Chapter 6He woke to a flood of light so intense it looked like the clearing was on fire, and then its sudden, complete absence.
Aiden pushed himself up unsteadily until he was sitting, blinking and feeling about a hundred years old. He’d been moved to the farthest edge of the clearing, and his side and thigh were completely healed. His glasses were back over his eyes. They didn’t even need to be cleaned.
But his angel wasn’t there. That wasn’t right. He always stayed, at least as long as he was allowed to. Maybe that was the reason: he’d been told to go back, or maybe saving Aiden’s friends had broken the rules. Aiden hoped Eskandar wasn’t in trouble.
Where the tree stump had been was nothing but a pile of fine gray ash. Aiden’s chest didn’t hurt anymore. The clearing felt good now, saf
