Chapter 3

Every god present here—over two hundred in all—turned and stared at me, their heavenly halos sizzling with magic. Talk about a deer-in-headlights moment.

Then, just as suddenly as Coralia's public accusation had ignited their fury, the gods returned their attention to the gala.

"That's your cue to begin investigating," Stash told me.

"Here? And now?"

A wry smile lifted his lips. "That's kind of the idea of an immediate investigation, sweetness."

"I suppose they also expect an immediate resolution?"

"Naturally."

"What ever happened to patience being an immortal virtue?"

"They'd say that the universe is vast and in constant need of their attention, so they have better things to do than wait for lengthy investigations."

"Yeah, they all look really busy right now." I gazed across the sea of gods dressed in fancy clothes, sipping their Nectar and gossiping about their allies and enemies. "Why did Saphira choose me to be the Inquirer anyway?"

"I suppose because you are neutral. You have no alliances or allegiances among the gods. You are completely uninvolved in politics. You're the only one here who has not sworn their support to one of the gods."

"If I'm the only one here who isn't pledged to one of the gods, then which god have you sworn to support?" I asked Stash.

He chuckled. "Saphira also chose you because you have a knack for getting at the truth."

"That doesn't answer my question, Stash."

"It answers one of them."

"Do you support your father Zarion? Or Faris?"

"I already told you, Leda. I'd support you."

"Very funny."

"Thank you."

"But come to think of it, does a demigod even get a vote?" I asked him.

"Yes, but my vote—and the vote of every normal god—doesn't count as much as a lord's vote. Hence the need for the Lords' Gala, a special place for all the special gods to build alliances and cultivate glory." Stash even managed to say it all with a straight face.

"You really can think like one of them now," I told him.

"So can you. That will be a useful skill in your investigation."

"I was actually hoping I could get out of investigating things," I admitted. "You said I'm completely uninvolved in the gods' politics. Well, that's just the way I'd like things to stay."

"Really? I thought you enjoyed sticking your nose in everyone's business."

"You're a regular comedian today, Stash."

He took a bow, then said, "Seriously, though, you're the gods' emissary to the demons, Leda. With a role like that, you can't expect to remain uninvolved in politics."

"That's different. I'm trying to broker an alliance between gods and demons to stand against the Guardians. It's for the greater good." I indicated the gala of gods. "Bickering over who gets to be one of the Seven isn't."

"Which gods sit on the council and rule a larger chunk of the known universe plays a big part in the greater good—or the greater evil."

I didn't say anything to that. Stash had a point. But like he'd said, some votes counted more than others. If a demigod's vote didn't amount to much, then I doubted everyone was waiting with bated breath to hear what a god-demon hybrid known as the Angel of Chaos had to say.

"You don't need to vote in the Choosing to make a difference," Stash told me. "We all have our roles to play, and it appears the universe has decided your part is to investigate Coralia's claim about Saphira."

"The universe is crazy," I parried. "Can't I get out of this?"

"No. A god accused of treachery can call upon any soldier in Heaven's Army to be the Inquirer. Right now, at this very moment, you are a soldier in Heaven's Army."

"Great."

So instead of standing at the sidelines, once again I was being pulled right into the thick of things. Drama really did follow around the Angel of Chaos like a lost puppy.

"Then I'd better get started," I declared.

I spent the next hour doing the rounds, speaking to the gods and goddesses at the Lords' Gala. What I discovered was nothing beyond the obvious. Saphira was universally popular. Everyone loved her. In fact, one of the gods I spoke to, tonight's event planner, held me hostage for a whole ten minutes as he waxed poetic about Saphira's sense of aesthetics. He called her attention to detail ‘divine' and her creative touches ‘heavenly'. Apparently, Saphira had contributed a few ideas that had made it into this gala's final design. The perfect goddess sure knew how to make friends.

And yet, if the accusations against her did turn out to be true, that Saphira had been aiding this rebellion, then each and every one of the gods who held her in such high esteem declared they'd want nothing more to do with her.

I wasn't surprised by their attitude, but it didn't bring me any closer to discovering whether the accusations against her were true.

After escaping the loquacious event planner, I found Lord Eros in the crowd. Saphira's betrothed looked even more formidable up-close. I counted off another five weapons I hadn't spotted on him from the sidelines, and at two-arms' distance, I realized that his evening suit was actually made of scaled armor. Even his green eyes seemed to glow brighter when he was right in front of me.

