“Seriously? Do you even watch the news?”

“Humans killing humans. Not my jurisdiction.”

“I know Jehovah may not care about his brother, but I damned sure do. And you will not take him.”

He worked his jaw in frustration. Torn. Weighing the odds in his mind. In the end, he sheathed his sword. “When the time comes, Val-Eeth, you will not be able to save him.”

“That’s funny. I don’t think he’s the one who needs saving.”

Another cloud of smoke billowed around us, swallowing us whole. I heard a rustling of wings, and when the smoke cleared, they were gone. Every angel had vanished.

I turned to Mr. Wong, his golden armor shimmering as much as his mischievous eyes. “I thought we were going to have a battle.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It would’ve been good practice.” He turned toward our own army. “They need to get in shape.”

I snorted. “Can the departed get in shape?”

“I will leave you, Val-Eeth.” He bowed over my hand.

“Charley, please.” Being called a god was a bit much.

He bowed again and disappeared. A microsecond later, Beep’s army evaporated, as did the hellhounds.

Artemis looked back and whimpered. Michael was right. Reyes had lost control. I dematerialized and stepped into the fire. He still held her tight, but he had incinerated her. All that remained of her body was an outline of ash.

He touched her face. It cracked like burned paper and flew away, the glowing particles floating around him. Then she crumbled in his arms and slipped through his fingers like sand through a sifter.

And the fire grew hotter. It burned. Even in the intangible world it scorched my skin. I realized he was lost. He couldn’t control his powers.

Been there, done that.

Maybe he was just the opposite of me. Maybe if he learned his true name, he would be better able to control it.

What did I have to lose? I stepped closer, kneeled down to him, cupped his face in my hands, and whispered, “Rey’azikeen.”

Nothing. The agony he felt scorched to the marrow of my bones. I said it again and again received no response.

This was not happening. Then I realized it didn’t have to be permanent. I took out the god glass. If I didn’t stop him, he truly would level the town and possibly more. He could sink half of California into the ocean.

The fire grew even hotter, the flames loud and relentless. I reached over to get his blood. I would only leave him in there for a moment. Just enough to calm him down. To disorient him and bring him back to me.

I put my nails on his wrist and scraped as hard as I could.

He finally looked at me, his gaze glowing and glistening. So I repeated his name. “Rey’azikeen. You have to stop. You’re going to burn this town down.”

He looked through the fire. He’d already leveled the park.

“You have to stop.”

He furrowed his brows. Looked down at his sister’s ashes. Bent down and covered his eyes with his fists.

That was when I saw them, rising over the god before me. I fell back and looked on in awe. He was covered in fire, his outline almost translucent. But the fire arced over him, too, and created the illusion of wings. Massive, angelic wings folded in and wrapped around him.

I forgot all about the impending nuclear disaster. I watched my husband as he sat back on his heels and laid his head back, trying desperately to get control over his emotions. He was solid muscle. Tense and combustible and so beautiful I ached. And he had wings. The fires licked over them, shaping and molding them. He dropped his head into his hands again.

Before I could snap out of it, another being walked into the fire. A departed. She laid her hand on Reyes’s head, and he opened his eyes. Looked up at her. Almost collapsed when she kneeled down and folded him into her arms.

“He was trying to draw you out,” Kim said, more beautiful than I’d ever seen her. “He knew that you’ve been following him.”

“What?” I asked, appalled. I stood and walked over to him. “You were following him? An evil, malevolent god? Was this one of your secrets? Because I don’t remember this coming up during our last conversation.”

Kim laughed softly, stood, and hugged me. I hugged her back for a long time.

“I understand so much now,” she said, then looked back at her brother. “I know how special you are. Both of you. I knew you were, but not like this.”

“Kim, I wish we could have told you more,” I said.

Reyes stood and looked at her like she was the sun and he’d been raised in total darkness. His fire still billowed around him.