their father murdered by a foreign god. They fight to remain true to me, even as Galal’s soldiers slaughter them.”
“Tell them to be more careful, then.” Jaron shrugged. “When the time comes, you will breed more.”
Vasu curled his lip. “I have not consorted with human women for a millennium. You know I tire of their attention.”
“I hear sorrow,” Barak growled, rising to his feet and looking west to the ancient city. “What is this? I thought the female was unharmed.”
“She formed a bond with one of the Irin scribes. He sacrificed himself for her.” Jaron’s voice held a faint note of admiration. “She mourns.”
“Does this change anything?” Vasu asked.
“No.”
Barak cocked his head. “Why did you allow the sacrifice? Did you foresee it?”
“I did. I was… curious.”
“And she mourns him?” Barak’s voice held no pity. His eyes were impassive as he stared into the distance, the evening sun flushing his pale skin a gold-tinted rose.
“She does.”
“You were curious?” Vasu asked, his voice holding more judgment than Jaron expected. Vasu was younger than his brothers, a mere boy when the Fallen had left their home. He had lived longer in the human realm than the heavenly. “Toying with humans is beneath you.”
“His sacrifice was incidental. Still, it is curious how she mourns.”
The three angels rested at the peak of the mountain, the hawks circling above them, screaming at their intrusion. Jaron relaxed, bronze and gold in the light, eyes watching the distance, seeing beyond time and space. His children, when it served him, bore traces of his foresight. Vasu stood slightly behind him, dark and brooding. His physical presence dwarfed his brothers. Not in size, for the tall, lean human form he donned was not imposing, but his energy, the tightly chained physicality of his presence, marked him as different, more terrestrial, than his brothers.
Barak sat silently next to Jaron, his brother’s mirror in eternity. While Jaron saw, Barak heard, his solemn presence the eternal and constant punctuation of Jaron’s curiosity. The two friends had existed in tandem for millennia. And now they struggled to attain what others thought was lost.
“Do you truly think it possible?” Barak asked, rising to his feet. “After all this time?”
Jaron narrowed his vision. Something was stirring in the distance. “Seven years or seven million, brother. He does not see time as we do. It must be possible.”
A flicker. A wavering in the heavens as the stars danced above. Jaron stood and walked to the edge of the cliff.
Barak asked, “What is this I hear?” His eyes sought Jaron’s, which were wide and filled with a long-lost emotion.
Wonder.
“A complication.”
Vasu darted to his side. “What do you see?”
“Look, my brothers.”
Then Jaron opened his vision, sending it to the two angels at his side. All three watched as the woman crouched in a hotel room. All three heard the words she uttered, then the tearing of the heavenly realm.
Vasu blinked. “Unexpected.”
“Indeed.”
“Does this change anything?” Barak asked.
“No. He was necessary to keep her alive. Other than that, he is incidental.”
“The female did this,” Vasu said.
“So it would seem.”
Barak said, “We always knew her powers would be unstable.”
“They all are.”
Vasu lifted an eyebrow, a decidedly human gesture that Jaron wondered if he was aware of. “Is it any wonder our sons fear them?” he murmured.
“She is a means to an end,” Jaron said. “That is all.”
Barak and Vasu exchanged a look but did not argue with their brother.
Vasu and Barak asked in unison, “Does this change our course?”
“No,” Jaron said, his eyes focused on a dark riverbank. “We do what we always do. We watch.”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
After a while, it seems repetitive to thank the same people over and over, but truly, my work would not be what it is without the support of my incredible family.
Thanks to my pre-readers, Kristy, Sarah, Kelli, Gen, and Natalie. You are my first line of defense.
Thanks again to all the reviewers and bloggers who promote my work and spread the word online and in person. Getting to know so many of you has been a blessing I never could have anticipated.
Thanks to my editing team, Anne and Sara. True professionals who make my work shine. And thanks to the incredible artists at Damonza for their vision and talent. You took a simple idea and brought it to life.
Many thanks to my agent, Jane Dystel, and all the team at Dystel and Goderich Literary Management.
Thanks to my girls. (You know who you are.)
And thanks, always, to my readers. Thank you for being enthusiastic about this new world. Thanks for your encouragement and kind words. I hope I will always do justice to the confidence you place in me as a storyteller.
A Note from the Author…
Countless individuals helped me with the research for this series, and the month I spent in Israel and Turkey was one of the most rewarding times of my life.
I’d like to thank the Telerant-Faith family, who made my time in Israel so wonderful. Experiencing a country as a tourist or student is nothing like experiencing it with a family. So many thanks to you.
Also, I’d like to express sincere gratitude to the staff of the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem and the staff and volunteers at the Israel Museum. To all the knowledgable guides who I had the pleasure of meeting, thank you.
To my best friend, Kelli, who took the time to travel with me, enabling me to visit many places I wouldn’t have been able to on my own. A great friend and a fantastic research assistant. Many, many thanks.
To the entire country of Turkey!
There are few places I have visited where I have felt more welcome. Your tradition of hospitality shines through your people, your businesses, and your whole culture. Thank you for making my visit such a wonderful experience. I can’t wait to return.
To the staff of the Ibrahim Pasha hotel in Istanbul, thank you so much. Your guidance and suggestions never steered me wrong. You were my home away from home for the time I was in your beautiful city, and I can’t wait to visit you again.
To my amazing guide in Cappadocia, Ruya Kivrim. I was so fortunate to have your knowledgable and fun guidance through the rich history of the region. You truly were a dream(!) to work with.
And to all the people I was fortunate to meet—shop owners, drivers, guides, fellow travelers, and so many more—thank you, thank you, thank you.
