Alpha Erased (Alpha Girl 9)

An idea came to me. “Eli. I need to talk to Eli. If he set up the run-in, then he knows more than he’s told us.”

Claudia shook her head. “I don’t know if that’s—”

“You can try, but he might not come.” Samantha stared off into space for a minute before looking at me again. “Angels have a duty. A cause. And it’s more sacred than anything us mortals can understand. It’s ingrained. So, they don’t help out when it’s not warranted, when it’s not directly tied to their duty. Archons are like angels, but with the freedom to fulfill their duty in any way they see fit. They can disobey their orders. They can even act outside the lines of their duty, but because of that, they’re unpredictable.”

I didn’t care about predictability. Eli already helped us. I just needed a little more help. “How do I get him to come?”

Samantha rose from her chair and walked to the nurse’s station. On the way, she dodged something invisible and reached into her pocket. She threw something that looked like

sand, but smelled like smoke into the air.

“What was that?” I asked.

“It’s better if you don’t know. Trust me.” She stopped in front of the nurse. “Is there a chapel in the hospital?”

The nurse nodded and gave her directions, but I wasn’t listening. I would follow her, so it didn’t matter. What mattered was what I said to Eli. How could I convince him to help me? He had the power to do it. I knew he did.

I could tell him that the rest of us needed her—that she was pivotal to keeping the earthly realm safe—but I wasn’t sure that was true anymore.

A lot of time had passed since she’d been kidnapped. Sure, there had been incidents, but they’d done okay without her.

It was me that wasn’t okay without her.

Just me.

Which was selfish. Tessa had a peaceful, quiet life here. One without danger. Was I doing her a favor by dragging her back into that?

If I loved her, could I let her go?

I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to answer that question.

We walked through the hallways, but I didn’t see them. I didn’t see the people we passed. I didn’t see the rooms or hear the cries or smell the scents of sorrow and sickness and injury. I didn’t see anything until we stopped at the door. I only heard the quiet in my head as I prepared to argue for my life. Because Tessa was my life.

Samantha pushed open the door and waved me forward.

The chapel room was small, with a single stained glass window across from the door. Three rows of pews long enough for four people filled the room from the door, all the way up to the tiny altar in front of the window. The only light in the room came through the colored glass, giving it a somber feel.

Which was the room’s purpose. Solemnity.

No one ever came to a chapel in a hospital to celebrate. It was always out of despair. A plea for help. For mercy.

And that’s why I was coming here, too.

I needed mercy.

Chapter Sixteen

DASTIEN

A man sat in the front pew of the chapel, and I nearly backed out of the room. What I needed to do was private. But as the door swung shut behind us, the man rose from his spot.

And when he turned, I realized he was exactly who I’d been looking for.

I wanted to beg. That was the first thing I wanted to do. I wanted to drop to my knees and beg for help.

Instead, I forced myself to stay calm. “Thank you for coming, Eli.”

“Of course, he shows up now.” Samantha crossed her arms and leaned against the back wall.