Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 40759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Raphael grunted.
“And another thing… Why can’t she tell I’m a warder?”
He grimaced.
“Tell me.”
“It’s possible that with me being a kyrie and you my mate, that in the provinces of heaven my aura is sort of shrouding you from sight.”
I grinned. “Sort of shrouding me, huh?”
He shrugged, and I punched him in the shoulder.
“Ow,” he complained dramatically.
“Sort of, my ass,” I groused at him. “You’re doing it on purpose. The question is why.”
But he didn’t say because we were both suddenly looking at Leith, who was on his hands and knees, crying, with Evangeline beside him on the ground, her arms around him, whispering in his ear. A male angel was hugging Simon, patting his back and talking to him. Simon was nodding as he listened. A female angel was holding hands with Julian, and both of them, human and angel, were crying. Ryan was bent over as I had been, and beside him, a female angel was rubbing his back.
“What the hell?” I asked Raphael.
“I suspect Julian and Simon have been completely cured, as being in the presence of a Cherubim, which Evangeline and the others are, would destroy any blood curse.”
I caught my breath. “Really?”
“Oh yes. Magic is nothing compared to the purity of an angel.”
“So you’re telling me that Evangeline sensed they were both cursed and cured them?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
I reached out and put my hand on his face. “And you knew that, didn’t you? That’s why you brought us here. You were going to ask your friend Anahel to cure Simon and Julian.”
He leaned into my touch, kissed my palm, then stepped closer and took my hand in his. “Anahel is one of the Seraphim, not the Cherubim, but yes, I was going to ask. I just wasn’t sure he would, or could. I knew he’d let us stay with him, all of us, but Deidre is right about certain things.”
“Like?”
“Like the fact that being neutral for eons has altered his power. It’s not as pure as it once was.”
“He’s still one of the Seraphim, though, like you said.”
“Yes, of course, and his power still protects the third heaven, but being neutral is different than being filled with heavenly light. Anahel makes choices; Evangeline, as one of the Cherubim and a warrior, does not. She can only choose to do the right thing, and if you think about it, things can be correct but not always good. Like your human laws can be right but not just.”
“These are moral and ethical lines, yes?”
“Yes.”
“So because Anahel bends the rules, you weren’t sure he had enough angelic juju to zap out the curses on Julian and Simon.”
He shook his head at me.
“What?” I baited him, smiling.
“The words you choose,” he groaned, shoulder checking me gently.
“So what does Evangeline think I am?”
“I’m not sure,” Raphael replied, putting his arm around me and drawing me close. “Not a human, but not a demon. She didn’t ask, which must mean she doesn’t care. Clearly, you’re not anything she’s afraid of.”
And I was glad about that part.
FOUR
After what Evangeline did for Simon and Julian, we couldn’t turn down her offer to fly us to Anahel’s home. Not that we wanted to. I loved having Raphael’s arms wrapped around me, another angel carrying my pack and sword, and while I was the only one being hugged, the others were marveling over flying. Evangeline was talking to Leith as she carried him, I could see him nodding, and Julian had his eyes closed, his face in the wind. Simon and Ryan were both looking everywhere, taking it all in.
The hall we flew over, that Raphael pointed out to me, was beautiful, but Anahel’s villa was breathtaking. There were open walkways, gardens, a forest to the west, and the glistening sea to the east. It could have been easily transported to the Amalfi Coast and fit right in. What I loved the most was the enormous rotunda where we landed and where Anahel was waiting to meet us.
“There he is,” Raphael announced, and he sounded so fond.
When I had first met Raphael, he had no friends, no one he could introduce me to or take me to have dinner with. Now, just living in the city with me, he had acquaintances, people he really liked who liked him just as much. But beyond that, there was no one who could tell stories about him. Anahel, though, was a friend, I could tell from how Raphael talked about him, so I was very excited to meet him.
He was tall, six four, with thick blond hair that fell to his shoulders, and was wearing a toga, trimmed in gold, that looked pretty comfortable. His sandals were also gold, and his wings, like the others’, were white. When we touched down, he strode toward us, and Evangeline tried to speak to him, but he waved his hand at her and rushed past everyone else to reach Raphael, who opened his arms to meet him. Anahel grabbed him hard, tight, and I saw the full-body shudder and heard his strangled cry.