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“Right, yeah, okay.” I rubbed my nose, nerves fluttering in my belly.
“I’ll make the necessary arrangements,” she said, “and then as soon as everything is ready to go, we can start. Let’s go over the plan one more time, just to make sure you’ve got it.”
I nodded again, and Naamah walked me through the plan once more. Sweat broke out on my body as I listened intently, my mind already playing through all the many ways this could go catastrophically wrong. So much hinged on me being able to pull this off, to play my part well and not make a single mistake. Of all the challenges I’d ever faced in my life, this was by far the most important, the most daunting, the one with the highest stakes.
If I fucked this up, Azazel would die.
No pressure, right?
“All right,” Naamah said when she’d finished. “Do you have any questions?”
I cleared my throat. “Yeah. So, in Twilight, if Jacob was only attracted to Bella because the egg inside Bella that would become Renesmee was ‘calling out’ to him, why wasn’t he also panting after Edward, considering the sperm that would become Renesmee was also already inside Edward?”
Naamah hung her head for a moment, her shoulders shaking. When she looked up at me again, her eyes glinted with amusement, the corners of her mouth twitching upward. “I meant, questions about the plan.”
“Ah, okay.”
She took my hand and squeezed it gently. “I know you’re nervous, Zoe, but you’ll do great.”
“How do you know I’m nervous? I’m the picture of calm,” I said, my voice trembling.
“You get randomly ramble-y when you’re stressed.” Another squeeze. “And to answer your question, we’d have to know more about Stephenie Meyer’s world-building. For example, do vampires in the Twilight universe continue to produce sperm after they are turned? If that’s the case, then the sperm that would become Renesmee would only have come into existence shortly before the actual conception, and then Jacob wouldn’t have had reason to be attracted to Edward.”
I gaped at her.
“But if sperm production ceases after a vampire is turned,” she continued matter-of-factly, “then Edward would only have had those little swimmers that he had when he was turned for the rest of his immortal life, and in this case, yes, the sperm that would make up half of Renesmee would already have been inside him all along, and it should have caused Jacob to be drawn to Edward just as much as he was to Bella.” She shrugged. “And maybe he was but didn’t show it? Who’s to say he didn’t feel an attraction, but because it was to a male and a vampire, he suppressed it?”
I stared at her in speechless bafflement for a moment. “I didn’t know you’re a Twilight fan,” I whispered.
She gave me a lopsided smile. “Oh, that fandom is one of the most self-ironically depraved ones out there. Any time I visit Earth, I make sure to browse fan groups and read their threads with some popcorn ready. It’s beyond entertaining.”
Despite the weight of the situation pressing down on me, I huffed out a laugh at that. My smile faltered a bit as I looked at her and remembered that this easy-going dynamic we had, this friendship I cherished, might have been built on subterfuge and necessity.
“What is it?” Naamah asked, tilting her head.
“Uh…” Chewing my lip, I lowered my gaze. This felt so awkward. And maybe now was not the time to broach this subject.
But just before I could open my mouth and brush her question off, she leaned forward and pinned me with a look. “Spill. What’s making you squirm like that?”
With a forceful exhale, I said, “It’s just…when we became friends, it was because it was part of your plan to help Azazel get close to me. And I understand that. But…I didn’t know. All this time, I thought you were my friend because…you like me. And now I can’t help but wonder…” I trailed off, too embarrassed to continue.
“Ah,” she said, a gentle note to her voice. “I see.” Reaching out, she took my hand. “Zoe, I do like you. All those times we spent together and had fun, it really was fun. I enjoy your company. And to be honest, even without the necessity to get close to you in order to set everything up for Azazel, I would have wanted to meet you and get to know you.” She squeezed my hand. “He loves you so. And anyone who captures the heart of my son like this is someone I want to be friends with. It is rare for our kind to fall in love this madly, to feel so deep a loyalty as Azazel does for you. You are truly special, and after getting to know you, I can say this from my own firsthand experience of spending time with you. So while the friendship we have might have been initiated under a pretense, it has long since become real for me.”
My eyes swam with tears. Sniffling, I nodded, and then she pulled me in for a hug.
“I am so glad I got to spend all this time with you,” Naamah whispered as she pressed me close.
“Same,” I said hoarsely.
After another tight squeeze, she released me. “Now, let’s get this party started.” Standing, she nodded toward the door. “Go on home, and I’ll be in touch when things are ready.”
CHAPTER 20
It was go time.
Naamah had come by my new rooms in Derdekea’s residence a few minutes ago, and we’d made a big show of very loudly and very publicly discussing where we’d go for a flight together, ensuring we’d be heard by several other angels. Then we’d taken off from Derdekea’s courtyard, going on a little fun trip together, like we’d done many times before.
As far as alibis went, this one would be good. It was well known that Naamah and I were friends, and that we’d often fly somewhere together, so this was par for the course for both of us. People would have seen us leaving together, and they’d see us return later on, so it would be less likely that suspicion would fall on me for what was about to happen at Raphael’s estate.