"Lord Eros, may I speak to you?" I tried to sound polite, which wasn't easy after talking to members of the gods' lower nobility for the last hour. Their arrogance had whittled my manners down to my bare, naked nerves.

"Leda Pandora."

Despite his bright and shiny martial regalia, Eros's demeanor was reserved. His voice wasn't loud or impulsive. It was reflective—and packed with quiet power. He did not sound like the kind of person to jump headfirst into things. He seemed to possess the immortal patience I so often failed to see in immortal beings.

"You are the daughter of Faris," he said. "The one they call the Angel of Chaos."

"My enemies call me the Angel of Chaos." I smiled. "But my friends call me Pandora."

"The Angel of Chaos. Pandora. Those are basically the same thing."

"And, sometimes, so are friends and enemies," I told him.

"I'd imagine that your penchant for chaos grates on our King Faris's sensibilities."

I shrugged. "Daddy doesn't like it, but he's also accepted that demanding I clean up my room is a lost cause."

His forehead crinkled. "You are a very peculiar angel."

Eros didn't appear to have any sense of humor, but at least he didn't condemn me for mine.

"So were you going to ask me something, or did you just come over to banter?" he asked.

There was something decidedly sardonic swimming in his eyes. Maybe I'd misjudged him. Maybe Eros had a sense of humor after all.

"I need to ask you about Lady Saphira," I replied.

"Very well, but I must warn you that I hardly know her."

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I have only met Lady Saphira a few times and only at formal functions."

"But she's your fiancée."

"An impending marriage does not denote a personal connection."

Since when? The gods and I really did live in completely different universes.

"From what I do know of Lady Saphira, she is every bit the perfect goddess," Eros told me. "Well-educated, well-mannered, well-spoken. She works hard and is exceptionally driven. That's why my family decided to ally with hers. Lady Saphira's star is bright, her future all but assured."

"Until Lady Coralia's accusation," I said.

Eros nodded. "Coralia's accusation has indeed changed things."

"Like the state of your betrothal?"

"Not as of yet. We must first wait to see how this pans out."

"And if I cannot disprove Coralia's accusations?" I asked him.

"Then my family will dissolve the engagement. I cannot marry a goddess who is nothing like what she is supposed to be. The whole reason for the marriage would be a lie. She would have no allies, no honor, and no chance of becoming one of the Seven."

It was a cold statement, but it did get me to thinking. Surely, Saphira had not worked tirelessly her whole life to be the perfect goddess, only to throw it all away by aiding rebels. It just wasn't in character. However, Coralia setting up Saphira in order to steal her allies would be one hundred percent within her character.

"Progress?" Stash asked, as I walked away from Eros.

I scanned the crowd. "I have to speak to Coralia. She stands the most to gain if Saphira falls."

"Lord Eros is a close third," he told me.

I glanced back at the stony-faced god. "No, he's more interested in battle than in politics."

Stash laughed. "You've certainly got him figured out." He pointed at the fountain with the floating teacups. "Coralia's over there."

I hurried over to her before another crowd of new admirers swarmed her. Ever since her declaration, she'd been surrounded by other gods and goddesses. I needed to get her alone.

I ran, managing to cut off a goddess in a gold gown before she reached Coralia. The gold goddess glared at me. I smiled back, pushing my magic down my pale hair to make it glow a shockingly wicked shade of diabolical purple. The goddess's eyes locked on to my hair. They grew wide, dilated. Then she shook off my enchantment. She shot me a dirty look before she turned and brusquely walked away. I'd been working a lot on my siren magic lately, but obviously I still had a ways to go before I could compel a god.

"Lady Coralia," I said.

The evil goddess's mouth twisted into a wide smile. "Leda Pandora, the one who will condemn Saphira for her treachery."

"You've already done a fine job of condemning her yourself."

Coralia's giggle was soft, high-pitched, and sounded like she was trying to clear something from very high up in her throat. "Her actions speak for themselves." She balanced the damning photograph between two fingers and passed it to me.

"You're giving this to me?"

"Think nothing of it, child. I have many more where that came from."

I pictured the wall of Coralia's evil lair covered in copies of that photograph. I probably wasn't far from the truth either.

"Where did you get this?" I waved the photograph.

"Over the last few months, Saphira has missed several important social obligations. A couple of galas here, a few visits to her allies there."

"I had no idea you kept such tight tabs on her schedule."

