So that whole fight out there...? Luce asked. Her voice choked.

She couldn't bring herself to really talk about

Penn yet. just one of many battles we wage against the demons, Gabbe said. Well, who won? nobody Daniel
said bitterly. He picked up a large shard from the stained-glass ceiling and flung it across the chapel. It
shattered into a hundred tiny fragments, but it did not seem to have released any of his anger. nobody ever
wins. Itis close to impossible for one angel to extinguish another. Itis just a lot of beating until everyone gets
tired and calls it a night. Luce jolted when a strange image flashed into her mind. It was Daniel being struck
directly on the shoulder by one of the long black bolts that had hit Penn. She opened her eyes and looked at
his right shoulder. There was blood on his chest. You’re hurt, she whispered. , Daniel said. He can’t get hurt,
he is What is that on your arm, Daniel? Arriane asked, pointing at his chest. is that blood? It is Pennis Daniel
said brusquely. I found her at the foot of the stairs. Luceis heart constricted. We need to bury Penn, she said.
next to her father. Luce, honey, Gabbe said, standing up. i wish there were time for that, bat right now, we've
got to go. I won't abandon her. She doesn't have anyone else. Luce, Daniel said, rubbing his forehead. She
died in my arms, Daniel. Because I didn't know any better than to follow miss Sophia to this torture
chamber. Luce looked at all three of them. Because none of you told me anything. Okay, Daniel said. Well
make things as right for Penn as we can. But then we need to get you far away from here. A gust of wind
filtered down from the gash in the ceiling, causing the candles to flicker and making the remaining shards of
glass in the broken window sway. In the next moment, they fell in a rain of sharp splinters. Just in time,
Gabbe glided off the altar and came to stand at Luceis side. She seemed unfazed. Daniel is right, she said.
The trace we called after the battle applies only to angels. And now that so many know about the she paused,
clearing her throatóium, change in your mortality status, there are a lot of bad ones out there who'll be
interested in you. Arrianeis wings lifted her off the ground. And a lot of good ones who will come out to
help fend them off, she said, gliding toward Luceis other side as if to reassure her. is still don’t get it, Luce
said. Why does it matter so much? Why do I matter so much? Is it just because Daniel loves me? Daniel
sighed. That is part of it, as innocent as it sounds. You know everyone loves to hate a happy pair of
lovebirds, Arriane chimed in. Honey , this is a very long story, Gabbe told her, the voice of reason. We can
only give it to you a chapter at a time. And like with my wings, Daniel added, You will have to awaken to a
lot of it on your own. But why? Luce asked. This conversation was so frustrating. She felt like a child being
told she would get it when she was older. Why can't you just help me understand? We can help, Arriane
said, but we can’t unload everything on you at once. Like how you're never supposed to shock a sleepwalker
into wakefulness. Itis too dangerous. Luce wrapped her arms around herself. it would kill me, i she said,
offering up the words the rest of them were circumventing. Daniel put his arms around her. it has before.
And you've had enough close encounters with death for one night. So what? Now I just have to leave
school? She turned to Daniel. Where will you take me? His brow furrowed, and he looked away from her. I
can’t take you anywhere. It would draw too much attention. We’re going to have to rely on someone else.
There is one mortal here we can trust. He looked at Arriane. I'll get him, she said, rising. I won't leave you,
Luce said to Daniel. Her lip quivered. Jive only just gotten you back. TWENTY DAYBREAK Dawn. The
break of the last day Luce would see at Sword & Cross farewell, she didn't know how long. A single wild
dove’s coo rang out in the saffron sky as she stepped through the gyms kudzu- swathed doors. Slowly, she
set off toward the cemetery, hand in hand with Daniel. They were quiet as they walked across the still grass
of the commons. Just before they’d left the chapel, one at a time, the others had retracted their wings. It was
a sobering, laborious process that left them lethargic once they were back in human form. Watching the
transformation, Luce couldn't believe how the massive, brilliant wings could turn so small and feeble, finally
vanishing into the angels skin. When it was over, sheid ran her hand over Danielis bare back. For the first
time, he seemed modest, sensitive to her touch. Gat his skin was as smooth and unblemished as a baby’s.
And in his face, in all of their faces, Luce could still see the silver light manifested inside them, shining out
in all directions. In the end, they’d carried Pennis body back up the steep stone stairs to the chapel, wiped
the altar clean of glass, and laid her body there. There was no way they could bury her this morning not with
the cemetery teeming with