She stumbled back and felt her face.
It would feel different, smoother, stronger.
Her hands shook in front of her. "What did you just do?"
"We need to talk." I held out my hand. "Trust me?"
She gulped, her white eyes blinking in confusion. "I feel different."
"Because you are."
"I don't understand."
"But you want to?"
She nodded.
"Take my hand."
The minute her fingers touched mine, she gasped. We'd always felt warm to one another, but the minute her skin came into contact with mine, frost formed across her fingertips.
"But—"
"Let's go visit Cassius. He may be sleeping right now, but I believe he'd want to be in the room."
"He hates me."
"No." I sighed. "That's where you're wrong."
"Dark Ones do not love," she whispered. "I know that now."
I tilted my head and smiled sadly. "Don't they?"
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Genesis
"IT'S TIME." SARIEL RELEASED MY HAND.
"Will I see you again?"
He laughed, his feathers ruffling next to me. "Do you really want to?"
I shrugged. "You're not so bad."
"So many compliments my head may explode."
He wasn't. It was weird. He was dangerous; he had potential for both evil and good, but he was also in a position where he had no choice but to force the rules on people — and hope that in the end everything worked out. I felt sorry for him.
Sariel tilted my chin toward him. "Don't."
Tears filled my eyes. "Thank you… for staying with me."
"Always." He plucked a purple feather from his wings and placed it in my hands. "I'm only a thought away."
I clenched the feather in my hands and nodded. "Goodbye."
His lips touched my forehead as cold spilled through my body, followed by such intense heat that I started to convulse.