“You think he’s . . . what? Some kind of message for you? A nudge in the right direction from the Creator?”

“Possibly.” She pushed open the door to the supply room. “Or perhaps he’s a test.”

“Can you pass it?” Malachai shouldered into the room after her.

Grabbing a box of latex gloves off the shelf for Trevor, she answered, “I don’t have a choice.”

He crossed his arms, displaying beautiful y defined biceps. “That’s not much of an answer.”

“Listen, Mal.” She let him see clearly into her eyes. “I admire his resiliency and his heart. I’m touched that he’s so grateful instead of angry and resentful. And I feel guilty that we’re supposed to be protecting him from what he suffered and we failed. I wonder how many others we’re failing right this minute. That’s it. That’s the connection.”

“How do you know that’s not the precursor to a romantic attachment?”

“Malachai . . . what is this about?”

His square jaw tightened. “Something about this makes me antsy. I’l feel better when he’s gone.”

“I’m sure everyone Will . So leave me to his recovery and We’ll see that happen as soon as possible.”

“How Will you feel, Siobhán?” he asked quietly.

She sighed and reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear. “Like we might’ve gone a little ways toward making restitution for what he’s suffered.”

“Let’s hope that’s all ,” Malachai muttered.

Chapter 6

Trevor looked at his face in the gleaming reflection of the aluminum countertop and winced. He looked hal owed out—not exactly the look he wanted to present to Siobhán, the most gorgeous creature he’d ever seen in his life.

But she didn’t appear to care that he was less than his best. When she returned almost precisely thirty minutes later, she beamed at him. “You look better already! How do you feel? Is your stomach okay?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s like it’s made out of cast iron.” He’d eaten every last crumb of a meal that could’ve fed a family. Apparently he’d kept the appetite of a starving man with none of the negative side effects. And it felt like all of the fats and whatever nutrients were available in the food were quickly dispersing through his system. Holding up his hand, he could almost watch it fil ing out and looking less bony.

“I’m going to check on the subjects,” Aurelia said, heading toward the door. “It was great chatting with you, Trevor.”

“Same goes,” he said, although in truth he’d found it weird. She was very nonexpressive, so very different from Siobhán, who was so warm. And she studied him like some rare bug under a magnifying glass.

“I brought you some gloves.” Siobhán held up a box. “And I thought I might walk you through my research and findings, and get your opinion.”

“My opinion?” He smiled. “I’m flattered. I’m also very rusty.”

“I can help with that.”

She reached out to him, but he hopped back quickly. “No, no. We need to talk about the mind-meld thing first.”

Her frown was adorable, as the rest of her was, when it wasn’t making him think thoughts he shouldn’t. He’d be better off if she kept her wings on display, so he didn’t forget that she was way, way out of his reach.

“Mind meld?” she queried.

“When you wipe my memory . . . what Will I lose?”

Her face cleared into an impassive mask. “Aurelia talked to you about that? She shouldn’t have.”

“Why not?”

“Because you don’t need anything else to worry about. You have enough on your plate as it is. And it’s pointless to worry about it. You can’t fret over what never happened—for all intents and purposes.”

He assessed her, taking into consideration her pronouncement that she didn’t feel emotion. “I’d be glad not to have these memories. I know I’m screwed up over them and I’d rather not be. But how do you take out pieces of a man’s life and not fundamental y alter who he is?”

“What do you mean? Don’t you want to be the man you were before this happened to you?”

Was it really that simple? he wondered. She made it sound like she could turn back the hands of time and maybe, in a way, that’s what she would do. Reset him back to where he’d been before his abduction. “But the world’s changed around me. Wouldn’t I become a man out of time?”

She sighed. “It’s not quite like that. You would be the man you were before, a year later. If that makes sense. You still have to live with the external ramifications of what happened to you. Trevor Descansos is presumed dead; you can’t change that. But I can lessen the drive for you to want to.”

“Whoa. Now you’re talking about changing the way I feel about things.”

“I can’t do that. No one can do that, Trevor,” she assured him. “Your feelings are your own. But the motivation for your feelings can be altered slightly. Such as the desire to cal your sister.”

“How?”

“If you know, really know, that she’s all right, you won’t feel an overwhelming need to contact her. You may still have the desire, but it won’t weigh on you.”

He stepped closer to her, unable to resist doing so. “Is this about protecting me? Or protecting the Sentinels?”

“See?” She shook her head. “You should be focused on getting better. Not this.”

“Promise me you won’t mess with my memories without tel ing me. And that no one else Will , either.”

Her eyes widened. “It’s best when it’s done when you’re not thinking about it.”

“Promise me, Siobhán,” he insisted. “This is important to me.”

“Okay, yes. Fine. I promise.”

“Good.” His breath left him in a rush. “Can you give me an update on my family?”

“I requested some updated photos for you while you were healing. As soon as they come in, I’l turn them over to you.”

“But they’re okay?”

“Yes. They’re well . Your sister’s last child was a boy. They named him after you.”

He pivoted away as his eyes burned with tears. Jesus. That hurt like a bitch. He rubbed at the ache in his chest.

Her hand came to rest on the top of his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Trevor.”

He felt the sharp sting begin to ease, but couldn’t be certain whether that was simply from her touch or from what she could do with that touch.

Setting his hand over hers, he kept her in place while he turned to face her. He caught her before she could pul away, hugging her. He felt her gasp and tense, but he buried his face in her neck and held on.

Eventual y, she relaxed. When she moved to put her arms around him, he circled her wrists and captured them at the smal of her back.

Knowing she could break free at any moment didn’t alter the effect of the dynamic—he felt a level of much-needed control and she consciously surrendered to that control.

Sighing, she rested her cheek over his heart. “This sort of contact . . . it’s important to mortals.”