Archangel’s Kiss (Guild Hunter #2)(54)
Author: Nalini Singh

Elena’s fingers spread over his heart. "I guess it’s about confronting your demons."

"Yes." And then he made a decision he’d never thought he’d make – not since the day he watched Caliane move across the dew-sparkling grass, her feet so light, her voice so clear as she hummed an old lullaby. "I dream of my mother."

Elena stilled. "Not your father?"

"My father was the monster who was known." His mother had been the horror in the dark, unknown, unknowable. "Caliane kissed me good-bye as I lay bleeding and bloody after a fight I knew I’d never win." But he’d had to try, had to stop the madness that had spread a dark stain across his mother’s eyes. "That was the last time I saw her."

"Was she killed by the Cadre?"

"No one knows what happened to my mother." It was a mystery that had haunted him for hundreds of years, would probably continue to do so for thousands more. "She simply vanished. No trace of her was ever found after the day I watched her walk away." He hadn’t been discovered for . . . a long time. So young, so damaged, he hadn’t been able to summon help, had lain there a broken bird, his wings crushed.

"Do you think she knew?" Elena asked, sorrow in her voice. "That she took her own life to spare you the task?"

"Some say that." Raphael ran his fingers down her wings, fascinated as always by the blend of colors that marked his hunter as unique even among angelkind.

"What about you?"

"When angels have lived millennia, they sometimes choose to Sleep until such time as they feel compelled to wake." Secret places, hidden places, that was where angels slept when eternity became a burden.

"Do you think Caliane is Sleeping?"

"Until I see her body, see her burial place . . . yes, I think my mother Sleeps."

"Shh, my darling, shh."

Chapter 26

The next six weeks passed in a fury of weapons and flight training – with Raphael when he was in the Refuge, and with Galen when Raphael had to return to the Tower. Her spare time, she spent inhaling as much information as she possibly could, and visiting Sam. To her delight, the boy was healing far faster than anyone had predicted. Noel, too, was well on the way to recovery.

There was no more overt violence at the Refuge . . . except for the bloodstained Guild daggers that kept showing up in places she frequented. The blood proved to be Noel’s, so there could be no mistake about the origin of the threat. Unfortunately, the daggers had all been devoid of vampiric scents. And Elena’s angel-tracking ability continued to be wildly erratic.

Frustrated at the lack of a solid lead – but determined to ensure she’d be no easy target –

Elena had just dropped off another dagger at the forensic center one cool morning when she came face-to-face with Neha’s daughter.

"Namaste."The greeting came from the mouth of an enchantingly beautiful woman with the sloe-eyed gaze of a born sybarite . . . if one didn’t see the calculating intelligence behind it.

Elena kept her response calm, polite. So far, nothing pointed to Anoushka as being the angel they were looking for, and as Neha’s daughter, she was a power – one Elena didn’t need to piss off without reason."Namaste ."

Anoushka looked her up and down, making no effort to hide her appraisal. "I was curious about you." It was an almost girlish statement as she walked forward, graceful in a white sari embroidered in blush pink and powder blue. "So human you look, though you wear wings," she murmured. "Your skin must show every bruise, every wound."

Such a casual comment. Such a quiet threat.

Elena answered with the truth. "Your skin is flawless."

A blink, as if she’d surprised the other angel. Then Anoushka inclined her head by the merest fraction. "I don’t think I’ve heard a compliment from another female angel for at least a hundred years." A smile that should have been charming, and yet . . . "Will you walk with me?"

"I’m afraid I’m headed to training." She glimpsed Galen out of the corner of her eye, hoped he’d keep his distance. Right now, Anoushka did appear merely inquisitive. Any sign of aggression and things might get ugly.

"Of course." Anoushka waved her hand. "It must worry Raphael to have a mate who is so very weak."

Having the other angel at her back felt like beetles crawling over her skin. She was almost glad to fall into step beside Galen – right now, trying to protect herself from a weapons expert sounded like a far better bet than fencing with an angel who might be a true cobra. According to the rumors she’d heard, Anoushka had grown up drinking poison with her mother’s milk.

A shiver skated across her body, and she was more than ready to throw herself into the gruelingly physical training. However, another one of Neha’s creations – Venom –

interrupted the hand-to-hand combat session midway. The vampire had on his ubiquitous shades, his body clothed in a black on black suit. But, for once, his expression held no hint of mockery. "Come. Sara is waiting for you on the phone."

She was already walking at a fast clip beside him. "Has something happened to Zoe?"

Fear for her goddaughter caught her by the throat.

"You should speak to her directly."

Her wings brushed the steps as she walked up to Raphael’s office. She pulled them up instinctively, the action second nature now – thanks to having been put on her ass by Galen more than once. He would give no quarter. Any mistake and she went down. She appreciated it – because Lijuan’s reborn sure as hell wouldn’t have mercy on her if the oldest of the archangels decided to set her pets on her guests.

Leading Elena to the corridor outside the office, Venom took a sentinel position by the door. She knew without asking that Illium was around somewhere – there were never less than two of the Seven with her when Raphael was away from the Refuge. It irritated her, more than irritated her. But facts were facts. She’d regained her strength, honed her skills, but she was no archangel, and the dagger threats aside, Michaela was still in the Refuge.

Whatever softness the female archangel had in her heart for the young, she had none for Elena.

The last time Elena had spoken to Ransom, he’d told her the vampires were now laying bets on her living long enough to even attend Lijuan’s ball, much less survive it.

"You know how your head was wanted on a silver platter? Well, the reward’s been tripled for anyone who brings Michaela not only your head, but both your hands as well."

Grabbing the phone as soon as she reached the office, she said, "Sara?"

"Ellie." Sara’s voice was strangely accented – a mix of worry and anger. "I’ve got your father waiting on another line."