Eryxiel had been keeping watch near the nurse station in the VIP wing of CZ Medical Hospital for three days now. As instructed by Michael, he had assigned two other warrior angels under his command to keep an eye on Casadin and Hades. Lazurion was watching over Casadin, while Thamriel observed Hades. But like Eryxiel, they too found themselves unable to hear not just Casadin's thoughts but Hades' as well. Which puzzled them even more. Not only that... they also couldn't enter the VIP room where Evadne was staying. Strangely, they had no problem entering and exiting the rooms of Casadin and Hades.
When Eryxiel saw Evadne step out of her room, he silently followed her. He wasn't concerned about drawing attention... after all, he was invisible to human eyes.
There was no angelic aura radiating from the girl, which only made the mystery deeper. Eryxiel couldn't figure out the source of the force that barred warrior angels like himself from entering her room. But just like Casadin and Hades, Evadne's thoughts were unreadable to him. And though she gave off no divine presence, there was something about her he couldn't quite place.
"Why are you following me?" Evadne suddenly stopped and turned, catching him completely off guard.
Eryxiel froze, eyes narrowing. "You can see me?"
"Hubby, why are you following me?" Evadne said instead, hands on her hips, eyebrow raised... though she was clearly looking past him.
"Baby, I just can't leave you alone. What if something happened to you?" a familiar voice responded.
Eryxiel stepped aside to see Hades approaching from behind. Ah. So she wasn't talking to him after all.
Thamriel followed just behind Hades.
It seemed neither teen could actually see them. Had he just imagined it... that moment when he thought Evadne could see him?
Evadne rolled her eyes and waited for Hades, immediately looping her arms around his.
"I was just going to the garden. I'm so bored in the room. I can't even go to the pool since it's reserved for therapy patients," she pouted. "So you worrying too much is… too much."
With that, she led Hades toward the hospital's garden.
They stepped into the elevator, and when Eryxiel and Thamriel tried to enter as well, the same force blocked them again. They exchanged glances. Since they knew the couple was headed to the garden, they vanished and reappeared at the garden-level elevator stop to wait.
"Where are they?" Thamriel asked, frustrated that the two hadn't arrived yet. It was a pointless question, especially to ask Eryxiel, given that they had been together the whole time.
They were just about to vanish again when they felt the elevator descending... with a presence inside it. A Celestial force.
The two warrior angels looked at each other, alert. Perhaps the source of the mysterious resistance was finally revealing itself. The elevator doors opened... and both angels' eyes widened in shock. They immediately bowed their heads.
"Wisdom," they greeted in unison.
The one who stepped out of the elevator was not Evadne or Hades, but Uriel.
Even in human form, her Celestial aura radiated clearly to all higher beings as she was not inside a human vessel like Michael. She walked a few steps beyond the elevator before time froze for a split second, and in that stillness, she shifted into her full Archangel form.
Her golden eyes glinted as she turned to face the two warrior angels.
"What are the two of you doing here?" Uriel's voice rang with authority.
"The General has tasked us with watching over three humans, Wisdom," Thamriel replied, lowering his gaze.
"And who are they?" she asked.
"Evadne Monteverde, Casadin Sinclair, and Hades Falcon," Eryxiel answered.
"Why?"
"The General said he felt an unexplainable pull toward the human Evadne," Eryxiel began. "Then we discovered that not only can we not hear her thoughts... but neither can we read Casadin's or Hades'. And we're unable to enter the VIP room where Evadne is staying."
"Who is keeping an eye on Casadin?" Uriel asked.
"Lazurion is," Thamriel responded.
Uriel nodded slightly.
"Leave the three humans alone," she ordered.
"But Wisdom…" Eryxiel hesitated, unable to finish. Though they were angels, even they had ranks... and Uriel's rank was equal to that of Michael.
"Where is Mikael now? He should be in his human vessel," Uriel asked.
"He is. He's currently staying at Primo Albergo dell'Angelo," Eryxiel answered.
"Leave. And tell him... I will see him." With those words, Uriel vanished without another sound.
At that very moment, Hades and Evadne were making their way back to the VIP wing using the fire exit stairs.
"Baby, I thought we were going to the garden?" Hades asked, frowning as he walked beside her.
Evadne paused when they reached the floor of the VIP wing. She quietly opened the door to check the hallway, then closed it again.
"I wasn't going there. I was actually headed to the canteen," she replied, her expression laced with worry.
"Is something wrong?" Hades asked immediately, noticing how tense she looked.
Evadne stood straighter and took a few calming breaths before speaking again.
"Angels have been following us," she said quietly, causing Hades' eyes to widen in shock.
"Are you sure? How do you know?" he asked, glancing around even though they were alone in the stairwell.
"Don't worry, it's just us right now," Evadne assured him. "And yes, I'm sure. I accidentally looked one of them straight in the eye earlier… and I saw the other one walking behind you."
"Maybe they're our guardian angels?" Hades offered, though he didn't sound confident.
"No. Uriel told me guardian angels don't follow their humans one-on-one. I'm certain these were specifically assigned to keep watch over us."
"Do you think this has something to do with what the woman in the Veil said? Do you think someone's after us… after you?" Hades asked.
"I don't know," Evadne replied honestly.
"If it's not guardian angels… could they be archangels?" Hades continued, trying to sound reasonable despite the unease in his voice.
"No. They're not archangels. Their aura is different from Uriel's," Evadne answered, her brows drawing together.
"What should we do now?" Hades asked. "You can't confront whoever it is, right? Or else they'll know you're… different."
Evadne was about to reply when the phone in her hospital shirt pocket rang. She quickly pulled it out.
"It's from Uriel's clinic," she said, then answered. "Hello?"
"Ms. Monteverde? This is Dr. Sunray's secretary. I just received an email from the doctor. She heard about what happened at your birthday. She's currently on her way to CZ Medical Hospital and asked if she may visit you."
"Yes. Yes, please. I really need to speak with her. I'm in Room 502, Fifth Floor, East Wing. Please tell her I'll wait for her," Evadne said quickly.
The secretary confirmed and ended the call.
"We should head back to the room. Uriel's coming to see me. Maybe we can ask her some questions," Evadne said, turning to Hades.
"Baby," Hades said, stopping her just before she opened the stairwell door. "We all want answers. But… maybe we shouldn't mention the woman from the Veil. Remember what she told you? That if anyone found out you knew about her, you'd be in danger. And I have a strong feeling that the 'someone' she warned you about might be an archangel. Let's focus our questions on Michael, okay?"
Evadne sighed.
"Okay," she agreed. As much as she wanted to confide in Uriel... and as much as she trusted her, especially since Uriel was the one who helped her understand who she was and guided her to remember her past life... Hades was right. Calvareth wouldn't have warned her to keep that information secret unless the one pursuing her was someone powerful… maybe even divine.
Hades smiled and kissed her forehead. He opened the door himself and gently held Evadne's hand as they walked back toward her room.
As they walked, Hades gave her hand a light squeeze, silently asking if anyone was following them. Subtly, Evadne glanced around, then shook her head.
But inside, her thoughts were swirling.
She was certain that she and Hades were being followed by the two angels. And if that one angel hadn't asked if she could see him, she might've assumed it was just some stalker. Only when he questioned her did she realize that he hadn't expected her to notice him... despite walking right behind her.
Luckily, she had seen Hades nearby and was able to play it off, pretending she had been talking to him all along.
And now… now it felt too convenient that Uriel... who was supposedly on an "indefinite leave"... suddenly wanted to see her.
Maybe Uriel knew something.
Maybe she knew why angels were watching her.
Maybe she knew why they were watching Hades too.