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Authors: Jessica Shirvington
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sent Josephine a text:
At JFK. Thanks for the ride.
Can I trust you to keep this to yourself?
Her response was immediate:
I won’t tell a soul. But don’t fool yourself.
He will find out.
I sighed as I read her message, looking up to see Gray watching me carefully.
‘Are you going to tell me why I’m coming along?’ he asked.
He’d known it was important. And I knew he could smell a good fight ahead, so he’d come along, no questions asked, up until this point.
‘Back-up,’ I answered. ‘I never know what to expect from Josephine and I need someone who is definitely on my team.’
Gray nodded, understanding.
‘And …’
‘Yes?’ Gray raised his eyebrows.
‘I need youto help me keep my guards up.’
Gray studied me for a moment. ‘He’s going to be there?’
I nodded. ‘And I can’t let my walls down. Not even for a moment.’ I held his gaze, needing him to understand. It wasn’t why Gray had trained me for these past ten months; that had been to help me fight so I could get close to exiles and remain hidden. But it had had a two-fold effect, which I imagined he’d suspected: it had also helped me block my connection to Lincoln. So much so that Lincoln had suddenly stopped tracking me. He’d always stayed close, pursuing me relentlessly, and then one day, when I was getting ready to bail on London … it all just stopped.
If I wanted to have any chance of surviving while being in his proximity now, I’d need to keep my walls up – I couldn’t imagine what might happen if they were to come down. In many ways, Gray had taught me how to cage my soul.
‘You’re headed for trouble, Violet. You won’t be able to control it twenty-four seven, especially at night.’ He gave me a loaded look.
I didn’t need to think further than last night to know what he meant. As Phoenix had explained, the time between rest and sleep was when my guards faltered. A definite problem.
I turned to Onyx. ‘Any chance you have somewhere we can stay?’
Onyx, who’d been watching, enraptured, grinned. ‘I have the perfect place.’
It was late eveningand stepping out of the car outside the Academy buildings felt strange. I couldn’t help but remember the first time I’d arrived there. How different my view of the world, and of life, had been then. Manhattan, such a densely exile-populated city, had completely overwhelmed my angelic senses.
I pushed down the immediate memories of Lincoln – how he’d kissed me in the very place I now stood; they way he’d taken the burden of the senses from me and released them. I still had all five, not that I openly shared that information. It was just one more thing I knew I might never understand.
At least now, thanks to Gray’s help, they were muted. I registered the flavour of apple on my tongue, the sounds of birds crashing into trees. I smelled flowers, the fragrance so mixed it was as though I was in a city-sized florist, but without being overwhelming. Not even when the contradictdory sensations of ice and heat ran through my bones and blood, or when the images of morning and evening played in my peripheral vision was I taken away from myself.
I felt a boost of confidence. Yes. I could do this. I was stronger than ever. I was faster. I had more weapons. More control. And stronger defences. My powers in every way had developed.
And Onyx wasright – I was most definitely
not
the girl I had been.
CH a P te R S eve N
‘Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in Hell.’
Matthew 10:28
g oddamn it. He was everywhere!
I could feel his presence even on full alert and with my guards up, supposedly working as protective shields around my body and senses. My soul was unkindly defiant. But I kept it under control, confident that I was doing enough to keep myself hidden from the city’s exiles, and most importantly, from him.
‘This way,’ I said, causing both Onyx and Gray to
At JFK. Thanks for the ride.
Can I trust you to keep this to yourself?
Her response was immediate:
I won’t tell a soul. But don’t fool yourself.
He will find out.
I sighed as I read her message, looking up to see Gray watching me carefully.
‘Are you going to tell me why I’m coming along?’ he asked.
He’d known it was important. And I knew he could smell a good fight ahead, so he’d come along, no questions asked, up until this point.
‘Back-up,’ I answered. ‘I never know what to expect from Josephine and I need someone who is definitely on my team.’
Gray nodded, understanding.
‘And …’
‘Yes?’ Gray raised his eyebrows.
‘I need youto help me keep my guards up.’
Gray studied me for a moment. ‘He’s going to be there?’
I nodded. ‘And I can’t let my walls down. Not even for a moment.’ I held his gaze, needing him to understand. It wasn’t why Gray had trained me for these past ten months; that had been to help me fight so I could get close to exiles and remain hidden. But it had had a two-fold effect, which I imagined he’d suspected: it had also helped me block my connection to Lincoln. So much so that Lincoln had suddenly stopped tracking me. He’d always stayed close, pursuing me relentlessly, and then one day, when I was getting ready to bail on London … it all just stopped.
If I wanted to have any chance of surviving while being in his proximity now, I’d need to keep my walls up – I couldn’t imagine what might happen if they were to come down. In many ways, Gray had taught me how to cage my soul.
‘You’re headed for trouble, Violet. You won’t be able to control it twenty-four seven, especially at night.’ He gave me a loaded look.
I didn’t need to think further than last night to know what he meant. As Phoenix had explained, the time between rest and sleep was when my guards faltered. A definite problem.
I turned to Onyx. ‘Any chance you have somewhere we can stay?’
Onyx, who’d been watching, enraptured, grinned. ‘I have the perfect place.’
It was late eveningand stepping out of the car outside the Academy buildings felt strange. I couldn’t help but remember the first time I’d arrived there. How different my view of the world, and of life, had been then. Manhattan, such a densely exile-populated city, had completely overwhelmed my angelic senses.
I pushed down the immediate memories of Lincoln – how he’d kissed me in the very place I now stood; they way he’d taken the burden of the senses from me and released them. I still had all five, not that I openly shared that information. It was just one more thing I knew I might never understand.
At least now, thanks to Gray’s help, they were muted. I registered the flavour of apple on my tongue, the sounds of birds crashing into trees. I smelled flowers, the fragrance so mixed it was as though I was in a city-sized florist, but without being overwhelming. Not even when the contradictdory sensations of ice and heat ran through my bones and blood, or when the images of morning and evening played in my peripheral vision was I taken away from myself.
I felt a boost of confidence. Yes. I could do this. I was stronger than ever. I was faster. I had more weapons. More control. And stronger defences. My powers in every way had developed.
And Onyx wasright – I was most definitely
not
the girl I had been.
CH a P te R S eve N
‘Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in Hell.’
Matthew 10:28
g oddamn it. He was everywhere!
I could feel his presence even on full alert and with my guards up, supposedly working as protective shields around my body and senses. My soul was unkindly defiant. But I kept it under control, confident that I was doing enough to keep myself hidden from the city’s exiles, and most importantly, from him.
‘This way,’ I said, causing both Onyx and Gray to
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