Grace and Glory (The Harbinger #3) - Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,7
constantly making snide comments about the Wardens.
“Wait. Those who didn’t accept the choice? Or weren’t given one?” I asked. “What happened to them?”
“You already know the answer to that.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. I did. I just didn’t want it to be true. “They’re still entombed.”
“They are.”
Dear God.
The Throne watched me. “Then, when a Warden dies, he or she comes unto judgment. They will either be ushered into eternal peace or granted Glory. To be reborn as they once were.”
Learning how the Wardens became who they were was mind-blowing, and I had questions. Like how in the world did the demons keep this a secret? If Roth knew the truth, which I was betting he did, then more had to. But at the moment only Zayne mattered. “So when you say he was restored, he was made an...an angel?”
He nodded.
“Zayne had wings—big, fluffy angel wings—and he had grace. A lot of it. I didn’t think the Fallen had wings or grace.” That was what I’d always been told, and even Roth had said so. Only Lucifer had retained his wings and grace, because he’d been kicked out before God realized that should be a thing to do.
“Not all are given redemption. Only those who are truly deserving or are found to be useful are restored to their Glory, given their grace and wings. He was chosen,” the Throne repeated. “He was restored.”
I opened my mouth, but there were no words as it finally, truly sunk in. Zayne had become an angel, an actual angel, and then he’d Fallen...
How could he have done that?
I wanted to go back out there, find him and smack him in the face. Not because I wasn’t appreciative. I wanted Zayne back. I’d been prepared to go to the Grim Reaper to see what I could do, but he’d become a freaking angel in Heaven. Angels were often pretty much useless in the big scheme of things, but they were angels. I had no idea what that would feel like, to be a full-blooded one, but it had to be amazing. It had to be like...coming home.
I would’ve never taken him from this. Emotion choked me as tears burned my eyes. I looked away, pressing my lips together. How could there still be tears left when I’d cried so much? How could he do this? Seeing him tonight had been like a dream come true, but at what cost? He...he Fell for me, and he didn’t seem to know who I was.
“You should want to weep,” the angel said softly.
I jerked my heard toward the angel. There was a sadness in the angel’s voice and in his smile that shocked me. I’d always believed angels were without emotion, but what I heard in his words was real.
“Zayne had accomplished what so very few have ever done on their own,” he said. “If I had been him, I would’ve remained in the Heavens. I would’ve helped ensure that Heaven could no longer be accessed, sealing the gates before any corrupt soul could enter.”
“Seal the gates?” I blinked the tears from my eyes.
The Throne nodded. “Many of us feel that this world,” he said, spreading his arms wide, “has become a lost cause. That there will be no stopping Gabriel, and all that we can do is prevent his taint from reaching us.”
Dumbfounded, I stared at him. “You basically want to quarantine Heaven from Earth?”
“But here I am instead,” he said, as if that excused the fact that there were angels who basically wanted to wash their hands of their own freaking mess called Gabriel.
The only thing that could’ve distracted me from how utterly infuriating angels were was what he said next.
“Zayne was presented with many choices. He could go on to eternal peace. Reborn, he could remain in the Heavens to guard the gates. He could’ve chosen to train with our armies for the final battle that will come no matter what Gabriel accomplishes. He could’ve chosen to return to Earth at the right moment, the one where he would be needed most. But he chose to return to you, to fight beside you now and forever, even though we warned him that if he were to return now, he would Fall.” There was a short laugh that sounded like wind on the mountains. “Even if he hadn’t so vocally admitted what he wanted or if we hadn’t presented him with such choices, we knew he would’ve found a way to return to you.”