“No,” I swore. “I’m not like them and they aren’t the things that attacked the party. Those were demonic reapers. Will and Marcus are angelic reapers. They help us, help me fight the demonic ones.”

“Help you fight?”

“Will and Marcus aren’t angels,” I explained. “But I am.”

A little bit of Kate’s old self came back. “Just because you’re sheltered and kind of a prude doesn’t make you an angel.”

I couldn’t help but smile a little. “No, literally. I’m the archangel Gabriel. I was sent here to protect human souls from the demonic reapers, the same creatures who killed my parents. The angelic reapers are on my—our—side. Will is my Guardian, the strongest angelic reaper the archangels could find. He’s like my bodyguard and that’s why we’re together all of the time.”

Her lips parted and I could tell she was calculating in her mind. “I always knew he wasn’t your tutor. No tutor is that hot.”

I laughed out loud, a nervous but happy laugh. I hugged her tight, feeling an enormous amount of relief and fear. I was so happy to finally get to spill my guts to my best friend, but I was also terrified of bringing her into the world I was so desperate to share with her. “Let’s go inside, huh?” I suggested. “Get some coffee.”

Kate’s hands no longer trembled as she held the steaming mug of coffee. Straight black. She said that she needed the kick in the face to think clearly. We sat next to each other on the couch in the living room while Marcus sat in the chair on Kate’s other side and Will leaned against the wall some ways away, his arms folded over his chest.

“I can’t believe what really happened to your mom and dad,” she said weakly. “I’m so sorry you had to keep all of that inside—keep everything a secret.”

“It hasn’t been easy,” I agreed.

“Does this mean that Landon is in Hell?”

“No,” I said. “I killed the reaper before it could even try. I don’t know how much a demonic reaper needs to ingest in order to take a soul, to be honest. But it takes at least one bite and that’s not a bite I’m willing to risk.”

Her eyes moved from Marcus to Will and back. “And you two. You don’t eat people. You fight the ones that do.”

Marcus leaned forward, putting a hand on her knee. “Right. We’re soldiers, basically. Some of us fight in battle, others protect holy relics from those who would use them for evil. We live for hundreds, thousands of years.”

She swallowed hard. “How old are you?”

“Two hundred twelve…ish. I lost count.”

“Wow,” she breathed. “That explains so much, though. You’ve had a lot of time to gain experience. I wondered how you were so damn good at—”

Will cleared his throat and she gave him a curious look. Marcus beamed far too satisfyingly.

“And you?” she asked Will.

“Six hundred twenty.”

She huffed. “Let’s hope the pattern sticks, for Ell’s sake.”

My cheeks lit up in flames and I gaped at her. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever been more embarrassed than in that moment. “Wow, really, Kate?”

“Yeah, really. I have to look out for my girl, right?”

I grinned at her and sighed. “There are more important things to think about right now, you know.”

She shrugged. “If you insist,” she grumbled.

“Like your blue hair!”

Kate sighed. “I can’t get the blue highlighter out. I must have taken six showers and it’s still blue. I’m sure I’ll have to get the color stripped and redone.”

I tried to offer her a sympathetic smile. “It’s not so bad, really.”

“Liar.”

“Do you want to talk?” Marcus asked.

She gave him a sad look disguised with a little smile. “Yeah. We should.”

Kate and Marcus stepped out onto the porch, leaving Will and me alone. He watched the floor, hands clasped together, lost in thought.

“I feel so conflicted,” I told him. “I’m so happy that Kate knows, but I can’t get what happened to Landon out of my head. I tried to protect them by keeping them away from this world, but Landon is still dead. My parents, Nathaniel, Sabina, Landon…I can’t lose anyone else. My heart can’t take it.”

“Some things are out of our control,” he said. “We have to learn to accept and adapt.”

“I never wanted Kate to have to adapt,” I confessed. “Not to this.”

“Now it comes down to what she wants. She may be happier. Her relationship with Marcus could improve. You haven’t been the only one hiding a double life from her.”

I knew what he meant, but I wasn’t sure if I could stand the danger Kate would be in and the vulnerability of being an ordinary human girl in a relationship with an immortal reaper who had many, many enemies. I thought of Emelia, the girl Cadan had loved a long time ago. I didn’t want Kate to end up like her, but it wasn’t my place to decide what was right for Kate. Her life was her own, and if she wanted Marcus in it, that was something I’d have to learn to accept.

I rose from my seat and went into the kitchen. The windows were open and I could hear Kate and Marcus’s conversation out on the porch. Even if I had no say in what Kate would do, it didn’t hurt for me to try and find some consolation.