Providence Series Recap
Happy Book Birthday, Providence! I can’t believe it’s already been eight years since we met Jared, Nina, and the gang. I am so excited to be diving back into this world this year and I hope you are too! I can’t wait to get started on Sins of the Innocent Pt 2 (official title TBA) once edits for The Edge of Us are finished. I’ve been dying to write more of Eden and Levi’s story and I’m SO glad it’s almost time to get started.
**WARNING: LONG AND SPOILER FILLED POST AHEAD**
This is a recap of what we know so far when it comes to Jared, Nina, and the rest of the gang. If you have not read the entire series, enter at your own risk.
PROVIDENCE - REQUIEM - EDEN
Characters:
Nina Grey - Merovingian; Jared’s Taleh; CEO at Titan Mercantile
Jared Ryel - “Hybrid” half-human/half fallen angel’s son
Jack (Deceased) & Cynthia Grey - Nina’s parents
Claire & Bex Ryel - “Hybrid” half human/half fallen angel; Jared’s sister and brother
Ryan - Human; Claire’s Taleh; friend of Nina, ex-special forces, member of Providence PD
Beth - Human; Nina’s former roommate at Brown University and assistant at Titan Mercantile
Kim - Nina’s friend at Brown University; direct descendent of the Crusades who were responsible for keeping the Naissance de Demoniac hidden in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
Gabe Ryel (Deceased) - Fallen angel; Jared, Claire, and Bex’s father
Lillian Ryel - Human; Jared, Claire, and Bex’s mother
Samuel - Cimmerian Archangel
Eli - the Angel of the Divine Plan; he watches over spiritual evolution, and when called upon by humans, he assists Him in helping humans find the correct path.
The Gabriel - the Angel of Death
Grant - second in command at Titan Mercantile; actual Arch in disguise
Shax - a Duke of Hell; he commands thirty legions of demons.
Donovan - human closest to Shax; Isaac’s Taleh
Isaac - hybrid; son of Michael; working with Shax
Michael - deadly angel in the Holy Army, a warrior of God.
What we know:
Angels are assigned to someone - a Taleh - from their birth. Nina’s father, Jack, was Taleh to Jared’s Father, Gabe. Jared is assigned to Nina and has protected and watched out for her her entire life.
Gabe fell in love with one of Jack’s friends, Lillian, and revealed himself to her even though it was against the rules. He gave up everything on his angel side, like his immortality, to be with her.
Archangels (aka Archs): serve as protectors for humans, relay messages, fight demons, forbidden to harm humans at all. They are obligated to protect their humans even if they are ‘fallen’. They don’t get sick and can’t be killed
Cimmerians - a line of dark angels; the strongest of the Archs; sovereigns; warriors. They are assigned to those who are marked by Hell - the humans who are born to be stalked and tormented.
Hybrids: aren’t well received with the other angels as they are offspring of fallen angels. As they are cursed, they aren’t notified who their Taleh are and must search them out, they can feel their human Taleh’s emotions and their physical pain to an extent, they pass away once their human Taleh’s die, they can kill other humans to protect their Taleh if necessary, and don’t have the full strength, focus, intelligence, or accelerated healing of ‘full’ angels. They can be hurt but heal quickly.
The Ryels were extensively trained in “specialized areas”. They trained with each branch of the military, including tactical, structure penetration, reconnaissance, patrolling, hand-to-hand combat, demolitions, weapons, and field medicine. They also know multiple languages.
Nina lost her father, Jack, at the beginning of the series. This prompted Jared to come out of hiding and formally introduce himself while comforting her. They start dating and once she finds out the truth about who he is, he admits to loving her before she ever knew he existed.
A man named Charles Dawson approaches Nina asking if she’s heard of a Port of Providence file that her father was supposed to get to him before he died. He threatens to hurt her mother if she doesn’t help him get what he’s looking for. Nina goes on the hunt and ends up finding the file containing surveillance photos and confirmation that her father was involved in criminal activities and was blackmailing dirty cops who worked for Shax - the Duke of Hell. It also turns out Jack died from complications from a gunshot wound to the chest and not from a car accident.
Eli warns Jared of the dangers and potential ramifications of being physically involved with Nina. As they are only the seventh case of an angel/taleh romance in history, and the first hybrid/human case, they don’t know what to expect.
