Chapter 21

Abby

I land with a soft thud, tucking my wings away before I start towards the gazebo. My heart races, hoping he's here. If not, I hope the others find him fast. The idea of him roaming around the island makes me uneasy. He can handle himself, maybe a little too well.

But as I approach the gazebo, I see him and my heart flutters.

Slowly, I make the way up the few steps and pause, taking him in. Something is different, I can feel it in the air around me.

He's different.

He's sitting on the railing, one leg hanging over the edge, the other propped up, back against the pillar. One of his hands is in the pocket of his leather jacket. He's been wearing it ever since we got back from Hell. Seeing him wear it was like getting a little piece of him back.

His head is tilted back, eyes closed. But none of that is what has my mind whirling. It's the cigarette he has in his hand, his other arm laying against the top of his knee.

Bringing the cigarette to his lips, he takes a drag, holds it in for a moment before blowing it towards the sky.

I don't move, I'm afraid to and I don't know why.

He takes the cigarette and flicks it into the grass. I frown and say the first thing that comes to mine. "That could cause a fire."

Zed's eyes are still closed as his lips slowly curve up into a smile. "It's a good thing my mate can control fire." His deep gravelly voice makes me shiver. "Or is that only hellfire?"

He lowers his head towards me and opens his eyes. His eyes. Eyes that were once an eerie pitch black are now their original sky blue.

My heart starts to race as my lips part. "Zed?" I whisper.

He swings his legs over and hops to his feet. With each step closer, I feel like I'm going to pass out.

He doesn't stop until we're toe to toe, making me tilt my head back to look up at him. His raven black hair hangs forward and he gives me a smirk that makes me melt.

"Who else would I be, Little Bird?"

A sob of shock and relief rips from my chest. "You remember."

Lifting his hand, he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering on my cheeks. "I remember," he murmurs. "Even when I couldn't, I always knew you were mine, Little Bird. My heart, my soul, my fucking everything. Thank you." He brushes his thumb against my lip. "Thank you for loving me so fiercely, for fighting so hard to get me back. If it wasn't for you, I'd be down there, floating endlessly in that pool for eternity."

His lips crash into mine and tears spill down my cheeks as I cling to him, kissing him frantically like he's the air that I need to breathe.

"I'd always fight for you," I pant out in between kisses. "You would do the same for me."

"Damn fucking right I would," he growls, kissing me again as he backs me up until I'm pressed against the pillar. I moan, my fingers fisting his shirt. "But I should fucking spank that ass until you're too sore to sit for risking your life. Abby, that was so fucking reckless."

"I don't regret it," I say breathlessly.

"I know you don't." He sucks my bottom lip into his mouth, biting down and making me moan. "It's one of the many things I love about you. You fight for the ones you love, even if it puts you at risk."

I lick my lips, unable to look away from his stunning eyes. "Do you remember everything?"

He nods. "I have my memories back, but that's the only thing." He sighs, stepping back. "My wings are still fucked up, I can feel the darkness that continues to taint my soul and the urge to murder people is still there." He chuckles, trying to make light but I can see it bothers him.

"I'm sorry," I whisper.

"Don't be." He pulls me into his arms and I grab onto him like he's my life line. Because he is, they all are. "I'm the one who's sorry. Dear god, what the fuck was that? How I acted before I got my memories back."

My chest shakes with laughter as I grin against his chest. "We all loved it. The humor helped with the change."

"You really are fucking amazing, you know that?" He tugs the end of my hair, making me tilt my head back to look at him again. "You didn't sit and wallow. You didn't spend endless hours trying to get me to remember. You accepted me for who I became and didn't love me any less. I'm so fucking lucky to call you mine," he growls, nipping at my lips.

"I'm the one who's lucky." Tears fill my eyes again. "I still can't believe you died. The pain I felt." My chest hurts just thinking of it. "I couldn't breathe. It was like a part of me died too. I killed him, you know."

"I know," he murmurs. "Thank you. It couldn't have been easy."

