Immortal (Fallen Angels #6)(89)
Author: J.R. Ward

“They have joined the righteous herein. The Creator saw to it immediately after Devina was banished to her Well of Souls.”

“So that’s where she is.”

“And that is where she shall stay.”

“Good deal. That’s … good.”

The savior left a moment later, and Nigel stared at the spot where he had stood. There was so much to be grateful for, so much to rejoice in … and yet he was sad to the point of despair.

“If you will excuse me,” he said without meeting anyone in the eye. “I shall retire to my quarters.”

Byron smiled. “But of course. There is much to recover from.”

Bertie nodded as he slipped Tarquin a bit of a biscuit. “By all means, we shall watch o’er it all for you.”

Nigel nodded and turned away. There was no reason to wait for any response from Colin, even though the archangel was the only one he truly cared about having one from.

As he made his way across the grass, he thought of the humans down below, living, dying, falling in love, getting their hearts broken. They were stronger than he had ever known, he realized—for all these millennia he had wrongly pitied them their mortal coil.

Now he viewed them as triumphant.

They had to not just fear loss, but live through the reality of it … and the victory that had transpired was not going to change that. With evil gone out of the world, they still had death to contend with, and how he respected them for their resilience.

When he reached his tent, he pulled back the flap and stepped inside to the luxury he had once found so intrinsic to his well-being. Now, it was all simply trappings of a colorful sort.

His eyes went over to the chaise longue where he had done his terrible act, and although he hated the thing, he’d kept it for a reason. The reminder of his arrogance and his faulty thinking was necessary to—

“Do you know what I am?”

Nigel wheeled around. Colin was standing just inside the tent, his eyes remote, his body filling the entrance.

“I-I-I…” Nigel required a moment to contend with his surprise. “I’m sorry, whatever do you mean?”

Colin entered and did a little turn, holding his strong arms out from his body. “Do you know what I am?”

You are the love of my existence, Nigel thought.

“You are Colin,” he said instead.

The other archangel made a non-committal sound in his throat—such that there was no telling whether the inquiry had been answered correctly. “There is a saying, down upon the earth about one such as myself. I’m certain you have heard of it?”

“I’m afraid I am not a mind reader.” Nigel touched his own head. “This does not work as well as it used to.”

Colin came a little closer, and closer still. And then he did the most miraculous thing. He reached out and touched Nigel’s face, brushing down his cheek. “The saying that is so often tossed about among the souls down below is … ‘To err is human, to forgive is divine.’”

Nigel’s heart began to pound. And then his head became dizzy. “Yes, yes, I have heard this.”

Please do not break my heart, he thought. Even though I broke yours.

“And what am I,” Colin prompted.

“You are…” Tears made things go wavy. “You are an archangel. You are God’s favored warrior, protector of Heaven and earth. You are…”

He couldn’t get the last word out. So Colin finished for him. “I am divine.” Colin leaned in and kissed him. “I am divine. And I forgive you.”

Nigel was not gallant at all as he threw himself into his lover’s arms. He knew not to question the gift of this reunion. He did not care what conclusions Colin had wrestled over and come to terms with. He didn’t dwell on what precise realization had changed everything.

In the past, he would have insisted on knowing the particulars.

Now? He took what he was offered and held on for dear life.

There were other human sayings that came to mind, ones involving gifts and horses and mouths, even one involving “happily” and “ever” and “after.”

But as he eased back in Colin’s arms, he went with the most powerful human saying of them all.

“I love you,” he said softly. “I love you … forever.”

As Adrian let himself into the back of the old house, he had about thirty-five thousand calories of Dunkin’ Donuts between the three bags and the box of twenty-four assorted that he’d just bought. It was around four in the afternoon, and even though some might have considered the load breakfast material only, he was far less judgmental—and because he was a good guy, he’d even tested the lot for poison, eating two jellies and a chocolate-covered on the way home. Talk about whetting the appetite. He was so looking forward to noshing a dozen more, drinking his coffee, and so then crashing with Eddie to recover from the night before.

“You got my java?” he said over his shoulder.

Eddie looked at him stupidly for a second. And then got with the program. “Yeah, um … yeah. Yeah, I do.”

Yup, Eddie had had his brains fucked out.

Ad smiled and headed right for the table. They’d done a trio of women throughout the course of the evening—or had it been four? It was the good ol’ days back again—made all the more intense because of the almost-lost-it’s that had happened.

Now? For once in their immortal lives, he and his buddy were going to take a vacay. Maybe head somewhere warm, where the ladies wore thongs and nothing else, the beer was cold, and the fishing was spectacular—

The sound of something scratching at the back door brought his head around. Eddie opened things back up and the little scruffy dog that limped in was a welcome sight.

Dog had disappeared during this last round.

But now the little guy had returned, running in circles around Eddie’s ankles, jumping up into Ad’s lap.

“Hey, you wanna share?” Ad asked. When he got a bark in return, he popped the top of the box and hunted around for something that didn’t have nuts. Although considering that Dog was not actually a dog, it probably didn’t matter—

“What’s that smell?” he said, recoiling.

And that was when he saw the smoke rising from the surface of the table. Dog had jumped up and out of his lap and was putting a paw down … under which a pattern was burning.

Ad slumped in his chair. “No. Uh-uh. No way. We need a break—”

“Oh, fuck me,” Eddie breathed.