Grace and Glory (The Harbinger 3)

Then he was gone in a fine spray of water.

I sunk back against the wall of the pool as I stared at the spot Zayne had stood.

The thing that’s taking up a part of me will hurt you.

Those words were important. There was a recognition there. There was more proof that on some functioning level, Zayne was in there. Not that I needed all that much more proof.

His words left a chill behind, but my heart... I pressed my fist against my chest. It wasn’t hurting as bad as it had been.

I don’t know how long I stayed in the pool, but the pearly gray of dawn had begun to track across the sky before I finally moved. There was no sign of my undies...or my critical-decision-making skills as I climbed out of the pool.

Did I regret what just happened? No. Should I? Some might think I should, and even I could recognize it wasn’t the greatest life choice as I padded across the rooftop, finding my daggers by the stupid “green space” that was the size of a box. Had I missed an opportunity to use the Sword of Michael when he’d been...distracted? Probably not. Besides the fact that I had been equally distracted, I knew he still would have sensed me summoning my grace.

I entered in the code for the apartment as my mind turned over everything. Considering we hadn’t...we hadn’t used protection and we’d had no idea if making a baby was a thing that could occur between us before, let alone now, that hadn’t exactly been the most intelligent of things. Hell, I didn’t even know if it was possible for Trueborns to reproduce. What little I did know didn’t include the birds and bees.

But it happened.

Nothing was going to change that.

And I would just have to add that to the ever-growing list of things to worry about, along with the fact that both Zayne the Fallen and Gabriel’s minions knew exactly where to find me.

Man, I was actually grateful that Jada wasn’t here, because I would blurt it out to her within five seconds, and she would...well, she would have a lot to say.

I didn’t have the brain space for it right now, though. I couldn’t even really think about what just happened. I changed into a dry shirt of Zayne’s and climbed back into bed, falling asleep with the daggers on the pillow beside my head.

* * *

I slept through a good part of Sunday, waking only to answer texts and to use the bathroom. I didn’t realize until then that I truly hadn’t given my body all the time to heal that it needed. My body probably needed more time, but one of those texts I’d answered had been from Dez.

Something had happened at the world’s worst high school. He’d planned on telling me more about it when he picked me up, but considering what was going on there, I doubted whatever happened was going to leave me feeling the warm and fuzzies afterward.

Luckily there were no additional demon or fallen angel visits while I was all but passed out, but I didn’t know how long that reprieve would last. The apartment may be compromised, and even if I brought Zayne back to his senses, we may not be able to stay here.

But that was a problem for later. Just like what I’d done with Zayne in the early hours of the morning, and whether Peanut really was sucked momentarily into purgatory.

I saw Peanut after I pulled on a pair of jeans and a loose shirt long enough to hide my daggers. He’d asked about the scratches in the window, and when I told him it had been a demon trying to get in, he shrieked and disappeared.

I hadn’t seen or heard him since.

After eating an entire box of microwave bacon—RIP, my arteries—I headed down to meet up with Dez.

Squinting in the overcast skies, I cautiously approached the black SUV idling at the curb. I hoped it was Dez, and I wasn’t about to get kidnapped.

The passenger window rolled down, and Dez’s blurry face came into view. “Hey,” he called out. “Hop in.”

Opening the door, I hoisted myself into the passenger seat. I glanced at him, and immediately thought of Zayne and that pool. Feeling my cheeks burn, I was grateful he was focused on pulling into the traffic. I really needed to not think about any of that at the moment.

“So, what’s up with the school?” I asked as I leaned back and pulled a hair tie out of my pocket. I held the tie in my mouth and then gathered up my hair.

My hair smelled like chlorine.

Ugh.

“Other than something not good? Not exactly sure,” he replied. “The police captain got in touch with us an hour or so ago on something she thinks is more up our alley of expertise.”