"Actually, it was the easiest decision of my life, even if I wasn't in my right mind when I made it. He wasn't a good person. If anything, I think he was more evil than my dad." I shake my head.

"If only he could rot in Hell," Zed mutters.

"About that. God had some interesting things to say."

"Yeah?" he asks. "Like what?"

"Let's go home, and we can all talk about it."

"Home." He nods slowly, smirking. "I like that."

We walk hand in hand, laughing as we replay a lot of the things he said and did when he didn't remember who he was.

"I'm not going to lie, I enjoyed the possessiveness and roughness." I bite my lower lip, loving the way his eyes heat.

"Don't worry, Little Bird. That hasn't changed," he growls, tucking me under his arm.

When we get back to the house, the others are there. "Gave up on finding him?" I ask with a laugh.

Isaac shakes his head, smirking. "Nah, we found you two talking and left. Figured you wanted privacy."

"Well, wasn't that awfully kind of you, little brother. Are we learning to play nice with others now?"

Isaac's eyes widen, snapping to me. "He remembers?"

"He does." I can't help but grin.

"Oh, thank fuck!" Frankie throws herself into Zed's arms and he laughs. "Not that I didn't enjoy the new you, trust me it was highly entertaining, but I did miss you."

"Missed you too." He hugs Frankie tight, winking when he finds me watching, heart fucking bursting.

"Glad to have you back." Leo grins.

"Glad to be back." Zed pulls Leo into a hug, surprising him.

"Damn it," Luke mutters. "Things are gonna be boring around here now."

"Never," Zed scoffs. "For us? I think that's impossible." Zed looks at Isaac and then smirks at me. "Still want that brother sandwich, Little Bird?" he murmurs and my cheeks heat.

"Zed," I hiss.

"That's a yes." He chuckles, looking at Isaac. "Let's do some brotherly bonding first though, hey."

"Ah, yeah." Isaac looks shocked.

"I think double teaming your mate seems like a pretty good way to bond." Frankie grins widely.

"Okay, enough about sex." Isaac clears his throat. "Glad you're back."

Zed nods his head, giving him a smile. "Thanks."

"There's always time for sex." Luke rolls his eyes.

I smile and shake my head. "Come on, let's go inside. We have a lot to talk about."

We all head into the backyard and I tell them everything God told me. About what's happening with Gabriel and Raphael. How Michael is now a human set to live out a human life before his judgement day comes.

Both Zed and Isaac are rooting for him to end up in Hell. We all are, to be honest.

Then about how I'm pretty sure God is who restored Zed's memories and how he wants us to take over not only the school, but the whole island.

"So let me get this straight." Luke holds up a hand. "God wants to give us control of not only the school, but this whole damn place?"

"Yup." I nod. "He wants us to undo what your fathers have done. And to open the school up for everyone."

"What did you tell him?" Frankie asks.

"I told him I'd talk to you all. I'm not going to agree unless we're all on the same page."

We all sit for a moment, everyone in their own thoughts. "I mean, I didn't really have anything planned for my life after school," Luke admits. "Fuck, that sounds pathetic."

"As pathetic as it might be, I'm with Luke on this one. If this is something you want to do, Abby, then so do I." Noah smiles.

"I mean, same." Luke nods.

"Could be fun," Leo adds. "I'd love to see if we could change the mindset of some of these self-righteous pricks."

"I honestly don't care what we do," Frankie says. "I'm with you." She tells me.

Isaac and Zed look at each other. "What do you think, little brother? Wanna help fix the toxic bullshit dear old pops brainwashed all these lovely people into believing?"

"Yeah." Isaac nods slowly. "I think I do."

"Well, that's that." I look around at my mates, excited for the new adventure we're about to take. Together. Happy, in love. Everything I thought I wasn't going to get to have just a few weeks ago.

Even for ones who are meant to be immortal, it seems we're never guaranteed tomorrow. Why not use the time we have to make the world a little bit better of a place than it was before.