Coralia's coral lips spread into a saccharine smile. "It was a good thing someone was keeping tabs on her. After I noticed those missed dates, I grew suspicious. So I sent one of my people to spy on her. His name is Hunter. He found her with the rebels. He took the photograph."

"I'd like to speak to him."

"I'm afraid you'd find that conversation decidedly one-sided. As part of his sworn oath of secrecy to me, Hunter cut out his tongue."

Ew.

"If only Saphira had chosen an Inquirer who possessed the magic of telepathic communication. Any other soldier here would have done." Coralia looked across the gods and goddesses before she turned her haughty gaze back on me, searing smile and all. "But then, Saphira never was all that clever. No intelligent, self-respecting goddess would ever be caught dead with a bunch of rebel scoundrels." She placed the back of her hand on her forehead in a melodramatic gesture. "And rebels in Lord Eros's territory, no less. I suppose the wedding is off. For shame. I was really looking forward to seeing Lord Eros in a wedding suit."

So Coralia was not only trying to discredit Saphira; she was also trying to steal Saphira's fiancé—and all his influence and supporters too. The woman's ambition obviously didn't concern itself with morality.

"You might not be able to speak to my Hunter, but you can speak to Saphira's bodyguard Calix. Talk to him. He knows the truth. He knows Saphira is really a traitor."

I walked away from Coralia with a decidedly foul taste in my mouth. I knew she was trying to knock Lady Saphira out of the Choosing. But then why was she sending me to Saphira's most loyal supporter? Coralia was up to something. And I had a sinking feeling that my talking to Calix would play right into her hand.

But I did it anyway. What else could I do? I had no other leads, and I'd already spoken to almost everyone else at the party.

"Lady Saphira's travel itinerary is none of your concern," the stony-eyed bodyguard declared.

"So she did go somewhere she should not have gone?" I replied.

"Lady Saphira is a goddess. She may come and go as she pleases."

"Your stubborn refusal to answer my questions is not helping her case. Everyone else answered my questions."

Mostly. Except for Coralia's absent, tongueless lackey. But even if the mysterious Hunter could have talked, I knew the only words that escaped his mouth would have been the ones Coralia had put there. Anyone who cut out his own tongue to please his boss was not a freethinker.

"My Lady has done nothing disreputable," Calix told me. He was only partially paying attention to me; his eyes were tracking Saphira from across the room.

"Surely, you don't watch her every second," I said.

"Are you familiar with what a bodyguard does?"

Was this god bantering with me too? My time with Heaven's Army had forced me to reevaluate my belief that humor was a gift beyond the all-knowing gods' understanding.

"I have been Saphira's bodyguard since she was a child. I know what kind of person she is." His expression darkened. "And I know what kind of person Coralia is."

Well, that wasn't exactly helpful. It was, however, not surprising. Coralia couldn't be the only god who'd sworn her people to secrecy. She might just be the only one of them who made them cut out their own tongue. I didn't even want to think what you had to do to make sure an immortal god's tongue didn't grow back.

If I really wanted answers, I had to go to the source. I had to speak to Saphira. I could feel Calix's gaze following me as I cut through the crowd on my way to her.

"Lady Saphira, time is short, and the gods are impatient, so I'm going to get right to the point," I said as an opening.

"Please do." Her tone was even, her hands folded serenely before her. She didn't even look aggravated by my abruptness.

"Coralia has spoken of gaps in your schedule, missed appearances at a few of the Lords' Galas and the like," I said. "She believes you were in secret meetings with the rebels during those times."

"She would think that. Coralia always has to see the worst in people." Saphira sighed, as though Coralia's character flaws truly saddened her. "Yes, I was in secret meetings during those absences, but not with the rebels. I was meeting with several other lords and ladies, trying to gain their support in the Choosing."

"Sometimes for weeks at a time?"

"Making friends takes time, and a friendship is the key to gaining loyal allies."

"Apparently, they weren't so loyal after all." I glanced at a whispering cluster of gods watching us from the other side of the large water fountain.

"They did not denounce me at once when Coralia showed that photograph. Were I not a friend, they would have."

"That's a rather bizarre take on friendship."

"Gods are not human, Leda. Most of us understand friendship in a very different way than humans do."

"And do you understand friendship in a very different way than the other gods?" I asked her.

She chuckled softly. "What a bold way to speak to a god."

"I've never been very good at behaving myself."

