"Astrid?" Azrael asked, looking at her intently, ready to disobey the archangel and accept the consequences should she not want this. His memories contained the death of her fiancé at his hands and the demon's own thoughts and memories, which Azrael read in his mind in those unguarded last moments as he fell into the pit. He wasn't sure that she was ready to see that...

"I can handle anything, Azrael," to gain the chance for us to stay together, she finished her sentence in her mind, trying hard to shield it from Michael, and make it only visible to Azrael.

Azrael smiled at her, letting her know she had succeeded, that she was learning to use her powers, then squeezed her hand tighter in his even as he produced an orb of bluish light above his other hand.

Feeling awestruck, Astrid watched the light within the sphere coalesce into wisps of cerulean fog, moving in circles, always faster, as they produced the first images of the past, Astrid's past seen through Azrael's eyes.

She knew that the young girl she saw reading in the window seat of the library, half hidden beyond the long curtains, was her, but she felt as if she was watching a complete stranger. She had been so naive back then, uninformed, a puppet of the man who made her believe he was her uncle... Did he believe that himself? Or did he suspect something and kept her within his reach, dependent on him, for some obscure purpose, was Deimos, Polaris, was her... mother in danger?

The picture shifted then, scattering her thoughts, and Astrid saw herself on another occasion, Azrael's doves swooping into the crumb-filled palms of her hands from the tall bookcases. She turned away from the sphere and looked at him, smiling, remembering that moment; he would step out of the shadows of the library any moment now, walking so close past her that his cloak would brush against her dress, his scent would fill her mind...

He smiled back at her then nodded towards the sphere, where that image had already dissolved into another-- Orion was there, kissing her, and seeing him brought a few tears into Astrid's eyes, blurring her vision until she wiped them into her sleeve. Then she saw herself with her tutors, and Arabella, and then the vision of the library melted away and coalesced again into another picture, that of the Mirror Room of her uncle's castle, lit by an infinity of candles, filled with dancers. Astrid saw herself clad in the white and golden gown which she wore at the last Black Night Ball, looking much more beautiful in Azrael's memory than she remembered feeling from that day. She saw herself weave gracefully through the other dancing couples first with Orion, then with another dancer, until her eyes found Azrael, ready to shoot an arrow through her heart, in one of the mirrors.

The images showed her on the balcony then, her eyes wide with fear of being outside on a Black Night, her hands reaching out to Azrael as he let himself fall off the marble balustrade, towards the waterfall, his eyes never leaving her as he fell through the night and she kept growing smaller and smaller in his vision, until he lost sight of her entirely.

Then the pictures changed entirely and Astrid stood in front of a huge, roaring fire, tears falling down her cheeks as she watched, helpless, the witch trial; she saw herself falling to the ground but landing in Azrael's arms as they met again, a year later.

She gasped when she saw his recollection of the many nights that he had spent next to her on the bed as she travelled across the country, blush flooded her cheeks when she saw him kiss her on her temple, only now witnessing their first kiss which she didn't remember. Astrid felt Azrael's eyes on her, observing her reaction to that memory, but she felt Michael watching her intently, too. She didn't look up at either of them, she only laced her fingers stronger around Azrael's, bidding him to continue.

He offered her his memory of the Black Night which she had spent at Rigel's house, followed by the scene of the hot air balloon rising towards the sky, seen through his eyes, from the nearby copse. The smooth ascent morphed into the ballon's near fall into the agitated sea at Land's End; Astrid saw herself climbing out of the wicker basket, rushing towards Azrael across the rocky promontory, Orion and Rigel who could not see the fallen angels watching her strange behaviour from a distance.

It was easy to notice and pleasant to observe Azrael's growing feelings for her as they descended the pit when they could finally talk together. His love of her grew as fast as his hatred for Orion. Azrael didn't hide his happiness at seeing her falling out with her fiancé gradually; he showed her his encounter with Orion in front of his room in the Land's End cave.

And then, Astrid saw herself falling into the pit, weakened by the poison; she could feel Azrael's fear and despair as he jumped after her and brought her back. She felt his remorse and guilt at having been tricked by Orion-- Azrael had known that he would try to kill her, Astrid now remembered that he had warned her, but he had been too sure that Orion would try to shoot her, he hadn't expected the poison.

The moment Astrid dreaded the most followed, the scene of Orion's death, and she saw the images within the sphere flicker as Azrael perceived her anxious thoughts.

Michael shifted closer to her as if to shield her from what she was about to see. Taking a deep breath, she looked into Azrael's eyes, then whispered, "Please, Azrael. I want to know his reasons."

He nodded silently, and then they both looked into the sphere again.

Through the wisps of cerulean fog, Astrid saw herself stumble as she walked down the narrow, rocky path at Orion's side, she noticed, only now, the push he gave her towards the pit, instead of steadying her and pulling her closer to his side. She saw her eyes closing contentedly as she fell, her mind never catching up with what had happened before she fainted. She saw Azrael, his eyes wide with fear, saving her life, leaving her in Evangeline's care and, through his eyes, she observed Ramiel falling to his knees, his hands pressed to his chest. Her breath caught at seeing Azrael shooting an arrow through Orion's heart without hesitation, making him fall into the pit, then, realising what he had done, running towards the edge of the stone path, ready to pull him back up, until he found Rigel, whom Orion had pushed off the precipice, hanging on the tips of his fingers.

