“What now?” Ava asked.

I watched Will’s face, seemingly so peaceful until his brow furrowed in pain. “We wait.”

I rushed to make it to school on time. I’d missed a couple of days, but Nana had called me in sick for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. My abrupt absence from Kate’s prom after party had my friends asking a lot of questions, but my mind was far away all day. Thursday’s preparations for our final exams of high school were maddening, as I’d missed three days of review and hadn’t slept. They were the last things I needed to worry about, but I’d made a promise to myself that I’d finish high school. It was a desperate, naïve attempt to cling to a normal life.

As soon as class let out, I drove to Will’s house. Marcus sat in the living room watching TV and Lauren came out of the kitchen when she heard me arrive.

“Hey, Ell,” she said with a supportive smile. “Good to see you.”

I gave her a big hug. “You too. And I’m so glad to be out of class. I’m finding that the harder I try to stay normal, the less I enjoy it. God, school sucks.”

Marcus laughed and got up. “Ready to drop out and just skip the last week?”

“No way,” I said very firmly. “I’ve come this far. No going back now. How’s Will today?”

“He’s sleeping better,” Lauren said. “Not a huge improvement, but it’s noticeable.”

I sighed with relief. “Awesome news. Are Ava and Sabina out hunting?”

“Yeah,” Marcus replied. “Lauren and I are standing guard over Will’s recovery, while the girls get to go play. I’m admittedly a little jealous. And bored.”

Lauren smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. “Your shift is over tomorrow. You can hold out until then.”

“I’m going to go up and see him,” I said, and started up the stairs.

Will’s room was dark, so I rolled up the blinds to let in the afternoon sunlight and opened the window. The fresh air was warm and sweet, and I returned to Will’s bedside. The poison was less visible through his skin already and he looked better, just like Lauren had said. His skin even looked less sallow. I felt satisfied, but tired, so I pulled a book down from the shelf and curled into the bed beside Will, tucking my legs close to my body and resting my head on a pillow. I brushed his hair back once and then opened my book to read.

I must have dozed off, because a knock on the open doorframe startled me into groggy awareness and I noticed Cadan standing there for the first time. He said nothing as he came in and sat down on the chair across from the bed. I smiled at him and he smiled back; it was our only exchange.

Ava passed by the room and poked her head in, giving us both a questioning look, before continuing on her way down the stairs. I heard voices below, perhaps Marcus trading duties with Ava and Sabina. He would be pleased to get out of the house and hunt the demonic reapers—minus the one keeping vigil in the room with me.

After school the next afternoon, I stopped by Nana’s house to see her, since we’d only spoken on the phone since my return. Our reunion was emotional and teary-eyed, and I told her everything that had happened with Antares and Cadan. We sat on the patio outside, soaking in the springtime sunlight as it faded into evening’s twilight.

“You really trust him, don’t you?” Nana asked. The question sounded more like a statement, and she didn’t seem like she thought I was crazy.

“Yes,” I replied. “No one else has seen how much he’s done for me. I trust him with my life.”

“Good,” she said. “You need more people you can count on, and despite his colorful past, the demonic reaper has proven himself.”

My tone became grim. “When Will wakes, I have to tell him about Cadan. He still doesn’t know that Cadan is his half brother and he’ll find out that Cadan was the one who took me to Antares. He won’t be happy, but he’s going to have to deal with it. I just have to time the conversation so that it’s soon, but not on top of a lot of other bad news.”

“True,” Nana agreed. “It’s sensitive information and better it come from you than anyone else. Will is smart, though. He’ll take the news in stride.”

I nodded. “I’ve got to get going. It’s almost dark and he needs all the protection he can get while he’s healing. He’d be helpless against an attack and Merodach knows where we live. If he knows, then the worst of our enemies know.”

“Should you maybe leave that house?”

“Where would we go where we wouldn’t endanger innocent people?” I asked. “Sammael is gathering strength. We’re relatively safe right now, because he used up too much energy when he was resurrected and battled not only us but Azrael too. He needs to recharge and this will take time. However, ‘relatively’ isn’t positively, so we have to be careful. His lackeys could show up at any moment. Besides, that house is home.”

“You know what you’re doing,” Nana said with assurance. “Will I see you tomorrow?”

“I think so,” I replied. “I’ll watch over Will with the others tonight, attempt to study, and then finals start Monday. I’ll call you and let you know what’s going on.”

Nana got to her feet with me and we hugged good-bye. “Come by soon, sweetheart.”

“I will,” I promised. “I’ve got a lot to do before I can relax.”