"Yes. And no." She considered me carefully. "You don't always follow the rules, but you always follow your heart."

"My heart hasn't led me astray yet."

"But it has gotten you into a lot of trouble."

"It's much easier to fight your way through trouble than through a guilty conscience."

Her dark brows drew together. "Are you quite certain you are Faris's daughter?"

"So they tell me. As for me, I keep waiting to wake up and learn it was all a bad dream."

"We don't all follow in our father's footsteps," she said. "You are writing your own destiny."

"Trying to, but all these gods and demons and Guardians keep getting in the way. And it doesn't help that trouble seems to follow me wherever I go."

"Oh, trouble isn't following you, Leda Pandora," she told me. "You are following trouble. You followed it here, to the Lords' Gala. Luckily for me, you seem to have an uncanny knack for sorting out trouble."

"You picked me to be your Inquirer because you believed I could sort out your trouble." I glanced at the gossiping gods. "But to do that, I need your help. Tell me the truth. If all you were doing was making friends with other gods, why keep those meetings a secret?"

"Look around," she replied. "Most of these lords and ladies do not trust one another, let alone can stand being in the same room with one another. To secure their friendship, I must be subtle. I cannot very well tell one of my existing allies that I am meeting with a god that happens to be their sworn enemy. And so I must sometimes make alliances in secret."

"But surely your old allies eventually find out about your new allies."

"Eventually, perhaps. But by then they've moved on. Their enemies are different now."

"If the gods are in constant flux between friend and foe with one another, then at any given time, at least some of your allies aren't getting along."

"That is true. But they don't have a problem with their enemies who are already my allies. They have a problem if I try to make a new alliance with one of their current enemies."

I rubbed my head. "The politics of heaven sound even more complicated than the politics of Earth."

"They really are," she laughed. "But someone must do the job. Someone must look past the petty disputes that have severed alliances and friendships. Someone must move beyond minor slights that have escalated into full-out hatred. The gods need to be united if we are to face the demons, the Guardians, and who knows what else is out there."

"Good speech."

"It had better be," replied Saphira. "I've been practicing it for the last several hundred years."

I really had to give it to Saphira. She was good. She knew just what to say to everyone. She changed her tone, her speech, everything to suit the person she was talking to. She knew how to gain your trust and make you feel like her best friend. It was no wonder she was so popular.

I liked her too, even knowing that she was manipulating me. I guess I couldn't really hold it against her. She'd probably been doing it so long that being universally loved was simply natural to her.

Nearly two hours had now passed since Coralia's accusation. And I'd spoken to almost every god at the gala. At this point, I felt like I truly understood Lady Saphira—and yet I wasn't any closer to figuring out if she really had met with the rebels. Coralia's photograph seemed to indicate that she had, but then again, photographs could be faked. How was I supposed to know if it was real?

And then it hit me. Maybe I didn't know anything about faking photos, but I bet this sort of thing was right up Patch's alley.

"It's a fake," he declared when I showed him the picture. "Whoever faked it did a good job, though. I didn't notice it when Coralia projected it onto the sky, but looking at the real thing, yeah, I'm sure Saphira was edited into the photo. Look at the shadows cast on her from all those candles. They just aren't quite right. It's the candles. The truth is all in the candles."

I looked down at the photo and saw what he meant. The truth was indeed in the candles, but in more ways than one. In ways that Patch, despite his impressive magic and towering intellect, did not see. There were so many things the gods were far too omniscient to see.

"Thank you, Patch." I left him there, and walked over to the water lily fountain. And then I jumped up onto the same mermaid Coralia had climbed. "Lords and ladies, gods and goddesses," I borrowed the opening of Coralia's speech too, except I spoke the words with a little more volume—and a hell of a lot more pep. "This photograph is a fake. Lady Saphira was edited into it. Thank you for your attention."

By the time my feet hit the ground, Saphira's allies had abandoned Coralia. And by the time I'd rejoined Stash at the edge of the party terrace, they'd all loudly and emphatically declared their loyalty to Saphira. Based on the size of the crowd around the once-more perfect goddess, it didn't look like anyone here stood even a remote chance of beating her in the Choosing.

Saphira bowed her head to me from across the terrace, then allowed her allies to carry her away to the throne one of them had freshly created with a little bit of metal and a whole lot of magic.

"You have done a great service for the Lady Saphira tonight, and she won't soon forget it," Calix said behind me.

