Page 56 of Archangel’s Lineage

“I am seeing the same phenomenon in my territory,” Caliane said when they called her from the Tower; with her hair pulled back, her face was stark in its perfection of bone structure. “The colors are astonishing but I know not to whom they belong. I would remember if I had ever previously seen such a display—it’s too striking to forget.”

“Time for a meeting of the Cadre?”

“Yes, let us see what the others are experiencing.”

The answer was... nothing.

Elena, who’d slipped out of shot to stand against the wall, frowned. How was that possible? Every single other awakening had caused signs throughout the world. Several of the Cadre even sent their people out to overfly waterways. Each squadron came back with reports of “all systems normal.”

“So it is only mother and son who experience this.” Aegaeon folded his arms, his lip curled.

Elijah stepped in even as Aegaeon was parting his lips to deliver his next shot. “Perhaps it has to do with your Legion, Raphael. Your mark is sparking with light again.”

Elena’s eyes snapped back to the mark. Elijah was right; the stylized dragon had once again come to life. Not with the intensity she’d seen in the forest, but it was far brighter than it had been at any other time since the Legion sacrificed themselves.

“Perhaps,” Raphael acknowledged. “We will monitor the situation.”

However, in the days that passed, they saw no sign of the otherworldly beings who’d become such an integral part of the city. Their building, a haven of plants next to the Tower that Elena cared for in their absence, appeared as it always did, no odd growth patterns or hues.

Right now, it was clothed in bright spring green with splashes of color from eager new blooms. Her favorites were the short purple freesias that raced to the front of the line every single year.

But while the Legion building carried on as usual, the Hudson and other waterways continued to change into rivers of iridescent scales without warning, and the region experienced another shake that did only minor damage and caused no deaths. Other than that, life kept on as normal.

Except, of course, nothing was normal.

In other parts of the world, two more volcanoes had erupted, causing mass casualties, while a third was showing all the signs of an impending eruption. Angels and archangels had responded to assist as fast as possible, but even an archangel couldn’t stop a geothermal event. All they could do was fly survivors out and help in the heartbreaking aftermath. Elena had seen more angels cry over the past couple of weeks than she ever had in her lifetime.

People were scared.

That included angelkind. Because the Refuge continued to suffer severe quake after severe quake, until only half its structures were habitable—and the poisonous pools of boiling water had spread, swallowing up bridges and eating away at literal stone.

Angelic children had now been underground for two and a half weeks.

“It’s begun to have a psychological effect on the little ones,” Jessamy said to Elena during one of their regular conversations.

Purplish shadows sat under the burnt sienna hue of the other woman’s eyes, her naturally thin face now inching dangerously close to unhealthy. “They’re meant for air and sky, not for caverns below the earth. The Refuge is too quiet without them, and everyone in a bad temper for the lack. Galen growled at me today and slammed a bowl of oatmeal on my desk, wouldn’t leave until I ate it.”

Elena could understand the weapons-master’s worry. But she knew her job as a friend. “Men,” she said with a scowl. “As if you can’t feed yourself.”

Jessamy’s cheeks grew pink. “Actually, I keep forgetting to eat.” With that, she grabbed nuts out of a bowl and shoved them into her mouth. “Galen left these, too, plus dried fruits,” she muttered after she’d chewed and swallowed the mouthful.

Elena couldn’t laugh at what both of them would’ve found funny at any other time. “How is the structural situation?”

Jessamy’s headshake was dejected, her lips pursed tight. “We’ve had to take down two more large buildings. Many of the pathways are cracked, bridges deemed too hazardous to cross. A new sinkhole filled with toxic hot water appeared only hours ago—right next to the School building.”

“Shit.” Elena had kept up with the official reports Trace sent on behalf of the Refuge team, but this must’ve happened after his latest missive.

“Yes, exactly that.” Jessamy tucked a loose strand of hair impatiently behind her ear. “I did get a bit of good news earlier, though. Vivek tells me Katrina might’ve had some luck in tracking down a longer record of the myth Vivek first discovered.”

Elena wasn’t sure what she thought of the owner of the Boudoir. Katrina was a law-abiding citizen on the surface, but Elena was well aware of the dark threads that ran through the vampire’s entire operation. She had the feeling that the world only ever saw a part of Katrina—the palatable part.

The rest was kept under lock and key.

But Elena was also no longer the hunter who’d seen the world in strictly black-and-white terms. She’d matured, learned that neither mortals nor immortals could be so cleanly divided. People were complicated. Katrina could be both a threat—and a woman with a conscience.

“You think it’ll be useful?” she said to Jessamy.

Jessamy’s slim shoulders rose and fell in a tired shrug. “Immortals are old enough that it might be an important piece of our history turned into myth. Or it could be nothing but fantasy. We won’t know until Vivek retrieves Katrina’s find.”

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