a witch who can help us get those things off you,” he all but growls.
“Hello, Aislin can,” I remind him.
He slams to a halt, and I crash into him. “We’re going to need more than one witch in order to pull this off.”
“I’m going with you,” Aislin says, grabbing her jacket from the back of the sofa.
Alex looks back and forth between Laylen and me. “Are you going to be okay here by yourself?”
“I’ll be fine. I’m super strong right now and immortal. Plus, Laylen can stay here with me, but Aislin should go with you. I don’t want you going alone.” I look over at Aislin as something dawns on me. “Wait a minute. How’d you even get the Black Angel out of the cage without changing into one yourself?”
Aislin frowns. “I used magic . . . a spell I didn’t even realize I know.” She slips her arms through the sleeves of her jacket. “It was so weird, but somehow, I knew a lot of spells, darker spells.” She sighs, reaches in her pocket, and retrieves my locket. “Sorry I took this.”
“It’s okay.” I put my locket back on and then give Alex a heavy stare. “Hurry back, okay? It’s becoming more . . . difficult when you’re gone.”
He lightly touches the feathers on my wings, and I shiver. “I’ll be back soon.”
They head out, shutting the door behind them and leaving Laylen and I alone.
“So,” he starts, sinking into the sofa, “how bad was I?”
“You don’t remember what happened?” I ask, sitting down beside him.
“I remember some stuff . . .” he trails off, scratching at the back of his neck. “ I’m just asking because . . . You’re the one I hurt.”
My fingers wander to my neck where the bite marks once were. “It wasn’t that bad.”
His shoulders sag. “Please don’t sugarcoat it for me. I don’t deserve that.”
I twist to face him and put my hands on his shoulders. “You know what? You’re right. It was bad. You scared the shit out of me. But we’ve all done things we’re not proud of, and we just have to live with it and move on. Our mistakes don’t define us; it’s what we do afterward—how we grow—that makes us who we are.”
“When did you get to be so insightful?” he asks with a soft, shocked laugh.
I grin. “I learned from the best.”
His smile grows, and then he hugs me, wings and all.
ALEX
I hate leaving her, but there’s no way I’m going to let her come with me. Her violet eyes draw enough attention, but now she has wings.
“How do you know about this spell, but I don’t?” Aislin jogs after me as I shove my way down the crowded streets of Vegas.
The neon lights flash across every person’s face, and the slot machines ding from inside every building.
“I know a lot of things you don’t,” I tell her, squeezing past a guy dressed like a cat who’s really a vampire. In fact, most of the people around here are otherworldly creatures.
“Yeah, but I’m a witch. You’d think I’d know there’s a spell to remove the wings of a Black Angel without sending them to hell.” She casts a glance around the crowded sidewalk. “I wish it only took one witch. It’d be so much easier.”
“You need a witch for each wing. So this is where all the vampires, fey, and witches migrated to.” I intentionally change the subject, worried if she finds out how I know about the spell, she’ll get upset.
When I was younger, before our mom vanished, she used to teach me all kinds of stuff, including spells, even though I’m not a witch, like how to slay a Death Walker and the location of the City of Crystal. She also taught me how to turn a Black Angel back into a human. Sometimes, I wonder if she knew all of this was going to happen and was preparing me for it.
Aislin shakes her head and crosses her arms. “I can tell when you’re lying.”
“I know I am.” I scan the crowd for a witch who isn’t marked. “But right now, all I care about is getting those damn wings off Gemma.” I spot a witch not too far away with her head tipped down and her gaze fastened on the ground. She looks terrified out of her damn mind, and I’m betting it’s because she’s not marked.
“You know we have a ton of other problems, right?” Aislin reminds me. “Like the fact