Raphael raised an eyebrow. I am an archangel.
Elena didn't tease him like she usually did--there was an edginess in his tone that said he was at the end of his patience. Not with her, with whatever had been going on in the meeting chamber. Tell Tasha to make sure she doesn't take your mother down a particular path if they go to visit the Gallery. Aodhan can give you the exact mental map--there's a painting of Nadiel's death there.
Raphael's features grew hard and cold. If there is, the Luminata should've covered it as a mark of respect. His eyes locked with Aodhan's, then seconds later, he looked toward Tasha.
It was only because Elena was watching her that she noticed the very slight jerk of Tasha's shoulders. Caliane was facing away from them, her attention on something Tasha was saying, and didn't seem to notice. Looking back at Elena, Raphael cupped her cheek. Thank you for caring for my mother's heart, Elena. Even to the extent of asking me to speak with Tasha.
"Come on, Archangel, I think you need some air."
"Sire, she has only eaten two energy bars today."
Elena's jaw fell open. Swiveling to face Aodhan, she said, "Did you just nark on me?"
A small smile, hidden laughter. "It won't take you long to refuel if you choose high-energy items."
"Elena." Hauling her to the table on that growl of sound, Raphael picked up a tray of meat and handed it to her. "Eat."
"Ugh." She put the tray down, grabbed a plate, and began to fill it up with her own choices. "If you two are going to stand there and loom, it'll give me indigestion. Eat something."
They did, though most of their attention was on making sure her plate was never empty. Feeling as if she'd put on ten pounds by the time she couldn't take anymore, she groaned and leaned against Raphael as they headed out. "I will definitely need a boost to get into the air."
"That, hbeebti, is never a hardship."
They were in the sky soon afterward, Aodhan beside them and Elena's gown zipped up once again. After releasing Elena, Raphael flew high--and in a direction where there were no other wings. Most of the archangels had to have taken off, but the majority were no longer anywhere in sight, though she could see glints of Alexander's silver, and Michaela's bronze.
She, Raphael, and Aodhan aimed for the mountain where she and Raphael had landed the previous night. When she began to tire, she and Aodhan landed on the mountaintop to wait for Raphael to burn off his energy. She couldn't even see him now, he'd gone so high, but she could feel him. About to ask Aodhan for the miniature--finally!--something made her glance up.
Just in time to go flat on the ground with a yell as Raphael skimmed over her and Aodhan's heads, having dropped silently at a speed she couldn't even imagine. "Raphael!" she yelled when she scrambled up, a shocked-appearing Aodhan still seated on the ground in front of her. Come down here right now, Archangel!
Raphael landed in a glory of wings of white fire. "I was testing my speed."
"No, you weren't." Folding her arms, she tapped her foot. "You were dive-bombing us. Admit it."
Smile heartbreaking, he pushed back his hair and walked over to hold out a hand to Aodhan. The angel took it without hesitation, allowed Raphael to pull him up. "Have you been possessed by Illium, sire?" he asked in a disbelieving tone.
"He did seem to be having a lot of fun, so I decided to try it." Dropping Aodhan's hand, Raphael thrust his own hand into Elena's hair, sending her remaining blade sticks to the earth, and brought his mouth down on top of hers.
Her body sighed, her blood heated, and she had the tip of a blade to his throat even as his tongue licked over hers. Ignoring it, his lips still curved over hers, he just kissed her deeper. And since she had zero defenses against him when he got like this, she slid away the blade and took the kiss. She'd seen him at dawn but it felt as if she'd been missing him forever.
Breathless when he finally released her, she tried to muster up a scowl. "You got my gown all dusty."
"I'll brush off the dust." He ran a hand over her breast, down to the curve of her hip, the action protected from view by the way he'd curved his wings around them.
Her toes curled. "You were faster than fast," she said as he folded back his wings. "I didn't even feel the whistle of wind passing over your wings." Glancing at where Aodhan stood some distance away, giving them privacy and watching out for threats, she called out, "Aodhan! Did you have any idea Raphael was heading for us?"
Shaking his head, Aodhan made his way back to them through the golden grass. "Your wings are of pure silence."
