35. Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Five

Lexia

"It's been a week. I think we need a new plan," I say, failing to keep my annoyance out of my words.

None of them seem to listen to me. All they want to do is sit here and wait. But we don't have time for that. Hades is depending on us to bring Persephone back to him. The world is depending on us to save them. My father is still out there somewhere, and we don't know if he's in danger or not. The shadows are still against us. We aren't just fighting against the clock now; we're fighting them too because they have the journal. What if they find Persephone before we do? Hades said he's kept this secret for so long… but if Persephone is at risk, he may tell them just to get her back. And I'm not sure I could blame him for that.

How does no one get the severity of the position we're in?

"We understand yo—" Lumen stops speaking mid-word when there is a knock on the door. The four of us stare at it as if it'll explode.

"Shadows wouldn't knock, right?" I say quietly.

"Most likely not," Vesperon says, standing up and moving to my side.

"Perhaps a neighbor bringing us a housewarming pastry?" Slate suggests.

"If that's the case, Vesperon needs to hide," Lumen says as he gets up and walks toward the door.

I go with Vesperon into the bedroom but stand by the door to hear what is happening.

"Can I help you?" Lumen asks politely after the door squeaks open.

My heart pounds as I wait for something to come next. A voice. An explosion. A yell. Something to tell me what is going on.

"Hi, I am looking for Lexia."

Looking for me? By name?

Who could that be? The voice sounds male, but not at all rugged or deep. But who in the world would know to look for me here?

"Who are you?" Lumen asks, this time not as politely.

"I am Rasiel. I come from Heaven."

Those words have me racing out of the room so fast I nearly trip over my own feet.

"You're here from Heaven?" I shout, causing everyone to look at me like I'm nuts.

Rasiel's expression only lasts for a second. It quickly turns into a smile.

"There you are," he says. His gaze goes back to Lumen. "May I please come in?"

"How do we know you are who you say you are?" Lumen asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

Rasiel pulls up his loose white sleeve, and even from here I see a glittering gold mark on the inside of his wrist. "It's the mark of Heaven," he explains, raising it up for Lumen to see.

"How do we know that's real?" Slate asks. "They look like yours." He points to Lumen.

"They look nothing alike," I say, ignoring the fact this is the first time Slate has mentioned that he too can see Lumen's gold marks. It's not that we didn't know we were all mates—obviously we are—but maybe that bit of information would have made things easier in the beginning.

"She is right," Rasiel says, his smile falling. "They are vastly different."

"I must agree." Vesperon steps beside me.

Rasiel eyes him, then smiles widely. "A shadow. I've never seen one. My, what a sight you are." He sounds truly in awe of this, which I find sort of cute.

Slate frowns, looking at Ves as if he doesn't understand why Rasiel is so intrigued. I look at Ves next and totally understand. He's an interesting creature to see.

"Let him in," I demand, stepping forward and tugging on Lumen's arm so he moves out of the doorway. He doesn't fight me, and neither does Slate. "Come in."

Rasiel steps inside, and I close the door, grateful the heat is being kept out. I still don't understand how anyone lives here all the time.

I lead Rasiel to the dining room table, and my three guys follow. It's odd to me when they do something so in sync because it rarely happens. Though Ves did say he agreed with me on the markings being different, he's still physically standing with the guys and not with me. Which makes me think he's still hesitant of Rasiel.

I'm not complaining. I prefer them to get along.

"Would you like something to drink? We have water, coffee, tea—"

"Do you have hot chocolate?" he asks with bright eyes.

"Hot chocolate… Uh, yeah. I think we have some."

I ignore the odd looks I'm getting from the guys and open the cabinets. In the far back, there is a box of hot chocolate packets.

"I know it's an odd request, but I rarely visit earth, and this is one of my most favorite beverages," Rasiel explains.

I smile to myself. "It's okay. Not much different from tea or coffee, when you think about it."

It's quiet while I work on making it, using the microwave to heat the mug of water because I'm too nervous to work the coffee pot right now, even if it is only to get hot water. When the microwave beeps, I dump in the packet of hot chocolate and add a splash of milk to cool it and help with taste.

"Do you have cinnamon?" Rasiel asks.

"Of course." Again, I ignore the guys' stares, and add a bit of cinnamon to the top, then place the mug in front of Rasiel.

"Does anyone else want anything?" I ask the guys, who are standing in a line a few feet from the table. They all shake their heads. I nearly laugh at how silly they look, standing there together.

I sit perpendicular to Rasiel. "We weren't sure someone heard us."

Rasiel nods as he blows on his hot chocolate that is steaming, despite the added milk.

"It takes some time to sort through what the statue catches. It doesn't happen in real time."

"How does it work?" I am very interested to know this.

"It's fascinating, actually," he begins. "The statues we have placed around your realm sense when someone is speaking to them. When that happens, they send what is recorded—for simpler terminology—to our database. I am one of the people who reviews them, and it's lucky I caught this one."

"Why's that?" I ask.

"For the sake of time, let's just say there are only certain people who know of this situation and even less who are on this side of it."

"Finally, luck is on our side," I say.

Rasiel smiles before taking a sip of his drink. "Wow, this is delicious."

"So, are you able to help us?"

"Yes, of course. That is why I've come." He focuses on his hot chocolate for a while, and I feel the tension in the room build. The guys are staring at him as if he's a venomous snake. The poor guy is just trying to enjoy a drink. When he's finished, he puts his mug down. I take it and put it in the sink before returning to my seat.

"Now that you've had your hot chocolate, can we talk business?" Lumen says, stepping forward.

"Oh, this isn't business. It's just my duty as an angel."

Slate narrows his eyes on him, as if he's about to tell him off.

"Slate," I say in warning.

"What do we need to do, then?" Lumen asks. "How do we get Persephone back?"

"There is a formally written plan," Rasiel answers simply.

"You wrote up a plan?" Slate asks as Rasiel gets to his feet and digs into his back pocket.

"No, this plan has been written since Persephone was placed in our care."

"Care? Hades said she was imprisoned," I say.

"Semantics," he says dismissively, putting a piece of parchment paper on the table. It's folded into a neat square, but I can see how brittle it is. It must be old. "Here are the directions to get Persephone back. Good luck." He winks at me, then disappears in a misty cloud of smoke.

The four of us shared concerned looks, but I reach for the paper, ready to go to Heaven.