When I turned to face him, I saw two things in his eyes. The first was that he knew what I knew: though someone had edited Saphira into the photo, she had in fact been there with the rebels on that world. She'd just been too perfect to be caught on camera doing it.

"I'd rather have her on the council than Coralia. Better a goddess of mercy than a cruel and vengeful goddess," I told him quietly. "I believe that Saphira at least will try to do the right thing. I guess she figured the same about me when she picked me to be her Inquirer. She knew I'd do the right thing, even if the right thing meant covering for her."

Surprise flashed in his eyes.

"You know, I wasn't rewarded with angel wings merely because of my good looks." I winked at him.

But Calix wasn't in the mood to banter with me this time. How did you figure it out? he asked in my mind.

The candles in the photo. They look just like the candles at this gala. The event planner said they were all Saphira's idea. The gods always use magic lights, cast by spells, not candles. But the magic lights don't smell as nice as candles. She got the idea of candles as party lighting after visiting the rebels, didn't she?

Yes.

Lady Saphira, the perfect goddess, was guilty of consorting with rebels. What did it say about my character that this only made me like her more?

She's spent her whole life studying to be the perfect goddess. So what brought her to people who've rebelled against the gods?I wondered.

You would have to ask her, he told me. All I know is the rebel situation is not as cut-and-dry as people here believe.

So they aren't rebels?

Many of them are. Others were merely in the wrong place at the wrong time. And Lady Saphira has a bad habit of helping out people caught in tough spots.His face was almost reproachful.

That made me laugh. "You've trained Saphira to be the perfect goddess, but you don't really have her under control, do you? No, it seems to me like she's the one who has you under control."

That was the second thing I'd seen in Calix's eyes: he was totally and completely in love with Saphira.

"She doesn't know you're in love with her, does she?" I said.

"My feelings do not matter. I will always protect her. Always keep her secrets. No matter what happens."

"You do realize that your keeping her secrets saved her engagement to Eros."

"As it should be. A goddess needs allies to ascend to the council. And the council needs Saphira. It's for the good of all gods."

"You should tell her how you feel."

"I cannot. We can never be together, and I won't keep her from her great destiny."

The man had stayed by Saphira's side all these years, loved her, protected her, knowing all along that he could never have her. It was so beautiful, it almost brought a tear to my eye. I'd never before met a god so noble and self-sacrificing.

"You've done a great service for Saphira," Calix said again as his goddess walked away with her betrothed and Stash moved closer to me. "And so I am going to do a service for you. I have important information about your parents."

I perked up at that statement. There was so much I didn't know about my parents. So much I wanted to know.

"Nearly twenty-five years ago, Lady Saphira sent me to perform a service for Heaven's Army."

"What kind of service?"

"Many of the gods' noble houses send members of their personal guard to Heaven's Army for large-scale operations, usually important battles against the demons that require a lot of soldiers," Stash told me. "It's how the lords and ladies give back, how they do their part for the gods."

"They give back by sending others to give back for them?" I said. "Nice trick."

"Lords and ladies gain esteem from their guards' selfless acts of bravery," Calix said, and he didn't even look like he was being ironic. He was dead serious. "Twenty-five years ago, Lord Faris himself gave me my assignment. My mission wasn't on the battlefield, however. It was smaller—and yet more important to Faris than any single battle against the demons."

I waited for Calix to continue, and he didn't waste any time.

"I worked alone. My assignment: to spy on Grace, Demon of Faith."

"My mother."

He nodded. "You were the reason for my mission, Leda Pandora. At the time, Grace was pregnant with you, a child of heaven and hell. I discovered that Grace spent her days in meditation, performing rituals of ancient magic. A fetus can absorb so much more magic than any baby, child, or adult—and Grace poured magic into you continuously for nine months. Specifically, these rituals saturated you in telepathic magic."

Of all the powers gods and demons possessed, telepathy was their weakness. The strongest telepaths, or ghosts as they were often called, wielded the gift with far greater mastery than either gods or demons.

That's why Faris was collecting powerful ghosts. He commanded them to look into the past and dig up his enemies' darkest secrets. He used them to see the present, all that was going on in all the realms. And he wielded them to look into the future so he could avoid losses and solidify victories.

At least that was what Faris wanted. Thankfully, the power of telepathy was not nearly so precise. His ghosts caught enough glimpses to give him an edge, but not enough to give him complete supremacy over every deity, supernatural, and human in the known universe.