Jack gave Nina a ring that was engraved with a code hidden in the stone. It turns out to be the combination to a safety deposit box that holds the Naissance de Demoniac - the Bible of Hell that he stole. After Shax confronts them, Samuel steps in and gives Shax the book back and threatens to end his existence if he comes near Nina or the Ryels again.
Throughout Requiem, Nina is plagued by a recurring nightmare of Jack and Gabe fleeing with the Naissance de Demoniac. As the dreams continue to distress Nina and begin affecting her health, none of the angels answer Jared’s plea for help. Eli confirms they have been forbidden to intervene unless The Balance is disturbed.
Ryan ends up joining the Army, forcing Claire to follow and help keep him alive without anyone seeing her. Their plans are changed when Ryan is severely injured in the desert and she saves him. During the rescue, he sees her eyes and begins to suspect there is more to her than it seems. He later confronts her and she ends up telling him everything.
Nina and Jared find a coat of arms in Jack’s office that features a misshapen beast with the body of a large cat, large paws, and seven heads with horns and crowns sitting atop the horns. Jared says it is very similar to a creature in Revelations. After looking at her family tree, Jared confirms she is a Merovingian and that a very long time ago, her family ruled with divine power. At a visit with Father Francis at St. Anne’s church, he says The Bible speaks of a woman clothed in the sun who brings forth a man child who is to rule all nations. A woman with the same description is at the center of a prophecy in the Naissance de Demoniac. He is positive the prophecy will come to fruition and there is nothing they can do to stop it - although Hell will certainly try.
It turns out that Jack and Gabe stole the Naissance de Demoniac from Kim’s family and then from Shax himself to protect them from discovering the prophecy. Shax held Kim’s family personally responsible and ended up making Kim be possessed by a demon. However, something went wrong with extracting the demons and Kim ended up with some of the power from the demons. She can speak their language, can sense their presence and movements, and they can’t get close to her. She and Jared have an agreement that he will help her return the book to Jerusalem if they can steal it back from Shax. This gives Jared the opportunity to study the book regarding the Prophecy and gives Kim the chance to free her family from the obligation.
They form a plan to distract Shax and his men so Jared can steal the book. Ryan and Nina end up being captured by Donovan and Isaac. After the successfully obtain the book, they flee, and Ryan ends up being taken by a shadow-like demon but is rescued by Claire. They get the book back to the church where they are once again confronted by Isaac and Donovan. Ryan is shot twice, and his injuries quickly become life-threatening. Jared retaliates by shooting Isaac twice but is distracted enough to find himself held at gunpoint by Donovan who has his gun against Jared’s temple. Nina shoots and kills Donovan which subsequently kills Isaac too.
In the hospital as surgeons fight to save Ryan (and Claire’s) life, Jared tells Nina she is pregnant.
Eden begins with Jared and Nina getting married in Little Corn. At the end of their vows, they are taken to another plan where Jared is on trial for killing Isaac. Michael, his father, is furious with his child’s death and blames Jared even though Nina is the one who pulled the trigger. The Angels believe the actions leading to Isaac’s death are in review. Specifically, Jared revealing himself to Nina. However, Claire comes to her defense and let’s it known that Isaac was the one who stood by while Donovan killed Jack.
Bex and Claire train Nina in shooting and self-defense so she can better protect herself. The baby seems to be lending her ‘angel juice’ making her stronger and more powerful than any of them.
Father Francis tells Nina and Jared about the archangel Uriel’s prophecies in Revelations that ‘pregnant women will give birth to monsters’ and ‘Woe to those who are pregnant or nursing babies’ during ‘The Beginning of Sorrows.’ To make things more complicated, Nina discovers that hybrid pregnancies are full-term at six to seven months and that the baby should be arriving sooner than they originally thought.
As Angels are forbidden to interfere unless The Balance is disturbed, they cannot help or protect the child until it is born. Jared and Nina decide the safest bet is for her to spend the duration of her pregnancy in The Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, so they can keep her safe as it’s the one place demons cannot go.
When Demons possess humans, it’s called Shelling. They are capable of taking over the human completely and can make them do anything they wish. Killing the human is the only way to stop the demon.
On the flight to Jerusalem, demons interfere and almost force the entire group to evacuate. Samuel steps in at the last minute and agrees to stay with them until they’re closer. They make it to The Holy Sepulchre where Kim returns the book to its proper place.
