.
"Of course," Michael pressed his lips together as he stood up and buttoned the front of his suit.
"Well in that case, let's get moving, shall we?" Michael insisted, motioning with his hand towards the door.
"Have you told Siena and the others where we are going?" I murmured to Grey under my breath as we followed Michael out of the hotel room.
"Michael spoke to Suriel, and he informed them. Allison will be meeting us up there. Siena will meet us back home in Washington," Grey breathed against my ear, taking my hand firmly in his.
Home.
The thought of being home in Washington with him made my heart bloom with warmth. I missed waking up next to him and looking down at the waves crashing on the bay below his peninsula. I missed the giant trees we'd ran through, competing to see if he could still outrun me. I missed feeling happy. I missed feeling whole. With him, I felt whole. With him at home, I felt happy.
"I miss it too," Grey pressed his lips to the top of my head and squeezed my hand a little.
"I hope I get to go home," I clenched my jaw tightly as we followed Michael into the elevator and out of the hotel.
"Allison gets to be here, I don't see why you wouldn't," Grey said under his breath.
"You will likely be required to stay in Heaven for a short while following the Pledge, but afterwards, you will be allowed to return home. However, once Lucifer realizes your soul is no longer up for grabs, I must warn you- he will try to kill you," Michael spoke up as we walked out onto a bridge that crossed the Seine River.
It was drizzling outside, not enough to warrant an umbrella, but just enough to be annoying.
"Will Heaven help keep us safe?" I asked Michael.
"Heaven will help keep you safe. I can not extend the same protection to your-," Michael cleared his throat a little.
"Boyfriend. Don't pretend you know otherwise, Michael," Grey snarled.
"We will discuss your predicament once we arrive," Michael straightened his jacket, stopping in the middle of the road.
He glanced around, making sure no civilians were watching.
"Follow me," he insisted.
Michael extended his astonishingly white wings out to either side of him, so bright they lit up the area around him. In a swift move, he pushed them downwards, shooting upwards into the sky. I glanced to Grey, who sucked in a breath and nodded, extending his own charcoal wings out to his sides.
Even though Michael's wings were large and literally glowed they were so white, nothing could compare to Grey's. They were larger than Michael's and the musculature was so much more defined. Grey looked like a weapon. Grey was a weapon. Sometimes I forgot that.
"You like what you see?" Grey eyed me with an arrogant smirk curling on his lips.
"You know I do," I chuckled and his smirk broke out into a dazzling crooked smile.
"I do," he breathed, taking a step towards me and looking down at me as if he were about to kiss me.
My heart thudded in my chest, as it does every time he's near.
And then, the little tease shot up into the air, leaving me all hot and bothered on the ground.
I let out a frustrated growl, his chuckle echoing down to me as I extended my wings out and shot up into the sky after him.
HI! I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to publish this. I'm trying to be more consistent, it's just harder than I thought it would be. Only a few chapters left though until the third and final book!!!
Any guesses on what the name of the next book will be?
Until next time, my loves.
-TJ