Malach jerks her around to face his fury, “NO, You should have called for me! I would have come to your aid! You know you can count on me, Elina!”
She looks up into the emerald eyes she has come to love, and Elina cups his face whispering, “I could not do that to you! It’s what they wanted, all of them! You are my weakness, and it appears they know I am yours, Malach!”
He takes her hand and rests it on his cross. “Have you any faith in me, Elina?” seeing the pain in his eyes she knows what he does not. She has seen what will happen if she lets him fall.
“You said not to trust anyone. What I think does not matter! I will not lose you to them!!”
“What do you think will happen to me if I lose you? Does that matter to you? I will become heaven’s worse nightmare, darker and stronger than anything they have every faced before! Elina, I need you,” he says darkly with hunger in his eyes. “I am already lost to you, but I am not fallen yet. Put some clothes on,” he says pushing away from her. “Then you will tell me everything he told you and we will figure this out together.”
With trembling hands, she dresses in fresh clothes, marveling at the scars on her body. He healed her but, looking at the reminders on her body, she wonders if she will be able to complete this task. He has yet to tell her where the scroll is and she worries about his strength.
“He will not fall because of me,” she tells herself as she brushes her hair. As she walks out into the morning sun, she smiles at the memories. Home, she thinks. This is where she feels most at home, with him, her beautiful angel. Sitting on a rock cliff above, she stares in awe at him. His beautiful blue black wings are stretched out and his body makes her mouth water. The muscles on his arms and chest call out for her hands. What would she give to taste every inch of his body?
He stands stretching and leaps into the air. He swoops down, and dips low enough to drag the tips of his wings through the cold water and sprays her with it. Squealing, she jumps back, and hears him say, “Cool off, Keeper. I am not immune to your thoughts and feelings.”
Embarrassed, she spins to put space between them, but finds him blocking her path again. “Maybe you should take me back now, Malach.”
With a laugh he asks, “Is the Keeper afraid of an angel then?” Looking up into his eyes, she knows he is trying to lighten the moment and wonders how far she should push him.
“Don’t you remember what happened the last time you asked me that Malach?” She smiles when she places her hand on his heart and feels it speed up under her palm. His hand covers hers, savoring her touch.
“Someday we will finish this conversation, but not today.” He steps away and gestures for her to sit. “Tell me everything that happened. Start at the ranch.” Quickly looking away, she tells him of Nameed and all that followed.
Frustrated he runs his hands through his hair, “Elina, all of this would have been avoided had you called for me. I will not pretend to know everything that is going on. I am not the Maker, but an honored member of his team. I can promise you that I did not know about the village. I thought they had made it out.”
When she sees the truth in his eyes, Elina lowers her eyes, “Malach, can you forgive my stupidity? So much is happening, and I am afraid I will fail us all.” In shame she walks away to sit on a boulder.
Kneeling in front of her he asks, “Do you trust me, Elina?” Tears roll unchecked down her cheeks.
“Yes,” she whispers, “But I no longer trust myself around you, Malach.”
He lifts her face until her turquoise eyes meet his, “Then I will be strong enough for both of us. We can do this together.”
Oh, how she wishes it were true. “I have seen what will happen to you; I can’t let that happen...”
Irritated by her stubbornness, he stands up and moves away. He keeps his wings close to his body. “I thought you were stronger than this. It appears I have one more lesson to teach you, human. Fear, doubt, and worry, are all demons sent to weaken your faith! It is the tool they used to trace you. That is how they found you in the pyramid, and that is why your power failed you inside!”
Shocked, she faces him sensing the truth in his words. “I am sorry, Malach. You are right.”
Angry, he marches close to her and tells her, “You are gifted, but do not pretend or think even for a moment that you understand God’s plan. You are not invincible, Elina and Raphaim is just a complication.”
Humbled, Elina turns away to think, rubbing her shoulder. “Raphaim said Varena is imprisoned, that he can’t free her alone. He was very possessive of her; he called her, his Rena. Malach, I can’t bear to think of what she has been through, how has she survived it?” She moves closer to him, needing to touch him, she reaches out, “If I had known…”
Pulling her close, he covers her hand with his larger one “If you had known you would have joined her in Hell. You were not strong enough to face him.”
“How could it have been, Micah. I don’t understand that part, Malach. How could he have betrayed us all?”
Softly he brushes a strand of hair away from her pale face; he runs his fingers through her silky black hair. Elina leans into his hand unaware that she is doing it.
“Samiel is the Mocker, Elina. He
