Archangel’s Enigma (Guild Hunter #8)(107)
Author: Nalini Singh

Where they might permanently remain, courtesy of the angry wing brothers waiting for them, their crossbows pointed and primed.

*   *   *

Three hours after the tense meeting outside Alexander’s chamber, night had fallen over the oasis and the wing brothers knew what was coming. The fact their archangel was waking had caused wide-eyed awe among the younger members of the Brotherhood, grim joy in the older.

“I am happy to know I will see the sire again.” The tautly held emotion in Tarek’s tone was a testament to the loyalty Alexander inspired in his people. “I only wish his Sleep hadn’t been so precipitously interrupted. He did not plan to wake for thousands of years.”

The leader of the Brotherhood was sharing a meal with Naasir and Andromeda under the starlight. She went to speak, ask him about his long service, when a long-range scout ran in. It turned out the wing brothers’ phones didn’t work here, either—they had a hidden communications bunker a considerable distance out from the oasis.

It was of no use right now. All communications systems had gone down not long after Alexander told Naasir and Andromeda he was about to wake. As far as the Brotherhood had been able to ascertain, it had affected the entire territory, perhaps farther. All information was currently being passed through a relay of runners and old signal beacons that utilized a Brotherhood code.

“The fighting continues at the palace.” Accepting a bottle of water, the scout gulped it down. “It seems Rohan called in all his squadrons and ground troops prior to the attack.”

“Your warning,” Tarek said, and it wasn’t a question.

Naasir’s eyes gleamed in the dark. “Who is winning?”

“Rohan and Xi are evenly matched. Stalemate.”

That, Andromeda knew, wouldn’t last. “Lijuan will tip the balance unless Favashi returns home in time.” The Archangel of Persia had to know about the assault, as it had begun prior to the communications blackout.

A blood vessel pulsed in Tarek’s temple, his hand fisted on the table. “We can’t leave our post to go to his aid and I do not think Rohan would wish it.”

“Let’s hope Lijuan is too weak to arrive anytime soon.” The fact the Archangel of China wasn’t already here was a good sign. “The storm you mentioned—would it be enough to delay Raphael?”

Naasir had expected his sire to arrive tonight.

“According to the last report we had before everything went dark,” Tarek said, “the lightning storm is pummeling every part of the world except this territory, and the strikes are violent enough that all planes and angels have been grounded. Your sire may have been forced to land midway—or he was hit and needs to recover.”

“He’ll be here.” Dressed in a loose linen shirt he’d put on over his ravaged back after one of the wing brothers offered to replace his ruined tee, Naasir put another piece of meat from his own plate onto hers.

She smiled and ate the offering; it was nice to have someone who wanted to take care of her. She intended to do the same for him—the wing brothers had provided bottled blood, but she could tell he didn’t like the taste. If she ate well, he’d have no excuse not to feed from her.

The ground rumbled at that instant, the night sky above suddenly awash with a silvery aurora that rippled like water. It was breathtaking, and it spanned the sky as far as the eye could see.

“The sire.” The leader of the Brotherhood looked up, his throat moving and his voice thick.

Andromeda’s own soul ached at witnessing the eerie beauty and incandescent power of an event that might never be repeated in her immortal lifetime. “As long as the aurora covers the entire territory, Lijuan’s people won’t be able to pinpoint the oasis or the caves.”

“We should take advantage of tonight.” Naasir’s tone was far more pragmatic than either hers or Tarek’s. “Leave scouts on watch and rest as many of your people as you can,” he said to Tarek. “If you have a place to hide your vulnerable, do it. Lijuan will not spare them.”

The other man’s face turned harsh, his love for his sire replaced by brutal protectiveness. “Come.” Showing Andromeda and Naasir to a small house on the edge of the village, he said, “You have excellent senses,” to Naasir. “I may as well use you.”

“I’ll sound an alert if I sense intruders.”

Saying good night to the wing brother, the two of them walked in to find the home was a simple one-bedroom space furnished with a bed large enough to accommodate Andromeda’s wings. There was also a small table set with extra food and drink, and a separate section for the facilities.