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We have a stake in this, too, Molly said roughly

Not in the same e do, Arriane said Daniel will never join you

If Daniel hadn't recalled where he'd sat at this ht have overlooked his earlier self entirely That earlier self was sitting alone, in the center of the group, directly on the other side of the boulder Behind the rock, Daniel shifted to get a better view

His earlier self's wings blooht As the others talked about him as if he weren't there, Daniel behaved as if he were alone in the world He tossed fistfuls of snow into the fire, watching the frozen clumps hiss and dissolve into steam

Oh, really? Molly said Care to explain why he's inching closer to our side every lifeti-God bit he does whenever Luce explodes? I doubt it goes over so well upstairs

He's in agony! Annabelle shouted at Molly You wouldn't understand because you don't kno to love She scooted nearer to Daniel, the tips of her wings dragging in the snow, and addressed him directly Those are just temporary blips We all know your soul is pure If you wanted to at last choose a side, to choose us, Daniel--if at any moment--

"No"

The clean finality of the word pushed Annabelle away as quickly as if Daniel had draeapon Daniel's earlier self would not look at any of the the this council, and shuddered at the forbidden horror of the memory

If you won't join them, Roland said to Daniel, why not join us? From what I can tell, there is no worse Hell than what you put yourself through every time you lose her

Oh, cheap shot, Roland! Arriane said You don't evenher hands You're only saying that to provoke me

Behind Arriane, Gabbe rested a hand on her shoulder Their wing tips touched, flashing a bright burst of silver between them What Arriane means is that Hell is never a better alternative No matter how terrible Daniel's pain may be There is only one place for Daniel There is only one place for all of us You see how penitent the Outcasts are

Spare us the preaching, will ya? Molly said There's a choir up there that , but I'm not, and I don't think Daniel is, either

The angels and deether, as if they were still part of the host Seven pairs of wings casting a glowing aura of silver-gold light Seven souls he kneell as his own

Even behind his boulder, Daniel felt suffocated He remembered this moment: They demanded so much of him When he was so weakened by his broken heart He felt the assault of Gabbe's plea for hiain Roland's, too, to join with Hell Daniel felt again the shape of the one word he had spoken at the host in hisover hi: That no? He hadn't e of saying yes

This was the night he'd aliven up

Now his shoulders burned The sudden urge to let his wings out alht him to his knees His insides roiled with sha in hi to repress

In the circle around the fire, Daniel's past self looked at Caht

Caht away What would you have me say?

You faced this problem once You know--

"And ould you havechar and persuasive

Annabelle snorted Or so underhanded and absolutely evil

Everyone waited Daniel wanted to burst forth from behind the rock, to rip his past self away froht hiain

You're trapped, Ca, and because you're so to be an end But our world isn't rooted in teleology It's chaos

Our world is not the same as yours-- Gabbe started to say

There's no way out of this cycle, Daniel, Cam went on She can't break it, and neither can you Pick Heaven, pick Hell, I don't really care and you don't, either It won't h Gabbe's voice was breaking It will s, then Lucindathen Lucinda--

But she couldn't go on The words were blasphemy to speak, and Gabbe wouldn't do it She fell to her knees in the snow

Behind the rock, Daniel watched his earlier self extend a hand to Gabbe and raise her froround He watched it play out before his eyes now, just as he rehtly it burned He glanced back and saw the others--Caht about how long he'd dragged the whole lot of theedy

And for what?

Lucinda And the choice the two of theain: to put their love above everything else

That night on the fjords, her soul was between incarnations, newly purged fro her out? Daniel was tired to his core He didn't know if he had it in hi the imminent arrival of absolute breakdown, Daniel recalled what he had to do It was dangerous Forbidden But it was absolutely necessary Now, at least, he understood why his future self had taken hith, to keep him pure He had weakened at this key moment in his past And future Daniel could not let that weakness be nified across the span of history, could not let it corrupt his and Lucinda's chances