“Why not? She was just a little girl.”
“Because she ended up being with Lucifer, and...” He looked over to Rebecca, who smiled sadly, her eyes shone with love and support. “That little girl was Jane Sutherland.”
There was a beat of silence.
Naomi’s face grew pale as she stepped away from him. “No,” her voice was barely above a whisper. “That’s not true. Tell me that’s not true.”
“Naomi.” He reached out to her, his heart breaking into pieces. “I’m sorry.”
She jerked back and shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “Don’t touch me.”
“Please, Naomi.”
“No, I can’t. I just...can’t.” She spun and fled out of the house.
“Naomi!”
He tore out of the house chasing after her. She shot high into the sky, her wings spread at full length, giving her the power to out-fly him.
He pushed with all his might to try to catch her. If he could only reach her, he could explain everything. Then maybe, just maybe she would understand and forgive him.
Faster, he soared up higher and higher. With one final push, he got close enough to reach out and grab her shoulders. He turned her to face him, and his heart stopped at the shattered look on her face.
“Naomi, I—”
“Don’t.” Her voice was raw. “I can’t be with you right now.”
He inhaled sharply as the pain in his chest crushed him. She looked at him one last time, turned, and flew away.
7
Not knowing where else to go, Naomi paced the path that went through the cherry tree gardens. It hurt too much to go to the mountain home she and Lash shared. Being in the beautiful gardens didn’t help, either. Everywhere she looked, she thought of Lash: his beautiful hazel eyes, his strong arms around her, the feel of his unshaven jaw against her palm, and then the torment in his eyes when he told her about saving Jane Sutherland.
She felt her heart breaking as she struggled between her love for her father and her love for Lash. If only he had listened to his orders, then she would still have her father.
She remembered the last time she saw him. It had been at her college graduation. She recalled the proud look he wore as she walked toward him with her diploma in hand. She smiled as she thought of him sitting on the porch next to her as they both gazed up at the stars that night.
She sank onto a bench under one of the dozens of cherry trees. A breeze blew gently, causing stands of her dark hair to brush against her face.
She was so confused. If she accepted that her father dying was somehow Lash’s fault, then how could she continue to love the person who basically shortened her father’s life? But then, if that hadn’t happened, she would’ve never known the love of her life.
She tilted her head back to look at the clear blue sky.
Why was this all happening to her? Fate. Free-will. Had Lash put something into motion that wasn’t meant to be? Was she meant to have lived her life on Earth with her father, her family?
She burst into tears. She couldn’t give Lash up, but she couldn’t even bear to look at him. She felt so lost. For weeks, she had struggled with missing her family. She wanted more than anything to feel like she belonged in Heaven, to have a home with Lash. And now, now it felt like Heaven was her Hell.
She heard footsteps approaching and quickly wiped the tears from her eyes.
“Raphael,” she croaked. She cleared her throat and forced a smile on her face. “How are you this morning?”
Raphael looked into her eyes, reached out, and brushed a stray tear from her cheek. “He told you.”
She nodded, choking back fresh tears.
“It is not easy being an angel, and to be an archangel, that can be even more difficult. Lahash has great compassion for others. It leads him to be ruled by his heart rather than by what his superiors tell him to do.”
“It’s not supposed to be like this. My father should still be alive. I’m supposed to be with him and Welita.”
“Perhaps,” he said. “Or maybe things are exactly the way they should be.”
She looked at him, surprised. “Are you saying his disobedience was meant to be?”
“I was just as surprised as Lahash when he was thrown out. For years, I went to Michael, advocating his return. Now, I am not quite sure of this, but it seems to me there is something larger at work here.”
More secrets. She couldn’t take it anymore. “This is too much. I can’t think right now.”
Raphael looked over her shoulder and spoke softly. “Gabrielle and Jeremiel are coming. I can divert them if you wish.”
She let out a breath. “No, I’ll be fine.”
She needed a distraction, anything to get her mind off how miserable she was feeling at that moment. Burying herself in training with Gabrielle was just what she needed right now.
Squaring her shoulders, she stood to greet her. “Gabrielle, I’m sorry for the late start, but I’m ready for my training session now. Is Jeremy joining us today?”
Seeing Gabrielle’s green eyes dart from Raphael to her, Naomi hoped her eyes weren’t too red and puffy, although she knew her voice sounded strained. She must’ve looked awful because Jeremy kept staring at her strangely.
“There’s other business we must attend to today. Where’s Lash?”
“Uh, he’s—”
“He’s in the Room of Offerings, repairing some of the damage,” Raphael interrupted.
Naomi shot him a surprised look. Raphael could be sneaky when he wanted to be. Lash had told her about the mess he’d made when he thought he’d never see her again. She had wanted to go with him to help him clean it up, but he’d kept putting it off.
“I see,” Gabrielle said, looking suspiciously at him. “It’s taken him long enough to do so. Well, then, let’s get straight to the business at hand, shall we?”
Gabrielle handed her a small white envelope. As she took a hold of it, Gabrielle looked intently into her eyes. “It is of utmost importance that you stick to your assignment at all costs. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I do,” she said quickly.
Gabrielle continued to hold on to the envelope. “Although you are moving along quite nicely in your training, I fear you are not fully invested in the role you’ve been given. However, events have taken place that make this assignment necessary.”
Naomi dropped her hand at the seriousness of Gabrielle’s voice. She wasn’t ready to take on something like this. “Maybe it’s better to send someone else.”
“Michael made specific instructions for you to carry this assignment, and Jeremy is to go with you.”
“I hope you don’t mind the company,” he said, his dimples flashing as he smiled at her.
“N-n-no. It’s just...uh, well, after last night, I’m not sure if that’s such a good idea.” As angry and hurt as she was with Lash right now, she didn’t want to make things any worse. Although Lash appeared to have made peace with Jeremy, even asking him to give them permission to go down to Earth, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Lash still had a problem with him.
“You have no choice in this matter,” Gabrielle snapped. “Jeremy is to accompany you. He’ll serve as a mentor to you as well as taking care of his own assignment.”
Naomi glanced at him. With Jeremy going with her, maybe she could search for Welita. If it were Gabrielle, she’d never be allowed to do it.
“Okay,” she said as she reached for the envelope and pulled out the card containing information about her assignment. “When do we—holy shit! This isn’t...this can’t be...”
She slapped a hand across her mouth, mortified.
Gabrielle’s face turned a bright red. “We do not use such foul language here.”
“Aw, come on, Gabrielle,” Jeremy said. “Don’t tell me you haven’t thrown around a cuss word or two when Lash was around.”