Issa felt uneasy.

They'd been walking in the snowstorm for a few miles now and although she'd kept her eyes and ears peeled, she saw and heard nothing.

It was too quiet.

"Do you still have that gun with you?" she asked, without much hope. She'd carried his almost naked form through what felt like half of Zagreb. If there had been a gun, she hadn't seen it.

But to her surprise, he rummaged underneath his layers of jackets and pullovers until he reached that small bit of angel robe around his hips. He gave it a shake and the gun fell out, seemingly out of nothing.

Issa blinked several times and touched the robe. It was cool but flimsy underneath her fingers. "How?"

Edvardiel grinned. "Here. See?" He slipped the gun into it and Issa felt her hand sink into the material as though it were water, her fingers closing around the gun.

She looked at her hand in amazement. "But your stomach's supposed to be there!" It was actually much lower than his stomach, right between his— Do not go there, Issa. No corrupting the angel, remember?

"Not exactly my stomach." Edvardiel cleared his throat. Was he baiting her?

Issa withdrew her hand together with the gun and looked down at herself. She had angel robe on her too, the ones he'd wrapped around her like bandages. Experimentally, she pinched a strip between her fingers and tried to do the same thing, and all of a sudden the thin pieces melded into each other, bloodstains dissolving, and the gun disappeared inside what was now a short, loose-hanging dress.

Issa grappled with the dress, flustered, and Edvardiel chuckled. "It does what it wants sometimes."

"Where's the gun?" she asked. The material felt thin and sheer and the gun was—

"Right here." Edvardiel's hand sank right where her heart was supposed to be—the weirdest thing ever, because she couldn't feel it—and pulled out the gun.

"Crazy," she said, and he chuckled again.

"If I'd known it would amuse you this much, I'd have shown it to you earlier."

Issa shook her head. "I still don't get where it goes."

"A pocket of Heaven, if I had to guess," Edvardiel said. He looked at her. "The dress looks nice on you."

"Everything looks nice on me," Issa said, displeased. "It's part of Lilith's design. Speaking of which," she readjusted the gun in her hand. "Something's up. It's been two days and no one has come to find us."

"Maybe Lilith thinks you're still on the way."

"No, she definitely knows," Issa said. "She can see through her demons' eyes. Her Acolytes' too, if they're wearing their orbs." They. How quickly she'd distanced herself from the other Acolytes. She'd had orbs too. They were gone—if they hadn't shattered when the human named Leah had shot her, they'd have dissolved by now.

"Orbs?"

"A second set of eyes," Issa said. They were excruciating to wear and even more painful to remove—Issa knew because she'd ripped hers out at every chance. She'd had to fight half-blind afterwards but it was a price she was willing to pay. They couldn't put new ones in while her eyes were damaged.

Besides, even the Acolytes who never took theirs off had to put in new ones every couple of days because their bodies kept liquefying it. Issa wondered how much Lilith had seen through hers. She couldn't believe she'd forgotten about it—meeting the angel had addled her brain.

"Are you wearing them now?" Edvardiel asked.

Issa shook her head.

"Can she hear through you?"

"No. We're not demons. We're not really hers," Issa said. Lilith's domain was Hell. Acolytes used to be humans, which made them earthly beings.

Edvardiel nodded slowly. "So you're free as long as I keep obstructing her?"

"Keep?" Issa tilted her head. "You mean it's not a one-time thing?"

She felt him steel himself through their bond, as though he'd made an important decision.

He beckoned her closer, lowering his voice. "This is the plan," he said, his breath misting in the cold. "The key to Heaven's gates are angel wings. If we can find my wings, we can open the gates."

It was that simple.

His wings.

At her stare, he said, "We're friends, aren't we? You trusted me with the Binding. I trust you with this."

"What about Heaven's secrets?"

Edvardiel exhaled. "I trust you. And if you help me, we can work better together. Stopping the Apocalypse is more important than Heaven's secrets. It's more important than my redemption."

Issa was floored. She could feel his yearning to return to Heaven but he'd put all of it aside. For the Apocalypse. For their friendship.

"It's Heaven's loss if they don't take you back," she said. "And I'm not saying that to make you feel better." She frowned. "That's why Lilith imprisoned you. She was afraid that you would open Heaven's gates. But…" Issa rubbed her head. "But why didn't she just kill you? Is it because she can't?"

"Angel wings can only be destroyed by angels," Edvardiel said. "She probably needs me to destroy the last key." His determination blazed through their bond. "I won't do it."

Issa's mind was running at a hundred miles per hour. "Do you think she found your wings?" she said. "Is that why she sent me to fetch you after all these years?"

Edvardiel exhaled. "I don't know. I don't know where my wings are, but I think I should be able to sense them if they're close by."

Dread filled her stomach. "Seraph. I think Lilith has your wings. It's the only thing that makes sense. That's why she hasn't looked for us. She knows we're going to have to go to her either way."

"Then we'll go there," Edvardiel said. "I'm not afraid of her."