Astrid pushed herself up on the bed and scooted into Azrael's arms, sobbing, as she saw him, being able only to bring back one of the men, choose Rigel. She hid her face in his white shirt, but not before Orion's last thoughts and some of his memories as Azrael had collected them, reached her mind.

She finally understood, as her mind replayed, again and again, the vision from the sphere-- Orion falling backwards into the dark pit, Azrael's arrow embedded in his chest, his elabourate cloak flailing around him like a pair of colourful, broken wings.

He had been Arcturus' chosen heir, at least that's what the regent had made him believe. He had been charged with finding out where the fallen angels were hiding, collecting information about their defences and plans, making Astrid stir up a new war if possible, and then coming back, with or without her... Orion had been certain that if he had made Astrid's death look like an accident, if she had simply fallen into the pit, the fallen angels would let him return, he had informed Izar and the other two guards that he would come back, they had been waiting for his return in the Land's End cave.

It wasn't Orion's memories, which, when she thought about it now-- her face still hidden in Azrael's chest, calming down as she felt his wings wrap around her like his arms, feeling her... father's hand holding one of hers pressed against his chest-- she didn't find too surprising, but rather his last thought addressed to Azrael that made her feel so upset: If I can't have her, then no one will. There was no trace of love in it, Orion died hoping that she would die, too.

She could feel Azrael's thoughts reaching her mind now, coaxing her out of the dark place into which seeing Orion's last moments made her precipitate. It's not all, there's more when you are ready.

It took her a long while, but finally, her sobs subsided, and she lifted her face from his chest, turning back towards the sphere, which now hovered above Michael's free hand. Her first instinct at realising that the winged man was still holding one of her hands in his was to pull away, but she fought against it; he was her... father, after all, a father she had never hoped to meet. She took another deep breath, resolved to deal with those feelings later, and looked into the sphere again.

It showed her the long hours of Azrael's ordeal when he wasn't sure whether she would heal from the poison, when he was afraid that she might die. Those memories and fears dissolved into the night when she, for the first time, allowed him to stay with her on their way to Oblivis, in the tent by the river, followed by a glimpse of the night they spent by the lake, and the sight of the thestrals, kestrels, whatever the creatures were called, finally brought a smile to her lips.

And then it was a long sequence of Azrael's feelings that reached her from the sphere, rather than images. His fathomless love of her, his fear of losing her, his trepidation and self-doubt at finding out that she was Michael's daughter, when he was only an angel of death, a fallen angel of death...

Astrid turned to him again, cupping his face in her hands. "Don't ever think that," she said, staring into his eyes. "You are everything to me. If I can't be with you, then I want no one. I love you, Azrael."

"I love you, Astrid," he whispered back, and Astrid closed her eyes in anticipation of a kiss, forgetting about Michael entirely until he spoke.

"This, making it possible for you two to stay together, won't be easy. What do you suggest I should do, Azrael? No, you won't survive another fall," he added in reply to Azrael's thoughts, which Astrid had missed.

"Take my wings back," Azrael said, making Astrid shiver as he unfurled them from around her. Those wings were... addictive, filled with magic, and she could only imagine what a great sacrifice he was offering to the archangel when she herself knew that she would miss them, and they didn't even belong to her.

"That's impossible, and you know that," Michael stated, letting the orb of light dissolved as he tried to pull Astrid away from Azrael, only to make her arms lock tighter around his waist. "I'll try to think of something, I can't decide about this alone; she needs a guardian... Angelisa, Astrid, you shall sleep in my chambers tonight, I won't have any time to sleep anyway..." he explained impatiently when he couldn't pry them apart.

"I'll do it!" Azrael called, startling both Astrid and Michael.

"You... What?" Michael asked, letting go of Astrid.

"I have to keep the wings, but you could make me a guardian, her guardian."

"Would you give up all your powers and advantages of an angel of death for her?" the archangel asked incredulously.

"Of course. I'd do anything. Take anything you want but let me stay with her. Please." Azrael's wings wrapped around Astrid hopefully again.

"I... need to speak to the others. Now let her rest, Azrael, we will leave early in the morning. We need to take Polaris from Arcturus, by force if necessary."

"Why did she never tell me that she is my mother?" Astrid asked, her voice coming muffled from beneath Azrael's wings.

It took so long for the archangel to respond that she looked up at him, in time to see him shaking his head. "I haven't seen her since before you were born. But I'm sure she loves you, and whatever she was forced to do was for your good. Now come, you must rest and I need to talk to..."

"I'm staying with Azrael, Father," Astrid said, her voice not allowing an argument. "I'm an adult, and I love him. You'll either respect and accept my decisions, or you won't, but it will change nothing." She winced at hearing her own harsh words, but it was better to set the rules between them from the beginning.

A silent exchange of sorts passed between the two angels before Michael finally let go of her arm and walked towards the door.

"All right. I trust you, angel of death," he muttered, his thoughts pursuing another subject immediately. "We should let Polaris know that we are coming for her. She must be worried..."

"Send her a message. Use my doves, they know Arcturus' castle and its inhabitants well enough not to fall into wrong hands," Azrael offered, making the white birds fly from the mantelpiece to Michael with a flourish of his arm.

Michael nodded. The two doves perched on his shoulder as he paused shortly by the door, looking at the couple across the room. "Meet me in the Entry Hall at dawn, ready for the journey to Starling. We'll pay a visit to Arcturus. It is long overdue."