I shake my head, my voice reaching a far higher octave than anticipated. “No, I won’t leave him.” I dig my heels in, refusing to leave the room.
Without warning, a black cloud unfolds in the middle of the room. It starts small and expands outward until Wade’s dad walks out.
At first, I’m almost relieved to see him, until I realize what it could actually mean.
“No, no…” I say, shaking my head in warning to him.
“Goddamn it. Even when I know this is a supernatural case, I never expect stuff like this to actually happen in my hospital,” Dr. Lockstad says, pressing her fingertips to her chest and exhaling slowly.
“This is Wade’s dad,” I say, my voice rising to a higher octave.
“I don’t care who he is,” she spits back. “Please—the two of you need to step into the hall. We need to work here.”
Wade’s father turns his piercing stare to her. His silver gaze floats up and down her length, as if sussing out whether or not it’s worth fighting her or not. Instead, his gaze moves past her and rests on Wade. For a moment, his features soften.
“Very well,” he says. Without another word, he walks out into the hallway.
I stand in the middle of the room with my mouth hanging open. But after a moment, I follow him, afraid to be left alone in the room with all the commotion.
“You can’t take him,” I say, jutting out my chin in defiance.
But deep down, even before he says a word, I know if he’s here to take Wade, there’s nothing I can do to stop him.
People in the hallway stop to stare at us, but I can’t even bring myself to care.
“You know as well as I do, it’s his time,” the Angel of Death says, his voice nothing more than a hint above a whisper.
“I don’t understand. Why can’t you do something? Stop this—” I plead, pointing back to Wade’s room. “It’s too early. He’s too young.”
“You know very well my powers are limited,” he says, a hint of sadness hidden in his tone. “As much as I’d like to change his course, I still have to bend to the direction things have been taken.”
“What about the mark? What’s going to happen to him if he—” the word gets stuck in my throat and I fight the urge to be sick.
Even after all the death I’ve seen, this is one I can’t accept.
He straightens his shoulders, but doesn’t say anything at first.
“You lied to us about what it was,” I say, clenching my fists.
His lips are a thin line, but he nods. “It was for your own protection. If you were to know what it truly was, I was afraid it would do more harm than good.”
A peculiar sense of relief washes over me. “So, he’s not expelled?”
The Angel of Death eyes me silently for a moment. “No.”
Solace mixes with anger. All this time, we thought he no longer had the legacy of powers. That he was mortal, but in just as much danger as I am. And while that might be true, he’s actually safe. He might die, yes. But he’ll come back. He just won’t be human. He’ll be forced to do his work as—
“I’m pregnant. Did you know that?” I blurt out. “If I can survive this—our child will be without a father. You know what that did to Wade. How can you allow this to happen?”
My phone starts ringing in my pocket, but I don’t dare remove my glare from Wade’s father to check it.
The Angel of Death’s eyes flash with a mixture of hurt and anger and he steps forward, suddenly looming over me. “I have done nothing but try to protect the two of you. Much to the detriment of my own safety—as well as his, I might add. If I interfere any more, the results would be far more catastrophic.”
“More catastrophic? Is that meant to be funny?”
“Child, your pitiful human existence is a blip on the map of the universal flow. What do you think would happen if the Angel of Death’s lineage were to be cursed the way your family has been?”
I take a step back, considering his words. “I…I don’t know,” I admit.
“It would be the start of annihilation,” he says, his nostrils flaring.
“Why do you think I tried so hard to keep you two apart?” he says, his forehead a cluster of contempt. “I don’t want him to miss out on his family the way I did. But there were signs—far before you and Wade ever met. The signs all pointed to two possibilities. Wade’s early death or the end of the delicate balance of existence. I thought if I could just keep the two of you apart…”
All of a sudden, a loud, persistent alarm sounds from Wade’s room. I turn, horrified by the screech of it because I know exactly what it means.
Wade’s heart is flatlining.
Chapter 22
The Only Way Forward
I turn to the doorway, my heart in my throat.
The monitors continue to squeal their death cry and Dr. Lockstad rushes back and forth in a flurry of activity. Both nurses flit around like bats, hitting different locations in the room and handing things to her as she barks out orders.
“No, no—it’s too soon. I’m not ready,” I squeal, spinning back to Wade’s dad. “Do something. Stop this.”
His face hardens, but he doesn’t make a single move.
“Goddamn it,” I spit. “You’re the Angel of Death, for fucksake. You’re telling me you’re just gonna sit this one out?” Twisting on my heel, I plan to rush straight into the room and do whatever I can.
To hell with the rules.
I’d damn myself and everyone in this whole godforsaken world to have him safe and sound.
Instead, I’m pulled up short
