Providence

I could hear him, but I couldn’t respond. I realized just how fast I was sinking when my mind wanted to answer him but my mouth refused to form the words. He kissed my exposed shoulder and relaxed his head on the pil ow behind me. As I floated into unconsciousness, I felt his arm tighten around me once more, blanketing me with the warmth of his skin. I thought I heard him whisper something else, but I was too deep inside the darkness to make out the words

Chapter Twelve

Eli

My chest hurt. My eyes hurt. My head felt like a railroad spike had been driven through it. I wanted to scream, but that would only make it more excruciating. The only part of the moment that offered a grain of comfort was that I was stil in Jared’s bed. I felt colder than I usual y felt when waking up in his apartment, and I knew at once he wasn’t with me.

“Jared?” I rasped, unable to speak louder than a whisper.

I felt the bed indent beside me and I winced at the nausea the movement induced. The fissure I managed between my eyelids let in an infinitesimal amount of light and I cowered from it, bringing my hands over my eyes.

“I’l get the light,” Jared spoke in a hushed voice.

The assaulting brightness that seeped through my eyelids faded and I tried again.

“Much better, thank you,” I whispered, pul ing myself up on my elbows.

“I brought you breakfast.” Jared nodded to the bedside table. Two aspirin, a large glass of water and a triangle of toast sat on a plate beside my picture.

I forced a smile and immediately reached for the aspirin. Jared handed me the water and I tossed the pil s to the back of my tongue, gulping down the cool liquid. It felt uncomfortable against my parched throat, as if my body wanted to reject any further fluids that might cause more anguish.

“I feel awful,” I groaned.

“I know.”

“I don’t usual y get a hangover. I must have been absurdly drunk,” I said, rubbing my face with the tips of my fingers.

“You were,” he said flatly.

I sank into the mattress. “I’m sorry you had to babysit me. As if you don’t have to do it, anyway. I’m so embarrassed.”

Jared attempted a smile. “Don’t apologize for having a good time with your friends. It’s just…uncomfortable.” His eyes unfocused and his eyebrows pul ed in.

“What’s uncomfortable?”

Jared rubbed the back of his neck. “This hazy, painful, tired, irritable heaviness you’re feeling.”

“Oh,” I breathed, stil not understanding. I hadn’t considered that Jared would be sensing the same symptoms. I sank deeper into the mattress, feeling very selfish. “Do you have a headache?”

Jared laughed with a puff of air. “I don’t know. I’ve never had one before. I’m sure it’s a lesser version of what you’re feeling.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I thought it was faint, like a mosquito buzzing in your ear?”

Jared looked away from me, clearly troubled. “It’s getting stronger.”

“How?”

“I’m not sure. My father never mentioned our senses increasing more than what I’ve always experienced.”

“I’m sorry, Jared. I didn’t know or I wouldn’t have—”

“Hey,” he interrupted, “don’t worry about me. I just need to figure out what this is. It bothers me that I don’t feel one hundred percent.”

“Oh.”.

“What?” Jared asked, as if I’d pul ed him out of a deep thought.

“The no-drinking policy. You feel off balance this morning and you like feeling in control al of the time.”

“You say it like it’s a bad thing,” he said defensively.

“You don’t have to be perfect al the time, Jared. It’s okay to let your guard down.”

I leaned in to hug him but he pul ed away just enough to make me hesitate. As soon as he realized what he’d done, he seemed to regret it, which made him even angrier.

“You sound like Claire,” he snapped.

“Claire and I are in agreement on this one, then. You are half-human. It’s okay to make mistakes,” I said, my words more rigid than I’d meant them to be.

“Not for someone like me. Certainly not for someone that has the daughter of Jack Grey for a Taleh. It’s like you have no sense of danger, Nina.

After everything you’ve been through lately, I don’t understand it.”

He mentioned my father to get a reaction, so I kept my temper in check. I raised an eyebrow at his mini-tirade. “Did I strike a nerve?”

Jared’s unending patience from the night before had run out. “If I let my guard down you die. Do you understand that?”

I took a drink of water and nodded. “We die.”

Jared took the glass from me and slammed it on the table. “Do you think I care about that? I would die for you a thousand times if I could. You’re the only thing that matters.”

I crossed my arms, incensed with his tender words mixed with their biting tone. “What is wrong with you? Why are you so upset?”

Jared leaned his elbows on his knees, looking to the floor. “I had company this morning.”

“I didn’t hear anyone come in,” I said, surprised.

“It’s because he doesn’t use doors. It was Samuel. He was a friend of my father’s. He’s concerned about the situation I’ve put you in.”

I held up a hand. “Back up. What do you mean he doesn’t use doors?”

“He’s an Arch.”

“An Archangel was here this morning?” I asked, mystified. “Do they look like Gabe? Do they look human?”

“Yes,” he answered.

“So if they look human, how do you know?”

“Archs have the same light hair, flawless skin, and the bright blue eyes, although Samuel and his family are the exception. They are nobility among the Archs, and are a contrast to the rest of them.”

“Contrast?” I had hoped I would learn to decipher Jared’s cryptic explanations, but I stil failed consistently.

“He’s a Cimmerian, a line of dark angels. They are the strongest of Archs, they’re sovereigns and they’re warriors. They are assigned to those that are marked by Hel —the humans who are born to be stalked and tormented. They go toe to toe with demons quite frequently.”

“Oh,” I said, thinking about what kind of creature had been just a few feet from me while I slept. Anything built to wrestle demons had to be a frightening sight to behold.

Jared continued, “In addition to that, I can smel them a mile away. It’s very difficult for them to sneak up on us. Or each other.”

“Like fresh laundry, soap and a thunderstorm?” I asked, the corners of my mouth turning up.

Jared frowned for a minute in thought and then his mouth mimicked mine. “I hadn’t thought about it. To me it’s those things times ten. I would describe them as smel ing like the cleanest air I’ve ever experienced.” After a short pause, he looked at me with curiosity. “What made you say that?”

I smiled, grabbing his hand. “That’s how you smel .”

“I do? Hmmm. Good to know,” he said, nodding his head in thought.

“So…Samuel…?”

Jared nodded, his eyes darkening again. “He’s noticed an increase in activity in the area.”