Page 52 of Archangel’s Lineage

He had expected to be stopped by a guard or two by now, but perhaps they were staying out of the way since the majordomo had already cleared him. That made sense... at least until he got closer to the fort built of local yellow-hued stone and still saw not a single guard, or a single pair of wings in the sky... but for those that belonged to vultures.

The scavengers circled overhead in a lazy spiral.

His heart racing, he knew he should stop, turn back to call for assistance—but he couldn’t. Jariel had been his friend for a lifetime, the two of them having grown up together from the time they were babes in the Refuge School.

“Jari is strong,” he told himself as he broke out into a full-on run. “Stronger than any other angel in this region.”

The smell hit him first.

Of death... and of things burned.

Yet he saw no signs of fire.

Skin blazing from the power of his run under the scorching sky, he came to a halt a short distance from the main entranceway after realizing it was open. That was nothing unexpected. An open door was the norm in a fort as big and as active as Jari’s. But there should’ve been a guard or doorkeep by it, Fazani’s friend a stickler for correct protocol.

His stomach lurched as he closed the distance to the silent house that should’ve been alive with the sound of voices and wings, vampires and angels flowing in and out as they went about their business. Jari held this territory for his archangel, and his people always had a thousand things to do.

But they did it with a smile because Jari was no hothead. He never had been. He could be demanding, but he’d also been born with a balance within that rubbed off on others. Even Fazani, whose frenetic energy had almost caused his teacher to tear out her hair.

There were no smiles today.

A teardrop hit his jerkin.

Because he knew. Even before he saw the sight that awaited in the entranceway.

Screaming Jari’s name, he fell to his knees on the dirt, his wings crumpled and his hands pressed to his eyes to hide from the sight he would never ever forget. Jari, strong, intelligent, and pragmatic Jari was gone. Burned to ash but for his head... which sat atop the ashes, staring at Fazani with eyes filmed over with white.

33

Elena woke with her legs splayed over her archangel’s thighs and one of her breasts shoved out of her partially torn tank top, which was designed to control said breast and its mate.

Lifting one heavy arm, she rearranged the top. It pretty much stayed put.

When Raphael made a complaining sound, she slumped back on his chest. “I’ll get naked later.”

Right now, she was only mostly naked. Raphael’s hand was cupping her butt, her clothes strewn across the fallen leaves. “Wow.” She took a deep breath, exhaled. Said “wow” again.

Raphael patted her butt. “Yes.”

Her laugh bubbled in her chest, making her shoulders shake. “I think this goes in our top ten.”

That got her a little spank. Grinning, she kissed the line of his neck, feeling young and happy and as if they were just two people in love. Just Elena and Raphael. No politics, no problems, and no families that had been destroyed a lifetime ago.

“How are we not pancakes after that wild ride?” She kissed his jaw.

He turned his head so she could kiss the other side, too. “I told you, Guild Hunter, I am an archangel. I need to show you more of my skills if you have such little faith in my abilities.”

Giving a little laugh at his smug arrogance, she kissed him again and they allowed themselves a few more precious moments in this place out of time. But it couldn’t last. Because they weren’t just Elena and Raphael.

Sighing, she got her legs back in some sort of order, then looked for the rest of her clothes. But after getting them on—while Raphael set himself to rights, too—which involved flying up to see where his pants had landed first—she went right back to lying against him, in the cradle created by his legs and wings.

Maybe it was selfish to keep him to herself even longer, but her need was endless. She wanted to be in his arms and she wanted to hold him in hers.

“Tell me,” he said, his voice a rumble against her.

So she did, going through all of it, even the things she’d already told him. From that night when Jeffrey had first spoken to her, to their most recent conversations when they were alone. “It’s not every time,” she added. “He’s still weak and sleeps a lot. But when he does wake while I’m there by myself, it’s usually only Mama he wants to talk about.”

Her heart squeezed. “Last night, though, he mentioned Belle and Ari.” The big sisters Elena never got to see grow up, become the blazing stars they had always been meant to be.

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