Claire, Ryan, Jared, Nina, Bex and Kim spend the next several months in a hole underneath the Sepulchre without sunlight, a proper bathroom, comfortable bedding, or privacy. While tempers are high, Claire ends up confessing her feelings for Ryan much to his delight and Jared’s disgust.
Nina has a freak-out about having her baby in a tomb and ends up running up the stairs where she is immediately surrounded and captured by demons. Kim tries to help fight them off, but she is pushed down the stairs. The demons take her to an old, filthy building where she was tossed to the middle of the room. She fights through labor all alone until Jared and Kim arrive and Kim is killed by a shell. Claire and Ryan also arrive just in time for the baby girl to be born and for a legion from Hell to arrive.
Samuel and Michael show up with an entire army of warrior angels to confront Lucifer, The Devil, who is furious with the birth. Lucifer hurts Jared, Claire, and Ryan but Samuel interferes when he attempts to touch the baby. Lucifer declares War since He is allowing a human to defy him. Eli arrives to tell Lucifer “You will leave this family along. Hell will leave Gabriel’s children and their children’s children along. He has commanded it. The child has found favor with God.”
Jared and Nina name their daughter Eden.
Characters:
Eden - Half Merovingian/half Hybrid; prophesied daughter of Nina and Jared
Levi - Cambion/half human; Son of Satan; Bex’s Taleh
Morgan - human; Eden’s best friend
Zadkiel - Arch; the angel of mercy and benevolence. Killed by Levi for disturbing the Balance by telling Levi about their past.
What we know (so far):
As long as Eden preserves The Balance (and remains neutral), she cannot be harmed per God’s rule. As she turns 18 and gets closer to graduating school, things start changing. Because she is neutral and can’t choose between the two warring sides, she is out of God’s favor and is also the enemy of Hell. Failing to do her duty means war/The Apocalypse.
Jared studied the old scrolls that spoke of a prophecy that involved Levi, Eden, and a great battle that would threaten the balance. It would supposedly end with one of them killing the other. Levi’s Bible foretells of her demise to increase Lucifer’s power. Thus, he was tasked to ensure Eden’s failure on Earth. He doesn’t have to kill her, just ensure she dies. Eli, however, tells her “Nothing truly dies.”
She can see and sense the emotions of drudens (nightdwellers who cause nightmares and night terrors), goblins (who bounce back and forth between hell), and things that are Other.
Eli confirms he has decided to be her ally and that she will not fail.
Bex is in love with a girl named Allison who is not his Taleh - because Levi is.
Eden confronts Levi where he admits having been living in town for nearly a year. He defied his father’s orders. He says he wishes he could tell her more, but she’ll have to remember the rest for herself.
After leaving with Bex, he tells Eden that she loves Levi and talks about humans being recycled souls who choose their parents and their next lives. He has been reviewing the scrolls, Jared spoke with Eli, and they know that she has always kept the balance. She disobeyed by falling in love with Levi and has been sent there as a second chance.
Once taking her to his home, Levi tells Eden their story and she remembers. He and Eden were in love and despite what might happen, decided to go and appeal to the Creator. Levi was taken away and Eden found herself in a dark room facing punishment. Levi bargained for a second chance and they were sent here.
Eden has been training with Bex and Claire since she was a child and none of them come close to beating her. She starts training with Levi as he is the only one who is her equal. They end up injuring each other trying to test their limits and Jared and Nina are not pleased.
Levi tells Eden and Nina that Eden’s grandmother, Cynthia, is a Cambion and her father was a demon. She is very powerful.
Lillian gets in an accident and everyone but Eden, Levi, Cynthia, and Bex go to the hospital. While waiting for news, Morgan shows up possessed by Lucifer and begging for Eden to help him. She refuses to let anyone put him out of his misery despite Lucifer breaking his bones one by one. Jared and Nina burst back through the door and witness the scene. Eden does the only thing she can and trades her life for Morgan’s. Jared witnesses what is about to happen and pulls a gun on Morgan. Eli appears and tells him if he shoots him, it will disturb the balance. He assures them they will see her again and she must have the chance at redemption.
NEW covers and bonus material for the series PLUS a brand new book (Sins of the Innocent Pt 2 <- official title TBA) coming this year! You can purchase signed bundles here. Sets will include SIGNED copies of Providence, Requiem, Eden, SOTI part one, SOTI part two, and NEW never-before-released material!
Now who’s ready for a re-read??