YiJun is heaven's most ruthless weapon, until the day he falls, and then he keeps falling.
How low can an Archangel fall, to protect that which is most precious to him?
Can he win the heart of the one for whom he chose to rebel or will the very thin...
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YiJun's POV
With a heavy heart, I let go of Xian. I go to the pastry shop two streets over and buy a basket of double glazed chocolate chip cookies and knock on Siara's door. "I come bearing your favorite delights. If not me, at least let these cookies in. They have done nothing wrong, have they?" I announce loudly, even though I knew she must be standing with her ear plastered to the door. As a woman who had lost some of her hearing over the years, I pitied her, but at the same time I loved her strong sense of self.
I patiently wait by her door holding the cookies, artistically arranged in the basket with a sorry note clearly visible on top. I knew she would check if my words were truthful before letting me in. I start counting in my mind, and before I have reached thirty, she opens the door a smidgen.
I direct my most charming smile at her, and she huffs. I catch the upturn of her lips before she snatches the basket from my hands and turns away. She doesn't invite me in; nonetheless, she leaves the door wide open.
Placing the gift in the middle of the dining table like a trophy, Siara mutters irritably, "Ungrateful, angel." I don't think she realizes that I can hear her. Poor woman. I tap her shoulder and bow, "I have been most ungrateful, Siara. Won't you forgive this jerk of an angel?"
Showing regret and making up for hurting the elderly by being clingy and owning up to the mistake usually works. This time is no different. Siara purses her lips but the mild, alluring fragrance of the cookies wins her over soon enough.
"You need to keep your distance from the boy," Siara warns, "At least till the king of the underworld has the power to manipulate him." She states, taking off the red lace bow adorning the basket's crown.
I don't question how she knew that Hei Chi's voice could affect Xian; instead, I jump to the most pressing matter, "Siara, how are things up there?" Since my charge had implied that maybe my father was not as stone-hearted as I had presumed, I couldn't shake the thought of contacting my sister, who was his most delicate, precious creation.
Siara takes a long deep breath and closes her eyes, and I wait for news from the place I once called home, the place I want to call home again. Siara's brows knit. She clutches the arms of the chair as if anchoring herself and speaks, "The mother is anxious. She is walking a thin line. She is contemplating contacting him. She knows she can reach you through him."
I nod and am about to ask her if she can tell me anything else when I notice Siara's eyes move behind the closed eyelids. "Your brother knows. Everything. He is scared but hopeful."
The seer opens her eyes and looks past me. "Your father is melancholy. He laments for his lost sons. Regret, betrayal, and love are making his heart grow weary." Her eyes regain focus. I can feel, more than see the worry in her chocolate-colored orbs, "YiJun, the portal to heaven is weakening."
The last piece of news shakes me to the core. The portal drew its power from father and the eternal tree. If it was weakening, that meant that something was terribly wrong with father or the tree itself. The fact that the seer could even look into my father's mind- something she has never been able to do- made sense now.
