Waking to dread was becoming Tom's normal morning state. Eating anxiously at the table was almost every breakfast. Picking his nails until they stung was a forming habit. How could he know so much about what was yet to come, but do so little to stop it?

We can't let this happen, was a repeated sentence between himself and Ezra. Then late in the afternoon, Ezra said something that Tom had been dreading too.

"I won't do the ceremony. How can I change back to an angel when I know what might happen?"

Tom looked up. The fear in his heart must have been obvious as Ezra's pint paused by his lips. "You have to do it!" Tom pleaded. "If we can't stop this, your soul will be taken too."

"But how-"

"I admire your courage," Tom interrupted, "but please don't choose to leave me behind."

Ezra nodded his head. "Okay."

"Sorry. I'm just so anxious about everything, I can't be anxious about that too."

"I understand, I choose you." Ezra softly touched his thigh. They could speak sweetly, but it didn't stop the anxiety. "I just feel so lost. My thoughts are spinning, and I don't know what to do."

"We could alert everyone, but that would start the war the angels have been trying to hold back. It looks like our only option is to plead with the rest of the elder angels at your ceremony."

Ezra lowered his head, staring down at the grass cupping his boots. "It's not going to end well; I feel it deep inside."

"We have to hope."

Ezra then smiled. It was a sad, slow smile. "Humans and their optimism." He took Tom's hand and kissed his knuckles.

Tom knew the dread within Ezra only grew stronger. The night was a restless one. He turned his pillow over more times than he could count with two hands. He had sat up, hopelessly staring into the dark until dawn. Ezra had laid with him with eyes shut, though Tom knew he had barely slept too.

On the Friday morning, Othrowan announced to the village that the changing ceremony would happen in exactly twenty-four hours. The village had burst with excitement, and all Tom could do was fake his expressions until they gave him a headache.

He had nearly shouted what was going to happen. The words had almost burst free from him, but then he saw his parents gripping onto the love of his life, Ezrakhell.

Tom remained silent. Ezra had to be an angel this time tomorrow. He had to be. If Tom told everyone what the angels were planning, the demons would riot. The ceremony would then be cancelled and Ezra would be gone.

The thought of living on without him had scared Tom. He wasn't sure if he was strong enough to live on alone, and that terrified him even more.

While the streets were beaming joy, their eyes locked together. Nobody saw the terror in their exchange. Nobody saw Tom's lip quiver, and Nobody saw Ezra purse his own to stop the tremble.

By nightfall, Tom had talked himself out of crying enough to bring on a migraine. He sat with his head in his hands while Ezra rubbed his back. Tom insisted that the painkillers would kick in soon, though he had been saying that for the last hour.

"You need some decent rest," Ezra ordered.

"Impossible," Tom mumbled. "I'm so tired though."

"Me too." Ezra pulled him up on top of the duvet and wrapped him in a blanket. Together they lay in silence with minds thinking the same thoughts. Tom hadn't said a word to his parents, or to Cal. Ezra hadn't contacted Kie and the rest of the demon group.

What could they say? The angels will kill you all, sorry.

Tom scrunched his eyes shut. His insides ached for poor Monelle. He wanted to vomit at the thought of what she was going through. How could she love Kie, yet say nothing to Othrowan? Was his authority really that controlling that she would let him wipe her lover from the earth?

"Surely not," he whispered aloud, quickly glancing at Ezra after realising he was just thinking most of the conversation. Ezra's head drooped to the side whilst snoring softly. Tom stayed as still as he could. At least one of them was resting.

Morning came like a bad dream. Tom woke with hair stuck to his forehead with sweat, yelling something and breathing heavily. "What time is it?" he asked, flinging the blanket away.

Ezra grabbed his wrist before he could toss himself out of bed. "It's not even six in the morning yet," he said quietly. "We don't have to be there for another four hours."

Tom didn't relax. He pulled his wrist away and hurried to the bathroom to splash cold water over his face. He had dreamt that Ezra didn't become an angel, and the whole thing was a ploy to end Ezra's life. He had woken up feeling like he was being held back from running to him. He wondered if he had yelled Ezra's name.