"One hell of an advantage." Elena reached out to play her fingers through the white fire of them--they did feel solid in a sense, but there were no feathers. It didn't burn, was cool to the touch, and . . . "It tastes of you." Like the crashing sea and the wild wind and power that tasted of life.
Fingers still in her hair, Raphael shook his head. "It tastes of us."
Her eyes widened before she nodded. "Yes." The wildfire that lived in him, it was formed of both of them, a strange alchemy no one who knew could understand. "I don't think Lijuan could hurt your wings if these were your wings during a battle."
"An intriguing idea, but unfortunately, I can't control when they come and go." His jaw tensed. "Lijuan is far ahead of me in that sense, appears to be able to take her noncorporeal form at will."
Elena clenched her stomach, Aodhan going motionless beside them.
"The Cadre has decided that Zhou Lijuan is alive?" he asked.
Raphael shook his head. "We have decided nothing." It was a gritted-out statement. "The answers are all there, hashed out in the first ten minutes. Favashi to take over Lijuan's territory with Caliane offering assistance. But we must have consensus for this decision and Charisemnon is refusing to budge. He insists we leave Lijuan to run her territory as she sees fit."
Elena bared her teeth; she wanted to stab the Archangel of Northern Africa in the eyes.
"Unfortunately," Raphael said, moving his hand to curve it around the side of her neck, "we cannot cut off his head and just vote on his behalf until it grows back, or one of us may have tried it by now."
"Is Charisemnon the only holdout?" She began to run her hand on the underside of his fiery wings.
A long exhale before Raphael said, "He is the most recalcitrant. Astaad continues to struggle with interfering in another archangel's territory but is unwilling to let things go on as they are, especially given Jason's information."
His Legion mark sparked with white fire, glowing bright for a second, and when the mark settled, Elena felt feathers under her touch. His wings were once more white gold, but the left wing bore an astonishing scar of darker gold created when she shot him back during what might've been the scariest moment of her life.
He'd bled so much, this man who wasn't supposed to be able to be hurt.
"Enough about that." Tugging her close, he pressed a kiss to her temple. "Did you two discover anything?"
Elena forgot all about Lijuan and bloodlust and stabbing out Charisemnon's eyes. "Aodhan."
Reaching under the straps that crisscrossed his chest over his leathers, providing a brace for the double sword sheaths he wore on his back, Aodhan pulled out first the blade stick he'd borrowed, then the miniature. He held on to the former, putting the latter on the open hand she held out.
24
How could anyone have painted Elena so quickly?
An instant after the question passed through Raphael's mind, he realized the woman in the miniature wasn't Elena. Her eyes were a shimmering turquoise, her skin a darker gold than Elena's. Her face, too, was narrower, more hawk than hunter. None of it took away from her startling beauty--or her startling resemblance to Raphael's warrior.
"I think we can safely say that you are on the right track, Elena-mine."
Hand trembling, Elena stared at the tiny canvas.
"If I may, Ellie." Reaching for the miniature, Aodhan took it, turned it over, then lifted the blade stick with his other hand.
"Don't damage it," E
lena cried out.
"I promise, I won't. But sometimes, the artists will write of the subjects on the backs of these miniature pieces."
A very careful insertion of the tip of the blade stick, an expert lift . . . and Aodhan had separated the miniature from the frame. Frowning, he looked down at the tiny writing on the back. "Majda," he said. "I think that's what it says."
Raphael took the miniature, looked at the writing; it was in the same text Elena had seen in the Gallery. "Yes."
Elena blew out a breath. "That doesn't sound anything like Elena." Folding her arms, she watched as Aodhan put frame and image back together. "My mother told me that my grandmother's nickname was Elena."
"There is apt to be more to her name," Raphael said as she nodded at Aodhan to hold on to the miniature, her dress not having many hiding places. "With this name and the initial E that your mother remembered being on her baby blanket, you have avenues of investigation beyond Lumia--starting with the closest township."
Looking out at the distant stronghold, she threw her gaze even farther forward, but the town that existed beyond the border wasn't visible. "I'm not sure I want Aodhan and I to be that far from you while the Cadre is in session." No matter her hunger to dig up the truth of her ancestry, leaving him without backup wasn't an option.
