I hesitate, but then I look into those black eyes that can see my soul. And when his lips touch mine, I feel everything shift, and all my anger melts away. When his eyes finally release me I feel calm, the acid in my core and the ache in my heart gone.
Gabe pulls a deep sigh and looks at me with wounded eyes, and my guilt crushes me. I need them both in ways I can't even understand. Gabe moves across the room and sits in the chair under the window.
I drop my head and stare into my lap.
Luc squeezes me. "So, back to my original question. What the hell is happening to me? What exactly is it that I'm transforming into?" He glowers at Gabe. "Not one of you. Please, for the love of all things unholy, tell me I'm not going to become some goody-two-shoes angel. I couldn't take it."
Gabe glowers back. "Don't know. Anything's possible. Let me know if you start sprouting wings."
I look up at Gabe. "Could he become like me? Human?"
Luc looks at me with that same hopeful expression I saw on his face earlier. Gabe answers, resigned. "It's possible. This is unprecedented as far as I know. I have no clue what's happening, except it's clearly happening and it's just as clearly significant. And you're the key. You're going to change the world, Frannie. This is big."
"Big…" I say, trying to figure out what that means. "So, are we talking, like, 'bringing him to Jesus' big," I say, waving my hand in Luc's direction, "or 'virgin birth' big?"
Luc scowls and a smile just touches the corners of Gabe's mouth. "Based on what you're capable of, I'd be thinking more along the lines of 'virgin birth' big. Although, if you could bring him to Jesus, that'd be pretty huge too."
Luc bolts off the couch and is across the room like a shot, eyes storming. "You can't be serious."
"Don't be such a doofus. If it wasn't big, would He have sent me? Her name is Mary, after all. Could anyone without Sway convince the masses of a virgin birth? The second coming of Christ?" A grin far too mischievous to ever be considered angelic flits across Gabe's face. "What's wrong, Lucifer? You don't want to be Joseph?"
Luc wheels around and braces his hands on the wall, sending up a growl that curls my hair. "Unholy Hell! This can't be happening." Then he spins back and stares at me, eyes wide.
I pull myself out of the couch and stand there, not sure what I'm feeling. I think about Gabe's kiss. If that was Heaven, I want more. I remember thinking I could just live there, in that peace and love. But that's not what he's saying-not what he's offering. I'm supposed to have some power, to do something with it that's supposed to save people. And as I think about that, panic takes over, making it a little hard to breathe.
Gabe tucks me into his side and wraps his arms around me. This time I let him, 'cause I need him. I melt into him as his summer snow buries me in calm and my breathing starts to ease.
When I can get enough air, I look up at him. "What's going to happen to me?"
His eyes are miles deep. I want to dive right into them. "Well, first off, this." He leans in and kisses my cheek, too close to my mouth, and my heart speeds up despite his calm. "You know I'll always be here for you. If you ever need anything," he glares at Luc, "you know where to come." Distress creeps into his eyes. "But after that, I'm not sure."
I press deeper into Gabe as Luc glares at us from the window. "You're playing a little fast and loose with those wings, don't you think?" he spits at Gabe.
In response, Gabe pulls me tighter into his body and smirks at Luc, but I see the uncertainty in his eyes. I sink into him and let his summer snow bury me so I don't have to think.