..." They share a sinful laugh between the two of them.

"Wait, we shouldn't judge an Angel by his wing span," Ameana says.

"Um...what else are we supposed to judge him by, his soul?" They share yet another laugh.

"Look at it this way, if Kairo kills us, we can die looking at the best set of wings this side of the light," Ameana adds.

"Mmmmm, now that's a good death!"

CHAPTER SEVEN: IT'S TIME....

I head to Marcus's room. I enter and find him standing by the window. His room is decorated very much like mine: simple "earthy" elegance.

"I think Miku is still hung up on what she did as Redd," I inform him.

"Yeah, I got the feeling when she basically suggested we play nice with Tics who were trying to kill us. I thought maybe she'd get around to talking to Ameana about it."

"She did. They're in Miku's room. Ameana is sharing her innermost fantasy about taking my life."

"Did you tell her to get in line behind Lucy and the Akons?" he says. I smile and lean in to kiss him. The sparks from his kiss always ignites something in me.

"Are you okay with her and Miku being so close?" he asks.

"They knew each other first. Anyway, she and I get to have our little ...talks."

"Really? About what?"

"Stuff," I say, blushing as I turn away.

"What did you two talk about?" he says, studying my face with growing interest.

"Unicorns, pillow fights, and nail polish."

"So you won't tell me?"

"Nope."

"I could persuade you," he says, pulling me closer.

He kisses the nape of my neck gently. I exhale softly and wisely pull away. If I let him, he would be able to get every embarra.s.sing detail out of me. Actually if he continues to kiss me the way he is, I would act out my conversation with Miku in sock puppets. Marcus is wrong. His power isn't his strength or his ability to reflect a person's fear back to them. His real power is in his touch.

"Don't distract me, Guardian; I'm here on a mission," I say with my best "official" voice.

"What is your mission?"

"To get my hottie boyfriend to open up to me."

"Open up about what?"

"Kairo. How dangerous is he?"

"Emmy, don't worry. You know I'll protect you."

"Yeah, I know. But who's going to protect you and the rest of the team?"

"It's our job to put our lives in danger. You know that."

"I also know that the mission would be complete if you weren't in love with me."

"But I am."

"I need to know: How dangerous is Kairo?"

"All you need to know is that your Angel loves you more than his own soul."

I am about to argue but there is a knock on the door. The rest of the team wanders in.

"I guess no one could recharge, huh?" Marcus asks.

"Not after finding out all this craziness. Are we really taking on Kairo?" Rio asks.

"We don't have a choice," Marcus replies.

"I was taking a look around the temple and there's a room filled with beds. Like hospital beds," Jay says.

"What do they need it for?" I ask.

"I asked Charity and she just said it was for extra guests."

"So?" Miku says.

"So, who has fifty extra people sleeping over?" Jay asks.

"It could be nothing," Ameana says.

"That's just it, you guys. It could

be anything. I think we're moving too fast on this. I know the Council isn't perfect but why would they deny the existence of a whole race?"

"They did that because they were afraid of the balance shifting," Miku replies.

"I don't know. I'm not sure we should be undoing anything the Council has done," Jay protests.

"We brought Rio back," Miku replies.

"That's different."

"No, it isn't. The Council isn't perfect. They never should have denied the Quo the right to equality. Now we get to correct that," Marcus says.

"This has nothing to do with equality. You want to save the human," Ameana says.

"It's been almost a year now. Can you just say my name?" I ask, no longer hiding the irritation in my voice.

She ignores me and address the team.

"Jay does have a point. We need more time to dig deeper into the Quo."

"We don't have time. There is a price on Emmy's head. Every single evil ent.i.ty is looking for her," Marcus replies.

"The Council hid an entire race from us. I just think we really need to find out why," Jay insists.

"The Triplex is in Emmy. The Council hid that from us, too. They do whatever they want," Miku reflects.

"I'm just saying we need to slow down," Jay adds.

"Again, we don't have time," Marcus objects.

"Look man, I know you love, Emmy. I love baby girl, too. But you are walking into to a ridiculously dangerous situation without enough info," Jay warns.

"What do you want me to do? Google 'Quo People'?" Marcus snaps.

"Let's go back to The Sage, maybe he knows something."

"No. I'm not wasting anymore time," Marcus vows.

"He's just telling you to be careful, Marcus. We could go to Pyron and it could be some kind of trap," I inform him.

"I get that, Emmy. But it doesn't matter. It's the only way to keep you alive."

"Were they being honest when they said they are the Triplets from the story?" Miku asks her twin.

"Yes, but they do have secrets."

"That's everybody," Ameana says.

"When they talked about their history was it true?" I ask.

"It's not that simple. The sisters are radiating a lot of things. But it could be because they are lying to us about something or because they have their own personal issues going on. For example, Charity is so hot for Jay she's about to jump out of her skin."

Normally Jay would use that opportunity to make a joke but he didn't. He must really be worried about this mission.

"We need to talk to The Sage," Jay says again.

"No time," Marcus insists.

"Can we at least call him?" Ameana wonders.

"I tried calling, there's no cell service here," Jay replies.

"Jay, you've always had my back. What's changed?" Marcus accuses.

"I have always had your back, but you're compromised. I get it. You're in love. But if you're not thinking clearly, then it's our job to get you to stop and think about what you're doing," Jay pleads.

"I know what I'm doing."

"Is that why we lost Reese? Is that why we almost lost Rio?"

"I'm so sick of you throwing that in my face. How many times have I helped make a win happen for this team? How many Cycles is it going to take for you to forgive me for Reese's death?"

"He was my best friend. Every single day, he's on my mind."

"He's on my mind, too, Jay."

"That's c.r.a.p. The only one on your mind is, and always will be, Emmy."

"What the h.e.l.l do you want from me? Huh? You think hating will bring Reese back?"

"I think forcing you to focus will prevent us from dying a tortuous death."

"Oh and when you came down here on this mission, was that your goal, Jayden? To make sure you had an easy death?"

"I wanted not to die at all."

"Then you never should have agreed to be a Guardian. We don't get to choose how we die. We get a mission and we complete it. Period."