Embracing Eternity Read Online Free PDF

to be a way. He was a Guardian Angel, one of Raphael’s chosen. He did not give up on souls.
    “Evan—”
    “No. Whatever you have to say, no.” Evan jumped to his feet and began to pace. He could not accept anything said with such pacifying tones. He didn’t want to be soothed.
    Once he’d kissed her, everything changed for him. This idea of bringing her home had taken root and deep down he was certain it was the right thing to do. The moment his lips had touched hers, he’d felt her loneliness, her heartsickness and the desire to go home, to Heaven.
    He wanted to do this for her. He was determined to bring Meela home and would accept nothing less. “I want you to read over the Law, consult with the Archangel Gabriel. Take it to the Most High himself. There must be some hope for her.”
    “She is not the same cherub we once knew. She has changed.”
    “She’s not as changed as you believe.”
    “Or perhaps she’s not as unchanged as you imagine.”
    Evan wouldn’t believe that. He couldn’t. Beneath the façade of careless play, Meela had always had a loving and generous heart. It was who she was, and an angel could never change their core being.
    Not even when they Fell.
    Ren studied him, his piercing eyes fixed on Evan for so long it made Evan’s feathers itch. “Are you truly prepared for this? You may not like the answers I find.”
    “I must know. I cannot continue to stand by, helpless.”
    Renatus sighed and scratched at the denim covering his knee, studied the worn fabric with an intensity that had Evan wondering just what the other angel saw in those threads.
    “I’ll begin searching the records in the morning. If there is any precedent for the redemption of the lost, I will find it for you.”
    Evan collapsed back into the couch and released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Relief had his hands trembling. He doubted his watery knees would hold him and if he tried to transport himself on a thought there was no telling what realm he’d end up in.
    Renatus was one of Heaven’s top legalists. If there was an answer to this dilemma, Renatus would surely be the one to find it.
    “I thank you. I realize this is no small thing I ask.”
    Ren waved one hand dismissively. “You took care of Adam. That is a debt I can never repay. My hesitancy comes not from the task but from the results. What you wish is impossible and I do not want you to be disappointed.”
    “I ask only that you try for me. For Meela.”
    Ren shuddered. “For you.”
    Evan nodded in understanding. Meela had done much harm, to some more than others. Ren was not ready to forgive.
    He rose slowly, testing his wobbly knees. There seemed little left to say, so he gave Ren a formal bow and without another word, he returned home.

Chapter Three
     
    The peace woke her. It wasn’t the abrupt waking she was accustomed to, but a slow rise to consciousness. The strangeness of it permeated her sleep until she was forced to wake and see what was wrong.
    Meela didn’t move for long moments, her eyes closed, her mind alert for the scurry of lesser demons. She hadn’t been attacked at any point, but that didn’t mean they weren’t nearby, watching, waiting to tell Lucifer. The Master didn’t like it when his servants rested, and sleep this satisfying would surely earn punishment.
    But after three days of fun, three days of burning through the power Evan had fed her, she was too tired to do anything else.
    She strained to hear something, anything. But the vastness of the silence was enough to make her ears ache.
    She opened her eyes cautiously, holding still as stone.
    And found herself in the warmth of summer.
    From above came shifting light filtering through the treetops, and the ground under her was warm from soaking in the sun.
    She basked in the heat, holding on to every second she could. She didn’t want to sit up and face reality. Because it wasn’t summer, and she most definitely hadn’t gone to sleep in the