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wasn’t all fun and games. The physical demands could be brutal. All Archangels were required to train every day. Although their warrior skills had not been needed in thousands of years, they maintained readiness. Michael oversaw all of the Archangels and Angels and answered only to the highest in the Angelic Realm, the Seraphim.
    Rafe couldn’t tell Michael about his problem. There were rules. Rules that would mean bye-bye ascension and Archangel of Healing, and hello, immediate ‘relocation’ to the Banished Realm.
    “I, ah, have to do one more task.”
    “Yeah. I know.”
    Rafe had to be careful how he phrased this. “It’s an extra annoyance but if that is what the Virtues decree then I’ll accede to their wishes.”
    “It’s a good idea,” Michael said. “I knew you wouldn’t be crazy about it.”
    “Wait. You put them up to this?”
    Michael straddled the weight bench next to Rafe, rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands, before he aimed his laser gaze straight at Rafe. “Yeah.”
    “Why?”
    “Because we’ve all become a little too complacent. Too out of touch with the human realm. The last fifty years or so have gone so well that we lack awareness of the very people we’re supposed to protect.”
    “You’re kidding.” Rafe tensed, his body ramped up into fight mode as if he’d encountered a threat. “Couldn’t you have waited until after I ascended to try out your little science experiment?”
    “You, of all of us, should understand the human psyche, Rafe.”
    Rafe snorted. “I understand them just fine.” They were weak, whiny and always wanted more. They looked out for themselves and destroyed others with their own wants. But Angelina didn’t seem to be like that, so maybe he didn’t really understand them. He understood that Angelina was sad but he couldn’t figure out why. He only knew that when they touched, she had relief from her sorrow.
    “Have you felt anything different lately?”
    Shit. Could Michael know? Could this conversation be a set up to get him to admit he’d had inappropriate contact with Angelina? In technical terms he had not violated the Law of the Realm, but emotionally he had committed the most grievous sin in the Angelic Realm.
    Fear wrapped around his lungs like a boa constrictor. The temperature in the room had risen. Steam and mist swirled around the weight equipment. Uri continued to run at a punishing pace on the treadmill. His feet thumped, the sound reverberated in Rafe’s head. Rafe’s vision tunneled to focus only on Michael.
    Did the Council know?
    Forget his promotion. He could be Fallen. And although he didn’t want to stay an Archangel, he definitely didn’t want to be fallen. To be banished.
    Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump, the percussion of his heart pounded with a heavy counter beat to the hiss and thunk of the weights as he executed a lateral pull-down.
    “Different how?”
    “I don’t know.” Michael clenched his fists, and his biceps bulged with frustration. “There seems to be some sort of disturbance but I can’t pinpoint a specific cause.”
    Could his indiscretion create that kind of ripple in the Cosmos? Reality check, Rafe. The Cosmos would not slip out of balance just because you boinked your transitionee.
    “I’ll look into it.” Rafe placated Michael. He wanted Michael gone before Rafe revealed his mistake. The buzz of the lights seemed inordinately loud, almost accusatory as he waited for Michael’s response.
    Michael inclined his head and pushed off the weight bench with his powerful thighs. “Don’t be in so much of a hurry to ascend that you forget to do your job.” With that parting shot, he was gone.
    Rafe had been so wrapped up in his conversation with Michael that he’d completely missed the fact that Uri had finished his run and now stood in front of Rafe. His skin gleamed with exertion. His chest puffed out, his blond hair was dark with sweat and his bright blue eyes shaded with concern.