The Bliss by Jennifer Murgia Read Free Book Online Page A

loyalties are torn. I am a Guardian, first and forem ost, but Lucifer is my brother. Even if it isn’t by blood but by divine lineage that we are bonded, he being a member of the original seven Archs, while I came along much later. Even though Guardians are ageless, there is a sense that he is wiser, and I look up to him, worry over him. We are all family, the Archs the highest ranking, of course, but Lucifer has always taken me under his wing, has always been more protective of me than the others. There is a brotherly bond we share that is stronger than how I feel toward, say, Talan or Rhamiel, who are closer to my rank. 
         “The Archs are concerned,” Lucifer continues, “at whether or not I should continue to guard the Sixth Gate.”
         “I’m not quite sure I understand,” I am puzzled as I respond.
         Again, the slight flit of a smile curls at the edges of his mouth, but even he can’t convince me that it is not forced. “They see something in me that . . .  alarms them,” he whispers, peering beyond the boundaries again, threading the rope-like branches of the willow between his fingers. He opens his hand, not to show me his star, but to study it for his own reasons. “It is nearly judgment time.”
         I step forward, my brows knitting together at this development. “Why would they have you removed now, at such an irrevocable time in your Gate’s existence? What have you done to raise such suspicions?”
         “I suppose the threat they are most concerned with is one they feel is entirely too close for comfort.” He eyes me with intent, seeing that I am a few steps behind him in understanding his train of thought. He takes a breath, then shrugs his shoulders, arching his luminous wings high into the air above him. “Apparently I watch too closely.”
         I don’t understand what he means, how a human girl would be considered a threat. I dare wonder if perhaps the Seven have it all wrong. I am half tempted to run ahead to Rafael, to assure him and the others, that my brother is not a danger, that their rules and prying eyes have gone too far.
         For a second, an instant really, the color of Lucifer’s eyes seem to deepen, but before I can get a closer look, the shadow cast across them is gone. He stares off into the distance again, leaving me to wonder where exactly he has gone inside himself.
         Lucifer shoots me a reproachful look. “Careful, brother of mine, they will watch you too if you try to understand my reasons.”
         I take a cautious step forward and stand beside him. “Tell me then, brother. Tell me why you cannot do what a Guardian has done for eons and be satisfied? Why do you watch with . . .”
         “Curiosity?” he cuts me off. “There’s almost a craving to understand my Gate, to sway her,” he admits quietly.
         Lucifer turns to me, his eyes a clear deep blue again. He places a cool hand upon my arm and I tense, for the touch of a Guardian is usually warm.
         “The Sixth Gate is a young soul, my brother. There is a rift in her essence that I’ve been watching closely, and it’s an intoxicating thing. Years from now, perhaps a thousand or so, when her soul reaches enlightenment, she will transform . . . and I will be there.”
         “But we’re not supposed to try and understand the ones we guard. When did . . .”
         “When did I change, you wonder?” he says, finishing my sentence. “When the Archs chose her for me.” His voice bears the twinge of spite. “When they decided that I would be the angel to watch over such a young soul. When they knew, even before I, that I would be drawn to the way her mind works.” His tone is hard, and this time I do not miss the way his eyes darken and do not turn back.
         “You believe they chose her on purpose ?”
         He doesn’t answer me. I don’t expect him to. The Seven chose his charge wisely, and now my brother is