“And you want this?”I asked her.
Her cheeks grew darker as she curled her slight fingers around mine.“Very much.”She squeezed my hands.“We were meant for each other, and you were always meant to be our champion, Silas.You are our best warrior, and Michael hasn’t forgotten it.”
“He said this to you?”
She shook her head.“You know Michael.He is a male of few words, but it was most ardently implied.He knows it’s the truth, and so does our brethren.”
My heart was racing.Being exiled had hurt in ways I didn’t know were possible and had left wounds that would never heal.I missed Heaven so badly that I ached to go home—but this?
Ursula would never forgive me if I betrayed her again.
She also despises you.You have no future with her.
“Will you do it?”
Would I?Could I do it?
The scars on my back throbbed.It was probably all in my mind, but the absence of my wings was suddenly too much to bear.I dragged in a shuddering breath.
“Silas?”She squeezed my forearm.“I need your answer.”
I’d be a fool to say no.“What does he plan to do with the prize?”
“He only wants to ensure our good fortune, nothing more.”
Even if I’d still had my foresight, it wouldn’t have been able to guide me in this instance.Not when angels were directly involved.I had no idea if Rosalind or Michael had come to me with this deal in good faith.“And you’re sure that’s all?”The things Lucifer said, that the angels were up to something, kept playing through my mind.
“You know Michael.Are you truly questioning his motives?”
Michael was good.If there was anything fucked up going on, he wouldn’t be the one behind it.“This request is unusual; can you blame me for being suspicious?”
“Michael is only concerned with maintaining balance, that is all.You know Hell doesn’t play fair.We need as much good fortune as we can get.”
It definitely sounded like something Michael would say.He’d always been fair, and what Rosalind said made sense.Before I’d fallen, he’d covered for me, protected me, until I’d made it impossible for him to do it any longer.“I want to believe you, but you must understand that until today I’ve had no communication from any of you.You cast me out and forgot I existed.”
“I never forgot about you, Silas.I have prayed for you every night since we lost you.”A card appeared in her hand.“But if you need proof, this is from Michael, with the assurances you require.”
His seal was on it, his name scrawled above.
My heart raced faster.She was telling the truth.“If he can assure me that no harm will come to my teammate?—”
“You’ll do it?”
“First, I need an answer.My teammate?—”
“They will not be harmed,” she said and waved her hand over the card, adding my stipulations.“So it is written.”
It all seemed too good to be true, and honestly, I still wasn’t sure I could do it.“Will Nathaniel know if I agree to do this?”
She shook her head.“You will be acting alone.Heaven’s team in the tournament will have no knowledge of your deal with Michael.”
If I did this, if I agreed to Michael’s deal, I would get my wings back.I’d be whole again.
I could finally go home.
Ursula
“Thanks for this,” I said, taking the package Rune held out.“Especially on such short notice.”