Tom splashed his face again. After a few deep breaths and scrubbing his teeth clean, he felt calmer.

Ezra sat on the end of the bed when he returned. "I'm gonna plead like it's my life on the line today," Tom vowed. "But promise me that you will become an angel before anything else happens."

"I promise," Ezra said immediately. He pulled Tom close and pressed lips to his temple. "I promise, okay? I promise."

Tom clung to him for as long as he could before they had to go to the village. By now, his parents knew something was wrong. Tom could no longer keep the dread from his face.

Ezra felt every emotion possible. He was pleased that the ceremony was here to be an angel again, guilty that he was going to be an angel again, distraught that demons might be demolished from the country, sad that he hated being a demon so much, excited that what he had longed for was finally here.

The shame always followed, but one look at Tom made everything worth it. Ezra would burn the world if it meant being with him.

"Are you nervous that Ezra will decline being an angel?" Moira asked, not knowing that Othrowan would take his soul if he did. "Is this what you're looking so worried about?"

Tom forced a smile and nodded.

Moira linked arms with him as they walked the country road. "Don't worry, he deserves it. He knows that, and finally the rest of the village knows it too."

They had gone to the village early, yet the street filled with excited faces. Café's had put tables and chairs in the street and offered tea and cakes. Shops had remained closed so the owners could be a part of the changing ceremony. The event would go down in history for Wileshire village.

Tom just hoped that it would go down in history for the right reasons.

He looked around, wondering how many people would take the angel's side if a war was to break out. Haisley stood by the entrance to the library. Tom noticed her because he felt eyes on him. She looked at him with a hard expression and fidgeted with a knitted scarf.

He held her gaze and to his surprise, she motioned for him to join her. Tom pulled Ezra with him, not wanting to let him out of his sight.

Haisley backed into the library, and he followed her inside. The lights were off, and he could tell no angels were present because the library was bleak and cold. The smell of books was overpowering, and the lingering bitterness of morning coffee.

Haisley stood awkwardly looking back and forth between them. "Morning," she whispered.

Tom then noticed she was trembling. "What's wrong?"

When Ezra's gaze zoned in on her, she visibly shrank. "I know what's happening today." The trembling extended to her voice. "I know everything."

"The changing ceremony and ..." Tom stalled.

"... And what the angels are planning."

"You know they're planning to wipe out the demons with a nationwide choir?"

Haisley nodded. "I've not known for long. I didn't know whether to tell Kie or not."

"Wait," Ezra said so boldly, both Tom and Haisley jumped. "You know Kie? The demon Kie?"

She nodded.

Ezra stood tall. "You're his source, aren't you?"

Once again, she nodded.

"Oh!" Tom breathed. "Of course. You're always here, and so are the angels! But then why did you ban us from the library? Why did you kick Ezra out and-"

"I had a part to play. Othrowan is a very wise angel. If he suspected me, he could ruin my life as quickly as he could save it. Ezra knows that all too well." Haisley pushed her glasses up onto her hair. "I'm sorry for the secrecy and behaving the way I have. At first, I really did feel uncomfortable with having a demon around, then I caught that young angel with a demon. They were embracing late one evening, and Monelle forced me to have a cup of tea with her. She talked about that demon with such love, I was in awe. I never thought an angel would see a demon that way, but if the angels could, I decided I could too. I started to see the way Othrowan hated demons. That's when I started talking to Kie, and then I started listening in on the angel's meetings. It felt so wrong, but I had to do it. I should have told you both, but Othrowan has a strange obsession with you Ezra. It's like you're his experiment or something. He has enjoyed seeing the way the public have reacted to you both as a demon and now as a potential angel. He likes how people are only fond of you now because you used to be an angel."

Tom was stunned listening to her. He had started to detest Haisley's cowardly ways. He never expected it to all be an act. "So, you don't hate demons?"

"Not anymore." The silence settled between them, and it started to get awkward. Tom gawked at her, and Ezra just frowned. "Well, what are we going to do about today then?" she asked. "They can't just get rid of every demon in the country, just like that." She snapped her fingers. "Can they?"