Page 101 of Catch a Tiger

There was sorrow hanging from the raven like those wings he’d seen Vix ruthlessly rip from the angel, stealing them for herself just like the angel’s name, and Samuel wasn’t sure why he’d decided to give them any of this information.

What had he seen in them to choose this path?

“I asked if she had a pack or pride, but I knew she didn’t. Whatever happened before I got there…it tore a scar in the universe that still pulses withunimaginablegrief and agony. I also found something I’ve been keeping a secret from her.” Kenji looked to Samuel then, like he thought maybe he could understand. “If I show it to her, it will destroy any mercy she has left.”

The raven moved, standing before him so quickly he nearly responded with violence and death, but Samuel just barely managed to yank himself back from the brink.

Kenji was suddenly holding out a scrap of fabric, offering it to him.

It didn’t feel like he was allowed to take it, so Samuel looked to Mylo, knowing he needed to apologize before he could touch something of hers this raven considered dangerous,valuable.

Thankfully, Mylo didn’t argue. He simply plucked the fabric from the raven’s hand, smoothing it out with his thumb. The tiger scanned it, and then went so still Samuel didn’t think he was even breathing.

“Is this what I think it is?”

“Name and regiment,” Kenji confirmed, eyes back on the house as he rubbed his thumb over a ring on his index finger. “I can’t read angel glyphs, but I spent the entire year she was in the academy looking for someone who could. Found a fallen angel in New York City who translated it. For a price.”

“It’s the same fabric that angel wore.” Mylo squinted like he would if he was wearing his enchanted glasses. “What does it say?”

“Did you know, she looked into my eyes and didn’t fear me?” Kenji didn’t even acknowledge Mylo’s question as he stared at the house so fucking hard Samuel wondered if he could see her through the walls. “Red eyes always incite fear of death, but not for her. Just said she’d been abandoned. Didn’t know what to say to that so I asked for her name, and she told me he took it from her. Took everything.”

It was impossible to resist his curiosity, and Samuel found himself peering over Mylo’s shoulder to look at the glyphs lined up perfectly like the ones on her back in glittering white thread.

“My little killer put that immortal blade to my throat when I got too close, and it was the first time I thought I was seeing true Death…it was beautiful.” Kenji smiled slightly and then shrugged, refocusing on them. “Death is merciful, and she delivers it with immortal grace. Hard not to become obsessed with that, isn’t it?”

Samuel wanted to argue with him, but there was a rightness to his words that had every single part of him in agreement – the man, the tiger, and the monster.

Kenji snatched the fabric from Mylo’s hand and moved out of range before either of them could respond, holding it up between his fingers so the white thread shone just like an angel blade under the sun. “Her name and regiment. Would you like to know what they are?”

Neither of them knew how to answer that.

Of course they fucking wanted to know, but she hadn’t given him this name. It wasn’t a gift. He’d be stealing it. Just like Gabriel.

“Don’t tell me the name.” Samuel ran his tongue over his teeth, unable to forget the way she hadn’t asked for his. “She already told me what it means. If she knows it…I want her to give it freely.”

Mylo slid his gaze to Samuel, clearly irritated all over again by his obsession with names. “Are you sure that name and regiment belong to her?”

“The other bodies had their own. This one was torn, the fabric in scraps all over the place. It was the only one without a body, and it’s rather small, isn’t it?” Kenji tilted his head, red eyes glowing. “I respect that you won’t take her name without permission, but I’ll give you the translation. ‘Gabriel’s warrior. Second regiment.’”

“That…” Mylo was about to voice the very thought Samuel had, but he trailed off because they both knew it wasn’t impossible.

It may not make any fucking sense, but it was definitely possible.

She’d executed that angel so easily.

“Why would they assign her to a regiment and then abandon her?” Kenji flicked his fingers and the fabric disappeared. “SinceGabriel is the second archangel, he was her commanding officer. I made sure to ask.”

“Who did you ask?” Mylo demanded. “If there’s someone who knows more, I’ll pay whatever it costs to obtain that information.”

The only person Samuel knew who might answer their questions was Lucifer, but he didn’t think that was who Kenji had asked, and they needed all the information they could get.

“I’ll pay the cost,” Samuel said, his words quiet. But he wasn’t conflicted. Not about this. “There isn’t anything in the archives about angels other than the obvious. If he comes for her, I need to know exactly what I’m up against.”

Kenji tilted his head the other way. “Your auras are less fractured. That’s good, but you should still do something about the way you pretend you’re only one thing. Not all.”

“Who did you ask?” Mylo repeated, his voice suddenly calm and his eyes nothing but golden ice.

“Why?” Kenji eyed them with the same intense curiosity Vix had.

---