“You have always been strong. I know you can do this.”

I smiled at her. “Thanks.”

“I just wish you didn’t have to.”

Her eyes flickered to Nero. He and Harker had stopped beside the Legion truck outside the train station, and they were unloading the vampires.

“Be careful with that one,” she warned me. “Angels always have an ulterior motive.”

“I already know he’s trying to kill me,” I laughed.

“No jokes, Leda. This is serious. The Legion changes people. Power changes people. I’ve seen it happen.”

“Back at the League of Bounty Hunters?”

“Among other places.”

“I’ll be careful,” I promised. “Now I have to go. Talk to you later. Tell my sisters I love them.”

Calli set her hands on my cheeks. “You’re a good girl, Leda.” She kissed me on the forehead, then turned and walked away.

I hurried down the street, arriving at the station as the last of the vampires was carried inside. I followed the prisoner procession to the train. Harker was standing outside. He grinned at me when he saw me.

“I meant what I said,” he told me as we stepped onto the train together. “You were right to go after Nero.”

“Nero doesn’t think so.”

He snorted. “Nero might be a stickler for the rules, but he’s not without humanity. He didn’t want to die at the vampires’ hands.”

“Is he human?” A month ago, I’d have been certain that he wasn’t. Now, I wasn’t sure anymore.

“Yes, even angels are still human under all the feathers and narcissism,” said Harker.

I laughed.

“And he knows too much,” he continued. “The vampires didn’t break him, but if they’d had him a lot longer, they might just have been able to do it, no matter what Nero says.”

Nodding, I took my seat beside Lucy. As the train took off, I wondered about that. The thought of Nero’s humanity was more frightening than his inhumanity. Calli was right. I had to be careful with the angel.

14

Heaven

It was almost noon by the time we made it back to the Legion building in New York. We’d been awake all night, but rather than let us sleep, Nero ordered us all to the gym. Three hours later, I stumbled into my dormitory and fell onto my bed. I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

When I woke up, the sun was setting. I wiggled my toes and sat up. The dormitory was empty except for Ivy, who was sitting on her bed, munching enthusiastically on the cookies inside the tin wedged between her legs.

“Good morning, sunshine,” she said with a smirk.

“Evening is more like it. Where is everyone?” I asked, stretching out my arms.

“Down at Demeter having dinner.”

I walked over to her bed and sat down beside her. “And you?”

“I prefer something sweeter.” She held out the tin. “Cookie?”

I dug in and pulled out a red velvet cookie. “Thanks.” The first bite was a revelation, the second an addiction, and by the third I was wondering where this cookie had been all my life. “This is amazing. Where did you get those cookies?”

“My mom made them.” Ivy wiped the tear from her eye, putting on a brave smile. “She is the best baker in all of New York. Maybe even in the whole world.”

“She certainly gets my vote,” I agreed, putting my arm around Ivy. “You will save her.”

She blinked back more tears. “How do you know?”

“Because I have faith.”

“I didn’t take you for the gods-worshipping type.” Her lip twitched.

“I’m not really. I don’t sing hymns in the gods’ temples and throw myself down on the ground in front of their shrines. But that’s not the faith I was talking about. The faith I’m talking about is the belief that there is good in the world. The world is full of monsters, Ivy. We have to believe that there’s hope for us, that everything will work out in the end. Otherwise, we’re already lost.”

“My mother would like you.” Ivy smiled at me. “In fact, she already does.”

“Oh?”

“I wrote to her about you. About how you’ve been helping me. She’s happy I found such a good friend. Someday, I hope you can meet her.”

“I’d like that,” I said, squeezing her hand. “Let’s make a pact: you and I. Whichever of us makes it to level seven first will heal your mother.”

Her expression brightened. “Really? You’ll help me?”

“I will always help you, Ivy. And if I make it to level seven first, I will heal her.”

“Oh, you will make it. I’m sure you will. You’re strong.”

“Well, I am stubborn. I’m not sure about strong. I feel like I’m one of the weakest ones here.”

“Not according to Colonel Sexy Angel. I heard him talking to Harker on the train ride back.”

“What did they say?” I tried to keep my tone casual, even though I was burning to know.

“He told Harker to stop helping you so much because you’re very strong, and you’ll never reach your potential if he holds your hand the whole way.”

I snorted. “Nero just wants to break me. It’s his new personal goal.”

“Or maybe he wants to hold your hand himself.” She wiggled her eyebrows.