out to my son. “You’re right. Our lives diverged. But I want to bring them back together again.”
He looked at my extended hand. “That can only happen if you’re completely honest with me. I know there’s something you’re not telling me. Something about me. And whatever it is, I’m fairly certain my grandfather knows it too.”
“With that sharp mind, you would have made a good Interrogator.”
“I know.” He folded his arms over his chest and waited.
Nero deserved to know the truth. He had to know it. He wasn’t a ten-year-old boy anymore. He was an archangel. An archangel on the eve of his wedding. He might very well have children of his own soon. If he didn’t know about the hunters, he’d have a harder time protecting his children from them. This was important.
And so I told my son everything. I told him how Damiel and I had discovered the immortal daggers—and in so doing, how we’d discovered the truth of our Immortal blood too. I told him about my mother, his grandmother, one of the original Immortals. I told him about her prophecy that ‘the fate of everything’ depended on him. And I told him of the hunters who killed every Immortal descendant they could find.
Nero listened the whole time, still and silent. It was only after I’d spilled my last secret, that he spoke.
“The magic bestowed by the gods’ Nectar hides my true magic from the hunters.”
“Yes.”
“That’s why you wanted me to join the Legion.”
“Yes. When you were born, I gave you my mother’s amulet. It blended into your body, becoming a part of you, hiding your Immortal magic from the hunters. The amulet is one-of-a-kind, likely an artifact of my mother’s own invention. I studied it, trying to reproduce it, but the magic was too ancient, too complex. If the amulet were to break or be lost, I cannot make a new one.”
“And as long as I am using it, you cannot give it to another child,” he said.
“I can remove the amulet from your body so that you can give it to your child.”
“I have no child.”
“Yet. But we all know the reason behind your angel wedding, Nero. The Legion commanded you to marry Leda because she has the Fever. If she conceives a child, that child’s magic will be a bright beacon for every hunter to follow.”
“You’re going about this all backwards, Mother,” he told me.
“Oh?”
“These hunters are killing every Immortal descendant they can find. They are a menace on the universe. We shouldn’t be trying to hide our magic. We should be using our magic to take them down and end this hunt once and for all.”
“There are hundreds of them, Nero. Maybe even thousands. And they are spread out across the cosmos, living in the shadows. How could we ever hope to kill them all?”
His brows arched. “With help, of course.”
“Don’t you have enough on your plate already? You’re supposed to be getting married in a few hours.”
“I’m not the only one you can ask for help. Gather your forces to hunt the hunters. I’ll be there. In a few days.” His lips twisted into a smooth smile that reminded me of Damiel. “Or are you going to try to keep me out of this fight too?”
He was referring to how I’d sent him along to school that day, two hundred years ago, instead of allowing him to join me in the interrogation chamber. I couldn’t help but wonder if things would have gone differently had he been with me at the prison.
“I wouldn’t dare stand in an archangel’s way,” I said.
“Good.”
“As long as you bring Leda along,” I added.
He snorted. “As though I could keep her out of the fight.”
“She might be able to help us track down the hunters. I hear she’s good at finding people.”
“Much better than she is at following orders, that’s for sure.”
I laughed.
His brows furrowed. “It’s considerably less amusing when you’re the one trying to maintain order.”
“Nero, if all you wanted was order, you shouldn’t have fallen in love with the Angel of Chaos.”
“Love isn’t always sensible.”
“Indeed, it isn’t,” I agreed. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find my husband.”
20
Recollections
My son’s wedding was even more extravagant than mine had been. It was televised live to every city, town, and Legion outpost on Earth. Even the gods made an appearance, though I had to wonder if that was meant as a threat rather than a blessing.
The ceremony was transitioning into the after party, but neither