"If there is to be a battle among the Cadre, Guild Hunter, I would rather you not be anywhere in the vicinity. Remember Beijing."
The city no longer existed. The smoke was long gone but the crater remained a brutal scar on the landscape--and some said there were parts of it that were hot to the touch to this day. Elena wasn't sure whether to believe those reports or not, because most people stayed far, far away from the evidence of what could happen when archangels fought one another.
"Being in the town won't protect me from that kind of battle," she said bluntly. And my only fear is losing you.
Raphael closed his hand over hers while Aodhan once more stepped away to offer them privacy. "If you keep your movements erratic, it protects you."
She couldn't argue with that. Wandering Lumia's endless hallways was a good way to get trapped--and to distract Raphael with worry. He didn't need any distractions, not when he was crossing swords with the Cadre of Ten.
"Maybe this afternoon," she said, "Aodhan and I can go do a reconnaissance of the town, see if we can get a feel for it. Caliane and I aren't supposed to meet for our walk until the evening." She leaned into Raphael on the heels of her words, the heat of him a burn she craved. "Stay safe, Archangel."
"Do not fear, hbeebti." The Legion mark glittered in the sunlight as he pressed his forehead to her own. "I don't think anyone on the Cadre is keen for a repeat of Beijing." A pause. "Of course, if Lijuan decides to pay us a visit, then the endgame may be upon us."
*
Watching Raphael return to the inner chamber had her gut in knots, but Elena kept it together, a casual expression on her face as she forced herself to nibble a little further from the lunch spread. Might as well keep up with the fuel since her huge meal appeared to have digested at the speed of light.
"You were in an energy deficit," Raphael had said when she mentioned that. "Remember, each and every cell of your body is transforming from mortal to immortal. You are fast-forwarding through a process that takes an angelic babe at least a hundred years."
Put that way, was it any wonder she was eating like a bodybuilder?
Eyes on wings of white gold, she consumed nuts and dried fruit with mindless efficiency. Dried meat would probably be better, but Elena had her limits. A little jerky on the road? That she could deal with. Eating it piece by piece by piece? No thanks.
Then the doors to the inner chamber slammed shut with a portentous bang, sealing Raphael in with the rest of the Cadre once more.
He wasn't alone, she reminded herself. Along with the enemies, he had allies in there. And he was a freaking archangel.
"He is also the only one who has displayed an ability to keep Lijuan in check," Aodhan murmured to her, having clearly followed the path of her thoughts. "Self-interest alone should keep him from being attacked by the others. No one wants Lijuan free to cause mayhem."
"Except Charisemnon," she pointed out, once again ignoring Riker when the vampire tried to catch her eye.
"I'm no expert in Cadre politics," Aodhan said, "but I believe the Archangel of Northern Africa has few friends in the Cadre. He went too far with the Falling."
"Coward." She crunched down on a bunch of nuts on that single word, reminding herself that every mouthful she ate was another step closer to true immortality. Her bones were getting stronger day by day, her tendons less difficult to snap, her skin harder to bruise.
Of course, it was all relative.
The vampire walking toward her was far stronger than her. "Elena," Riker said with a smile that was full of psychotic charm, the cedar and ice scent of him as incongruously beautiful as always. "Want to play?" He stepped close enough that their boots touched.
The swish of steel leaving a sheath. "Consort, would you like me to cut off his head?"
Aodhan's toneless question had Riker looking up with narrowed eyes, but whatever he saw in Aodhan's eyes had him paling before he gave her space. "I'm only being friendly."
She felt as if she were being covered with slick black oil with every word he spoke. It would've been easy to let Aodhan handle it, but she was a hunter and she was Raphael's consort. She hid from no one. "How's your heart these days?" she asked with a razor-sharp smile. "I haven't had a close look at it lately."
Hissing out a breath, his eyes hot red, Riker fisted his hands. She almost wished he'd say something that crossed the line so they could legitimately cut off his head and rid the world of his nastiness, but he just bared his fangs and said, "It's inside my ribcage, where it belongs."
"You should try to keep it there."
An unblinking stare before he turned on his heel and walked back to where he spent his time waiting for Michaela.
