“You need to be a good girl. Can you do that? Be a good girl?”
How many times had her mother asked her that? How many times had she promised to try? Well, she was no longer a girl. She was a woman—a mature fairy. As such, she’d live forever.
What was left for her? An eternity of walking the line between good, evil, and madness, that’s what.
It didn’t matter how she looked at it. She’d never be whole or healthy. The taint Dar had passed on to her was as much a part of her as her platinum curls. She was a monster trapped in a beautiful body. Nothing and no one could fix her.
Harley let the realization settle over her. Honestly, nobody had ever promised her otherwise, not Calan, her mother, Ian, or even the angels.
She let her eyelids drift shut, and the memory of another pair of eyes returned, not pale blue but lavender. The sight of her favorite angel’s face had always filled her with awe. They were all stunning, too gorgeous to be human. Even as a child she’d recognized the angels were the epitome of perfection, an ideology. Yes, they were alive. Not once had she ever thought them an illusion, but they were polished.
Like a perfect gem set on display.
But her purple-eyed angel wasn’t, which was why she’d been drawn to him most. He was also the only one who’d spoken to her as an adult. While the others had comforted and sung to her, he’d sat on the grass with her and told her the stark truth. She just hadn’t realized it then.
“Life is what you make of it. Good, bad, or ugly—it’s the one you’ve been handed, and how you meet its trials determines whether you win or lose,” she repeated his words.
“I was right about you. You are strong enough to meet your challenge, and my sacrifice for you will not be wasted.”
The words spoken in a low drawl drew her out of her thoughts. Her bedroom had been replaced by puffy white clouds. She scanned the vast nothingness, searching for the castle that had always been a part of her childhood dreams or the meadows where she danced with her angels but didn’t find either familiar sight.
With a frown on her face, Harley faced her visitor. Her angel. He sat with one knee bent and his arm propped casually on it, but instead of a flowing robe, he wore jeans and a white tee. She couldn’t help but wonder why.
“It’s because this is an unofficial visit, and one I will likely be punished for,” he responded to her unspoken question.
He could read her mind. She’d learned that years ago. It didn’t faze or upset her. He was her favorite angel. She tilted her head. “Then why did you come?”
For a long moment, he only stared at her. His stark gaze trapped her. She’d never thought his eyes cold, only weary and worn down, as if he’d seen everything and nothing affected him anymore.
He lifted one corner of his mouth, no doubt amused by her assessment. His smirk slipped in the next heartbeat, replaced by a hard press of his lips. “I made a mistake, Harley. One I regret. In my defense, I’d thought myself pious, even righteous. I was wrong, though, and my actions condemned my brother.”
She waited for him to explain more. He didn’t. She leaned forward. “Who is your brother?”
“He no longer has a name.” He glanced away. “At least not any I may utter, nor can I say how I deceived him. I have taken a vow of silence on the matter.”
She accepted the lack of information and didn’t bother asking for more. If he claimed not to be able to explain it, he couldn’t. He wouldn’t lie to her. She instinctively knew that. Maybe she was a fool for trusting him, but she did. She felt as if she’d known him forever.
“Not forever.” His lips curled slightly. “A millennium. I was entrusted with your safety. I took my promise seriously and kept your soul close to me until you could be reborn.”
“So you are my angel.” Harley grinned, and he dipped his head, a matching smile on his lips. “Who coerced you into saving me?”
“I guarded your soul, but I didn’t save you. Calan did. He just didn’t know who he was rescuing at the time.” He dropped a hand to the floor and leaned forward. “His mate.”
She glanced at her marked palm. “Not for much longer.”
Silence stretched. Her angel offered her no comforting words, no hope, not even a shoulder to cry on. Did she really expect otherwise?
No, and that’s why he’s my favorite angel.
She met his assessing gaze. “You said you’d made a mistake with your brother. What does it have to do with me?”
He shrugged in answer.
She sighed. “Can’t say, right? Your vow of silence?”
“Exactly.” His eyes sparkled. She saw the hint of his personality hidden in their lavender depths. Just as quickly as it flared, it faded. “I came to make sure you remembered what I said to you about your hero.”
She closed her eyes and let her dreams return. All the angels who’d taken turns visiting her had told her to endure because her hero was waiting for her. He’d love, protect, and cherish her. She had found him, and Calan did. She knew, mated to her or not, he’d always do his best to uphold those truths.
“Yes. Calan’s love is real and deep. Never doubt it. That is not what I want you to recall. Do you remember”—he lowered his voice as if his next words
