Page 6 of Light

Moving around the bed, he crossed his arms, studying full pouting lips as she continued to mumble into the blankets.

She was attractive—for a human.

Her raven brows were perfectly sculpted over pale lids fringed in thick black lashes. A small, somewhat pointed nose rose delicately from her face, and tiny, nearly invisible freckles were dusted over it. A pink top lip forming a perfect bow rested on a fuller bottom lip, and they were turned down as if, even in sleep, life disappointed her.

He understood the feeling.

Her pale cheeks held the faintest flush, coloring them a rosy hue. Not painted. Natural. Flushed from the exertions of the evening.

She mumbled again, and he froze when her eyes flew open and startlingly blue irises met his. They were piercing in their intensity, and something stirred in his chest.

Hope, he thought. No. He would not give in to that dangerous emotion. Hope was a thing that had died long ago for him.

Her eyes fell closed as she said, “That’s not a fair price for lace at all.”

His immediate relief at not being discovered startled another laugh out of him. Was she dreaming of haggling for lace?

He had resolved to stay the night and wait for Sanura to return, but Sanura was calculating. She would not be back tonight. He knew it but couldn’t make himself leave. Backing up, he settled into a chair in the room’s corner.

Maintaining his human facade, he let his wings drape like coattails beneath him as he sat. It was uncomfortable and left him feeling weak and exposed, but an irrational fear of being discovered in his true form left him paralyzed in this one.

As he settled in, preparing for any threat, his gaze repeatedly found its way to the woman draped over the bed; the space in his chest he tried to ignore hummed a merry tune.

The night would be long indeed.

Gabriel’s gaze trailed to the window—noting the glimmer of pre-dawn light fighting the dark to wash the world in its bright glaze—as he stood.

After the night’s exertions, the Naphil may not rise for hours, but Sanura would be safely tucked away by now, preparing her mortal shell for its period of stasis. Although she was not a true nasdaqu-ush, the magic she’d used all those years ago to resurrect her body meant she could only walk the Earth at night. The woman, still drooling into her pillow, would be safe for the day.

He turned from the room, glancing back only once. Something sharp stabbed his chest moments before he left the mortal plane.

When he landed in Alaxia, the feeling dissipated, and he sighed with relief. Some physical manifestation of nearing completion of his mission, no doubt. Nothing to trouble himself over.

Striding through gilded halls, he stopped outside the arched door of his closest sibling and cleared his throat.

“Enter,” Aaron said from within.

Gabriel stepped through the door, glancing around the starkly white marble room. “Is Dina in?”

Aaron stood from where he’d been reclining in a white tufted chair, setting a book on the alabaster marble table beside him, and crossed the room to clasp Gabriel’s arm.

He was struck by the similarities between Aaron and the Naphil he’d met last night. He should have known she was of the Gavras line the moment he laid eyes on her. They were different, of course, separated by thousands of years, but her piercing blue eyes, dark hair, and tall stature were only a few of the things that made their connection unmistakable.

“She has been called to Assyria once more.”

“I believe the humans call it Syria now,” Gabriel said, chuckling.

Aaron’s dark brows drew down, furrowing. “As you say, brother. The death toll swells by the day. She is sorely needed. I only wish I could go with her.”

Gabriel nodded. “I’ll see myself out,” he said, turning to leave Dina and Aaron’s room.

“Dina told me of your pain,” Aaron said, halting Gabriel in the arched doorway. “Your analogous umbra is out there, brother.”

Gabriel swallowed. Discussing these matters with Dina was one thing, but discussing them with the human mate she’d found centuries ago was another. His eyes narrowed as he glanced down at Aaron’s hand resting on his biceps.

He backed up, stepping out of Aaron’s reach. “I’ll tell Dina you long for her return.”

Aaron’s lips pursed, but he said nothing, pacing away from Gabriel and returning to his chair beside a massive wall of books.

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