"I didn't know you could be scary enough to terrify genuine psychopaths," she said to Aodhan.
"Galen made me practice."
Shoulders shaking at the cool statement, she ate more of the damn nuts.
"Hungry, Elena?" Tasha's voice, the warrior angel strolling into the room to pick up a grape from the table and pop it into her mouth.
Elena was glad she hadn't taken a seat at the table. Being seated while Tasha stood would've irritated the hell out of her. "All this lounging around looking at art gets tiring."
Tasha watched her eat a piece of high-fat cheese. "Yes, Lumia is a little too peaceful for me, too." Shrugging her shoulders, she drew a sword from a thigh sheath and, moving away from the table, swung it through the air.
"Aodhan, will you spar with me later today? I need a little activity to relieve my boredom and Titus's Mau'lea has already made plans to train with Astaad's escort." A glance at Elena. "I know the sword is not your weapon of choice."
It wasn't, but Elena was learning. "That's a heavier blade than I would've expected you to favor." Yes, Tasha was stronger than her, but why go for a heavier blade when a lighter one would use up less strength and get the job done as well?
"It's what my trainer used," Tasha replied, sliding the sword back into its sheath. That sheath wasn't a decorative one--like Aodhan, Tasha was dressed as a warrior, dressed as Elena wished she could dress. "I suppose I became used to it and it is what feels right in my hand."
"If you two want to spar, I don't mind," she said to Aodhan and Tasha both. "Maybe I'll learn a few new tricks by watching."
Tasha's eyes narrowed. "I can't tell if you're being gracious, or if there's a little venom there."
Swallowing the last bite of a little quiche she'd picked up, Elena said, "Venom sinks into the blood and I don't want to end up like Michaela one day." No matter how much Tasha annoyed her, Elena wasn't going to waste her energy on unnecessary jealousy.
Raphael's heart was hers. If she ever lost it, it wouldn't be because of
Tasha, but because something had gone catastrophically wrong between her and her archangel. She couldn't even imagine what that might be.
"I hate it when you make sense, Elena." Walking to the table, Tasha ate a few more grapes. "Aodhan?"
"Not today," he replied. "Perhaps tomorrow. Today, Ellie and I were planning to fly to the closest township, stretch our wings."
Elena frowned inwardly--why would Aodhan give away their plans?
Face brightening, Tasha said, "Do you mind if I join you? I swear I'll lose my mind if I have to wander one more hallway or speak to one more of these hooded men." A sneer. "All of them afraid of women and hiding it under the veneer of a 'brotherhood.'"
Damn it. There she went again, saying something that made Elena want to grin. "Sure, you can come," she said, since any other response would've been odd. "Maybe we should ask Xander and Valerius as well. I know Xander's definitely bored."
"I saw the boy in the nearest courtyard," Tasha said. "I'll go speak to him. When shall we meet?"
"I need to change," Elena said, having zero intention of exploring the town while in her Lumia getup. "Say, twenty minutes?"
"Done."
Elena waited to speak to Aodhan until they were away from the Atrium and headed to her and Raphael's suite. "Why did you tell her?"
He bent, spoke close to her ear, his breath whispering over her skin once more, the touch of his wing over hers almost familiar. "We may need to go to the town multiple times. It would be highly suspect if it is only the two of us who keep turning up. A group of bored escorts, on the other hand . . ."
Oh. "You're good at the sneaky stuff," she said approvingly.
"Jason made me practice that," he said in the same cool voice as earlier. "It took seventy-five years before he declared I'd be passable as a spy if I didn't glow in the dark."
Laughing so hard that her stomach hurt, Elena tried to see if he was joking. "Did they ever leave you alone?" she asked when she could speak again.
"No, no matter how hard I tried." A smile that held an ineffable joy. "They were always there, Ellie. Constantly hauling me back from the edge of the howling abyss." He swallowed. "Illium . . . he used to sneak into my house and leave art supplies everywhere, until what could I do but start using them or be buried in them."
Elena dared link her fingers to his for a second, felt her heart squeeze when he curled his own around hers. "We lucked out with the people who love us, didn't we, Aodhan?"