Page 91 of Archangel’s Lineage

The Library, too, was still standing, but it was showing signs of an unstable foundation, while the Archives had been damaged enough that Jessamy was boxing up precious records and artifacts as fast as she could. Young couriers were then flying the boxes out to a mountain fort high in Caliane’s territory that was built into the side of a mountain.

Not in use and inaccessible to anyone without wings, with one of Caliane’s squadrons on guard duty, the fort would hold the records safe for the time being. Once Jessamy and her small crew finished with the Archives, she planned to begin packing up the Library, too.

Galen, Naasir, and Trace were all also at the Refuge, doing what they could to further shore up the Medica, since that was the one building that would be near-impossible to fully evacuate. One young angel inside had a spinal cord that was half-severed at the neck. Moving him, even with every modern advancement in the world, could end his life.

Elena began to turn, though the hospital was already within sight. I’ll head back.

No. Go see your father. I, too, am going to stop for the time being—I’ll have a sparring session with Dmitri, hope it helps me clear my mind. There’s no point in going over ground we’ve already covered; it’ll just be a waste of time.

We’ll find it, she said, though she was no longer anywhere near as confident as when they’d begun. It wasn’t that Raphael didn’t have old things in his possession—but he knew where all of those old things were.

A mental kiss against her mind, before Raphael withdrew.

It took effort for her to put their conversation to the side when she reached her father’s room. His visitor numbers were no longer severely restricted now that he was out of the ICU, and these days she often found him in the company of either Gwendolyn, Eve, or Amy.

Today, however, his visitor was a handsome Black man in a pin-striped business suit whom she recognized as Amy’s husband. Maynard was saying something about share prices when she walked in, while Jeffrey looked at a bound stack of papers and nodded. Both froze when she walked in.

She grinned. “You’re safe. I won’t rat you out to Gwendolyn.”

Maynard’s returning grin was quick, wide, and held a warmth that embraced her. Yeah, she could see why her half sister had fallen for him. At first, she’d worried that Amy had gone for a hard-charging type like their father, but from what little she’d learned of Maynard, it seemed that while he was driven and ambitious, he had a temperament that was diametrically opposed to the Jeffrey with whom Amy had grown up.

She’d caught this man snuggling Amy in the hospital corridor, seen how he looked at his wife when they were together, witnessed his open affection with his children. It turned out he’d even tried to work from home as much as he could while Amy was at the hospital. He hadn’t wanted their young children missing both Mom and Dad.

From all outward appearances, he was a gentler, kinder father than Jeffrey had been to Amy and Eve.

Just because Elena loved her father didn’t mean she was willing to gloss over his faults.

“Phew.” Maynard wiped his brow. “Gwen threatened to call my mama last time around so she could chew me out.”

Jeffrey shot his son-in-law a look of wry amusement. “I’d tell you to grow a spine—except I’m relieved that Ellie’s not ratting me out, either. So we can be scared of my wife together.”

Maynard and Elena both laughed before Maynard picked up his briefcase and took the bound document from Jeffrey. “Getting rid of the evidence,” he said with a wink. “No dummies here.”

“I knew I liked you for a reason,” Jeffrey said.

Elena smiled, amused at both of them. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“No, we were almost done,” her father said. “Making plans for further empire building under Maynard’s watch.”

Maynard closed up the briefcase. “When don’t you want to build further, Jeffrey? But seriously, thank you for the vote of confidence on the deal.”

“You earned it.”

Walking over after exchanging a quick handshake with Jeffrey, Maynard paused awkwardly. “I usually kiss Beth and Eve on the cheek, but since we’re not quite there...”

She shook the hand he held out, liking him more with each second that passed. After he left, she closed the door behind him and said, “Is he as good a husband and father as he seems to me?”

“Better.” Jeffrey’s expression turned somber. “He’s like I used to be once.”

A heaviness on her chest. She tried to dispel it with humor, not ready to go there yet. “Is he sneaking in every day?”

“No, the nurses snitch to her,” Jeffrey muttered. “She could see I was losing my mind lying here vegetating. Today’s visit wasn’t planned, but I do have some work privileges now.”

Outward grumbling, but no actual anger from a man who’d never taken orders from anyone. Elena had the haunting realization that he was more tired than he let on. A fact apparent right then, as he lowered his bed to a full recline. “Do you mind if I rest a bit before we talk, Ellie? This blasted heart attack did a number on me.”

“Of course I don’t mind.” She fluffed up his pillow.

He was asleep by the time she took a seat in the special chair Izak had flown in for her from the Tower. According to Dionne, the youngest member of her Guard had caused quite the stir when he walked into the hospital—all golden curls and square jaw, his eyes a sweetheart blue, Izzy was young and pretty and shy when it came to attention.

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