Issa woke up sprawled on top of Edvardiel, who looked like he didn't sleep a wink. She hastily righted herself, feeling guilty for sleeping soundly despite everything that had happened. His warmth was just so, so wonderful and she was so, so tired from the void.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better than you," Issa said. "Did you sleep at all?"
As she stared up at the night sky, she realised she hadn't slept well after all. She'd been nocturnal for so long that late in the night felt like the humans' late in the afternoon. Jacob was snoring in the truck's front seat but Paul was already awake and sitting on the hood, sipping from a flask as he stared moodily into the distance.
"I've been thinking about what you said," Edvardiel said.
"About dealing with Lilith on our own?" Issa kept her voice low as Paul glanced back in their direction, noticed they were awake, and waved them good morning.
"No," Edvardiel whispered as she waved back. "About knocking on Heaven's gates. You said Lilith locked the gates. Which means even if we had wings, we wouldn't be able to open them. I mean, there are lots of angels in Heaven. They'd have come down and rescued us by now if they could."
Issa reached to thumb blades that were no longer there. Despite the absence of Lilith's commands, Issa itched to fight—a habit drilled into her over the century. "If we kill Lilith, all our problems would be gone, wouldn't they?"
"Our problems would be gone because we'd be dead."
"You don't have to come with me."
Anger flared through their bond at the same time Jacob muttered under his breath from the front seat. They both stopped speaking. Jacob shifted restlessly a few times in his seat and then started snoring.
"Not that again." Edvardiel glowered. "We go together or not at all."
She opened her mouth but he held up a hand. "It doesn't matter that you think I'm the last angel. My wings are gone and soon my glory will be too. I'll be as good as human." Something like disgust flitted through their bond again—the same disgust he'd felt whenever Jacob tried to talk to him. As she put two and two together, she realised he hadn't really felt disgusted by Jacob or Paul—he'd felt disgusted with himself.
"What's wrong with being human?" Issa asked. "I wish I were human."
Intuition flashed in Edvardiel's eyes—somehow, he understood that she grieved for her humanity more than her humanness. He touched her arm, his eyes earnest. "You are the best person I know."
That brought little comfort. "Well, it's not hard to beat those arch-assholes, is it?"
"Issa. What bad thing have you done since you've gotten your free will back?"
That made her pause.
"Nothing," Edvardiel said for her.
"I left you after you helped me. I called you all kinds of names—"
"None of that counts and you know it," Edvardiel said. "You saved me. You saved that girl. You jumped into the void with me to find my wings. You're… you're making friends with humans. What does it matter if your body is not human?"
It was too much for her to unpack. But his question made her think of her own.
"Then let me ask you this. What does it matter if you have no wings?" Issa asked. "What's the point of being an angel? You're not allowed to feel. You have to do Heaven's bidding. Aren't you freer here on Earth?"
Edvardiel hesitated. "Being an angel… a real angel… It's all I've ever wanted."
Paul glanced back at them again and swung himself off the hood.
"But Edvardiel, you are an angel," Issa said quickly, as Paul walked towards the back of the truck. "Even without wings and glory. You know it and I know it. No one can take that away from you."
Edvardiel looked conflicted. "There's something I should've told you from the start." He trailed off as Paul climbed into the back of the truck.
"Morning lovebirds," he said, saluting them. "Didn't want to interrupt but I have to check on something."
They scooted out of the way as Paul reached for some crates they hadn't paid attention to. He removed the heavy-duty canvas and Issa craned her neck. The smell of fresh earth wafted in the air.
"Is that soil?" Issa asked.
"Yup," Paul said. "Arable soil. Not easy to find these days." He frowned and started uncovering three other crates.
"What are you doing?" Edvardiel asked and Issa looked at him curiously. That was probably the second time he'd spoken in front of the humans.
Paul's brows rose but unlike Jacob, he didn't comment on it. "I'm checking on our tickets to Tropojë. S'not looking good."
Tropojë… Issa wasn't surprised the resistance was in that part of Albania. That region lay between the Albanian Alps—known as the Accursed Mountains. She'd never been there herself but she'd heard the hoard of demons and Acolytes who'd been sent there never came back. She'd assumed they'd been sent to another part of the world but now she wondered if they'd actually lost? That was practically unheard of.
"What tickets?" she asked.
"The people there are a cult of some sort," Paul said. "Jacob says they have some kind of grand plan to stop the Apocalypse. But to enter the resistance, you have to bring something living."
Edvardiel shot him a quizzical look. "Can't we bring ourselves?"
"It has to be a plant, an animal or a child," Paul said.
Issa thought of Alice. Was that the reason Rosalie had been taking care of her? Was she Rosalie's 'ticket'? That made Issa feel relieved—at least Rosalie had a reason to make sure the girl was taken care of.
"Our plants aren't sprouting," Paul said. "Either the soil isn't arable or our seedlings are ruined."
"Why would they make such a weird condition?" Issa asked.
"I dunno," Paul said. "Jacob says it has something to do with weeding out the demons? Not sure about the details."
Issa leaned forward interestedly. "Do you think they can do it—stop the Apocalypse?"
Paul shrugged. "Bunch of crazies if you ask me. But beggars can't be choosers." He sighed as he looked down at the empty soil. "We're the biggest beggars right now. We've only got enough water for another day." He frowned at them. "You guys have barely touched the water or food. Jacob neither. I swear, that guy lives off his weed."
He bent over the crate, still muttering to himself as he held his flask of water reluctantly. Issa could see him debating whether to give the seedlings a chance or save their precious water. He sighed and began to unscrew the flask.
She caught his arm. "Wait."
"W-what?" Paul's heartbeat quickened. He was reacting to her Acolyte body despite trying his damnedest not to. She didn't blame him—Lilith had, after all, made her temptation incarnate. Rather, she'd been surprised he and Jacob had been able to treat her so casually until now. It had probably been a mix of Edvardiel's strong angelic presence, the physical barrier of the truck, and her exhaustion.
Now that they were this close, Paul stood no chance.
"Let me take a look," she said and he only nodded dazedly.
Issa peered into the crate and reached for the soil. She was reaching for Edvardiel's glory, but it wasn't glory that came to her. It was something else, deep within herself, something that glowed neither angelic gold nor demon blue. It neither vibrated nor compelled, but sang and whispered. It extended like a sixth sense into the soil where she found a seed and gently coaxed it forth, feeling it burst. She felt something within herself burst. Her vision exploded with white.
Paul gasped. "Holy mother of—"
The next thing Issa knew, she was blinking up at lots and lots of leaves.
Edvardiel and Paul were both staring at her with wide eyes. The ruckus finally woke Jacob up. He opened his eyes blearily, his joint still in one hand. "Um…" He rubbed his bloodshot eyes. "Is it me or is there a giant cherry tree in our truck?"