“Why didn’t you say anything to me?” I asked, and pulled my hand away from hers, unable to help the bitterness I felt.

“Frank told me it was best not to interfere.” She sounded genuinely penitent. “He promised that your Guardian would care for you. But I knew how hard it was for you, and I regret staying out of it all. And now the reapers have killed Frank, and they’ve killed my daughter and son-in-law. It’s my punishment, I suppose.”

“I spent all this time lying and hiding things from my family!” I said angrily. “And you knew the whole time. I was completely alone!”

Nana shook her head. “You were never alone. We’ve all looked out for you. Frank was killed hunting a reaper that had tracked you to your home. He died trying to keep it from telling its master where you lived, where your family lived. Not that it matters now. Bastian always knew where you lived, and he had your father killed so that beast could take his place and spy on you. We know that now. But you aren’t alone. Your Guardian protects you. I know about Will. I’m sorry you had to lie to your mother about him. She would have liked him more if she’d known what he truly was to you. You did what you had to do.”

I made a disgusted, choking sound. “What I had to do? You have no idea what I’ve had to do! What I’ve seen and been through!”

“I do, honey,” she said calmly. “I know where you’ve been. Lauren let me know that you were safe. I knew you were safer with the angelic reapers than here with me. I’m just an old woman. I would only have gotten in your way. Your soup is probably ready.” She got up from the table to pour me a bowl of soup and set it on the mat in front of me. “You need to eat.”

The steaming soup smelled delicious, but I was afraid that if I took a bite I wouldn’t be able to keep it down. I forced a spoonful, and the warmth filled up my whole body. “You said Frank gave you a photograph of us. Do you still have it?”

She turned to her purse on the counter and slipped something out of one of the pockets. She held the weathered photograph out to me, and I took it tentatively from her fingers. The black-and-white picture’s edges were torn and wrinkled, and right in the center of the image was me, with my dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. Beside me was Will, with a genuine smile on his face and one hand on the shoulder of a young, lanky man with shaggy hair. I brought the photo closer and squinted to make out his face. The boy’s eyes and smile gave him away, and in my mind I pictured him laughing. It was Frank Meyer.

My entire world—everything I knew—spun through my head like a tornado. “I can’t believe any of this. I can’t … get my mind around it.”

She smiled and slid an arm around my shoulders. “I know. When I found out, it was impossible for me to believe this little fire-haired girl was the archangel Gabriel. I felt so much for you. Your nightmares, your slipping grades, the sneaking out. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d been you. I should have been there for you, but I was terrified of messing up your cycle.”

“You wouldn’t have messed anything up,” I said in a small voice. “I needed my family more than anything, but I understand why you did it.” I took a deep breath of relief, feeling the weight melt from my shoulders. In spite of myself, I smiled. “You can’t know how good this feels.”

Her own smile brightened. “Oh, I do, believe me. I’m so happy that you know who I am as well. I want to help you in any way possible. Whatever you need to do, please don’t worry about making up a story to do it. I understand this is your duty, who you are. But don’t forget, Gabriel, that you have to be Ellie too, or you’ll lose yourself.”

Lose myself. Something I was terrified of. “I need to go back to school. I need to have a life on top of all this. I need some kind of normalcy.”

She nodded. “Good girl. Let’s get you back into school, then. But eat your soup first. I don’t want to see a speck left in that bowl before you go to bed.”

I smiled and picked up the spoon. “Okay, Nana.”

The next few months until graduation were going to kick my ass sideways. Nana scored me visits with my principal and counselors, to get me on a track that would catch me up in classes. She explained that after the horrible events I’d gone through, I went to stay with other family—which wasn’t entirely untrue—and my school was sympathetic and willing to help. I had a new determination in me to prevent any more demonic things from stealing the rest of my youth.

Managing my time between patrolling for reapers and spending extra hours at school with my teachers was exhausting. The Saturday after my return to school, Kate demanded that I get to her house at eight for a “small thing” and to bring Will. I figured after visiting Kate, Will and I could go kill stuff. I got ready, just pulling on jeans and a sweater over a tank, and waited for him to come over. Tonight we had plans for Nana to meet him, especially since she knew his—and my—true identity. She was very curious about him, as all psychics and angelic reapers tended to be about the both of us. We were like Elvis—minus the drugs and triple the bluesy angst.

When he arrived, I let him in and he followed me through the house to the parlor where Nana sat with a cup of tea and a thick, old leather book. Her eyes instantly rested on him and she smiled. She put her things down and climbed to her feet rather gracefully for her age.

“It’s a pleasure to meet Ellie’s Guardian,” she said, and held out a hand to shake his firmly. She studied him curiously, her gaze lingering on his tattoos.