Horror washed over Issa.

"You can't," she said at once.

He frowned.

"You're the last angel on earth. You're our last hope," Issa said. "You can't go to Lilith."

"I'm the last angel on earth, which is precisely why I have to go," Edvardiel said steadily. "It's the only way to stop the Apocalypse."

"And if you die?"

"She won't kill me," Edvardiel said. "She needs me if she wants to destroy the wings."

Issa was trying not to scream at him. "She'll break you." She gripped the gun so hard, the metal dented in her hand. "You have no idea what it's like. She's the Empress of Hell. She will break you."

"I won't break," Edvardiel said.

"Then she'll kill you," Issa said. "She has no mercy—"

"What do you propose we do then?"

"I go alone," she said. "I go alone and find your wings."

"How are you going to find my wings without me?" Edvardiel asked.

"I'll find a way. I know her lair better than you anyway."

Edvardiel raised his brows. "And if she kills you?"

"Get another Acolyte," she said. "I'm replaceable. You're not."

Edvardiel looked aghast. "You're not replaceable."

"Yes, I am," Issa said. "I was never meant to survive the Apocalypse. It's a miracle I'm still alive. I've killed so many. Maybe this was my task all along. Maybe this was why we met. Let me do this one thing."

Edvardiel's skin burned gold, his anger zipping through their bond. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"Seraph—"

"I don't want to do this. I don't want to stop you against your will, Issa, so please."

"So don't stop me," Issa said, lifting her chin. "You said you wanted to be my friend."

"Friends don't let their friends go on a suicide mission!"

"Stopping the Apocalypse is worth more than my life."

"Opening Heaven's gates might not stop the Apocalypse."

"It's worth a try," Issa said. "The possibility is worth it."

Edvardiel shook his head. "Maybe my wings are elsewhere," he said. "Then I'd have sent you to die for nothing."

"You don't know that I'm going to die."

"We should check other places first," Edvardiel said.

"Like where?"

"Where I was imprisoned. Or where I fell."

"Your void was in Koprivnica. You were there. You searched it, didn't you?"

"We could look again," Edvardiel said.

"You're stalling," Issa said. "Wasting our time. Do you realise that if you run out of glory, I won't be able to stop myself from dragging you back to Lilith?"

"I have enough glory."

The conversation was going nowhere.

Issa sighed and kneaded her temples. "Do you promise to let me go to Lilith's lair if we don't find your wings?"

Edvardiel turned away. "We'll find my wings."

"Promise me."

Edvardiel paused. "I promise not to stop you," he said. "But I can't promise that I won't come with you."

"Edvardiel." She glared.

"You can't do this to me." He drew himself up to his full height, indignant. "You can't make a double standard where you tell me I can't tell you what to do but you can. You can't expect me to let you go on a suicide mission, and then turn around and tell me I'm not allowed to do the same."

She jabbed a finger into his chest. "There's one big difference between us. You're a fucking angel. I'm not. That makes me replaceable but not you. Why are we arguing about something this obvious?"

"Yes, I truly wonder how it's not obvious to you that a whole human being isn't replaceable," he snapped.

Issa bristled. "For fuck's sake, it's not about me, personally. It's my function. Any Acolyte can take my place."

"And they aren't you."

"Fuck me," she said, infuriated.

"I think I'd very much enjoy it," he said unexpectedly.

And then he kissed her.

Issa imploded. His touch set her blood on fire. He gripped her waist and her neck, his lips claiming hers in a way that was anything but gentle. The fiery heat of his body burned through the unbuttoned jackets and the layers of pullovers, enveloping her in that wonderful way that made her never want to let go. Then she remembered she couldn't follow him to Heaven. And she wasn't dragging a damn angel to Hell.

It took every bit of her willpower but she managed to put her hands on his chest, giving him a push that broke their kiss.

"Friends don't kiss their friends," she gasped, her heart hammering in her chest.

Edvardiel was breathless too, his skin glowing so brightly it was blinding. He stepped back. "Sorry. I didn't mean—"

"Oh no, I loved it." She cackled, a little unhinged. "I'm only thinking about your redemption. I'm not sure fucking a demon's servant will look very good on your list of sins."

"Can't be worse than killing an angel," he said.

She crossed her arms tightly, not trusting her hands. Her body still throbbed with desire so powerful that she ached. "I'm not going to be the reason you can't return to Heaven. I have enough conscience for that."

"Maybe I don't want to go back to Heaven," he said.

It was Eve and the fucking apple all over again. Her allure was that lethal.

Issa's smile faded. "I'm not worth it, seraph."

As the swell of lust cooled, she felt his self-consciousness through their connection.

"I'm just watching out for you. Since we're friends and all." She didn't know why she was clarifying this. "If it were up to me, I'd have ripped off your clothes on the first day."

Edvardiel glowed. The bond told her he wasn't entirely opposed to the idea. But he only said, "Let's go to Koprivnica."

"Fine," Issa said. "Let's waste our time and your glory."