But Grace had saturated me with telepathic magic for nine months. Her goal was all too clear. She'd tried to create someone with total mastery over time, someone who could see anything that had ever happened, was happening, or would happen.

In other words, a terrible weapon. And whoever controlled this weapon would control every world in the cosmos.

"Did Grace succeed?" I clutched Calix by his jacket, desperation seeping into my words. "Did she succeed in giving me this magic?"

"You are an unusual case," he said, apparently completely unconcerned that I'd grabbed him. "In your natural state, your light and dark magics cancel each other out."

For that reason, I'd grown up believing I possessed no magic. And now, with each stronger dose of Nectar and Venom, I claimed another power, another piece of my magic destiny.

"So I won't know if Grace succeeded until my telepathic magic is unlocked," I said.

"That's right."

I'd joined the Legion of Angels to gain the power of Ghost's Whisper, the magic I needed to find and rescue my foster brother Zane. I'd worked toward this goal for two years. When I finally achieved it, when I finally acquired this magic, would I get more than I'd bargained for? I'd always thought that I made my own path, but maybe I was really following Grace's plan.

"Good luck, Leda Pandora," Calix declared. "You are surely going to need it."

With that said, Saphira's bodyguard walked away. The Lords' Gala was coming to an end, its share of drama exhausted for now. My head was buzzing with so many thoughts; it wasn't until Stash nudged me with his elbow that I realized the rest of the team had joined us.

"Another successful mission," Devlin said with professional satisfaction.

And he wasn't the only one satisfied.

"Glad you came along for one more job." Punch punched me playfully in my arm.

At least it was supposed to be playful. In truth, it felt like being hit with a baseball bat.

"This was certainly more entertaining than the last Lords' Gala," Octavian agreed. "The most exciting thing that happened there was when someone sprinkled Devil's Powder on the cupcakes."

Devlin frowned. "We never did identify the culprit."

Punch winked at me behind Devlin's back. Nice to see he could find ways to amuse himself that didn't involve brute force.

"I wonder if Saphira truly has enough support to take Valora's place," said Patch.

"I'd love to have front-row seats to that show," said Punch.

"Did I hear that correctly, Punch?" A ghost of a smile touched Devlin's lips. "Are you volunteering for another gala mission?"

"Only if Leda comes along. Nothing ever goes to plan when she's around."

Punch cheerfully slapped me again. At least this time, he hit my back, which hurt considerably less than when he hit my arm.

"That will be up to Faris." Devlin looked at me. "Your service with Heaven's Army is complete. You're free to return to Earth now. I'll write my report on you and send it to Faris in the morning."

"So, how'd I do?" I asked with a coy smile.

"Let's see. You revealed a scheming goddess's deception, thereby averting a civil war. I'd say you did ok."

"Just ok?"

"Pretty ok."

"Is ‘pretty ok' better or worse than just plain ‘ok'?" Arabelle wondered.

"What the hell do I know? Playing with words isn't nearly as much fun as playing with fists," replied Punch.

She frowned. "You would say that."

"Of course I'd say that." He thumped a fist against his chest. "And so would any self-respecting soldier."

"I happen to know you do crossword puzzles when you're off-duty, Punch," Octavian said. "And that's absolutely playing with words."

"And? Doing crossword puzzles helps me prepare myself for battle." A grin twisted Punch's mouth. "Just like you always meditate naked before a mission."

Octavian's face flushed as red as his hair.

"You guys are so weird." I wrapped one arm around Punch and the other around Octavian, and we all walked down the stone path toward the exit. "I never thought I'd say this about gods, but I'm really going to miss you."

"Right back at you, angel," Arabelle said, matching my smirk. "Come visit us anytime."

"Just make sure to call first so we know to pack fireproof armor," Octavian added.

Patch nodded. "And explosives."

"And lots and lots of popcorn," Punch said gleefully.

"Gods eat popcorn?" I asked in surprise.

"Leda Pandora, you spent a week with Heaven's Army, but there's still so much you don't know about us," Devlin said.

"I can't wait to find out more."

And the crazy thing was, I was completely serious. Though every step I took was bringing me closer to home, and though my life was back on Earth, a part of me wanted to stay here. I was the child of a god and a demon and had been raised as a human on Earth. I belonged nowhere—and yet everywhere.

I was Leda Pandora, the Protector of the Earth and the Angel of Heaven and Hell.