Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 121854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Glad to see Illium eating, Aodhan made short work of his own pastry.
“At the core of the movement,” Illium continued after a satisfying crunching of the bite he’d taken, “is a dislike of the fact that mortals have so much agency now. Five centuries ago, a large number were either in small villages or in cobbled-together cities, under the rule of angels to the extent that they’d never even think about building their own towers of steel and glass.”
Another bite. “On another point,” he said after swallowing, “I’ve sent word to Isiel about the jewels, but he’s out stone hunting—and while he’s not the candlelit type, he doesn’t carry a phone.”
Apple finished, core and all—Aodhan was, as always, fascinated by how Illium could accomplish that fact with zero trouble—Illium bit into his pastry. It was a pleasure to watch him eat, his throat muscles moving with purpose and strength.
When a fleck of pastry dropped onto his chest, Aodhan picked it up from the soft gray of his tee and fed it to him, got a kiss on his fingertips for his trouble. Even as warmth spread through his wings at the affectionate touch that was pure Illium, he could see that the other man was tired. And why not? He’d been going full steam since returning from China—where he’d worked himself down to the sinew.
Aodhan didn’t blame Suyin for his condition—this was all Illium. When he gave, he gave everything and all of himself. “I think,” he murmured, “tonight we rest, and I make you a meal.” They’d done all they could on the case at this juncture; there was no point in chasing their tails…and Aodhan wanted to look after his Blue.
Illium’s smile was startled…and sweet. “I’m all yours.”
No, Aodhan thought, the other man wasn’t all his yet, seeds of fear and worry still holding him back from a final commitment, but he was well on the way…as Aodhan was well on the way to conquering the nightmare that had once had a stranglehold on him.
No more.
* * *
* * *
Smoke bounded out at them when they neared the office of Dmitri’s chief administrative officer.
“There you are!” Crouching down, Illium cuddled and stroked his pampered feline. “I thought I dropped you off with Vivek’s crew downstairs? Have you been bothering Greta?”
Having come to loom in the doorway, the grouchy admin at least a foot shorter than Aodhan peered at Smoke through the half-glasses perched on her aquiline blade of a nose. Black framed, they matched her severe black jumpsuit with fitted long sleeves.
Aodhan had never seen Greta in anything else, had often wondered if she slept in those jumpsuits, too.
Also, the vampire, with her dark red bob, emerald green eyes heightened by vampirism, and translucent skin was so old, she was petrified; she didn’t need the glasses.
But was Aodhan going to mention that?
Oh no. He wasn’t an imbecile.
Greta was Dmitri’s right hand on the unseen end of Tower work for a reason.
“Your cat has a fascination with seeing angels take flight,” she told Illium. “Spent most of her time on the window ledge, watching.” It was crystal clear that she’d rather watch paint dry. “But she’s a smart cat otherwise. Knows how to catch the elevator so she can move around the Tower.”
“Thanks for looking out for her.” Illium scratched Smoke between her ears. “She’s so inquisitive, I worry she’ll decide to head out into the city and not be able to find her way home.”
A thawing of Greta’s expression as a message pinged on the computer system at her back—which was complex enough to rival Vivek’s. “Smoke is excellent company—and I wouldn’t worry about her wandering. She seems to have decided the Tower is her territory.”
Having heard her name, Smoke spoke up, then padded over to nudge at Greta’s dark green ankle boots until she bent and petted the cat. An emerald ring circled her pointer finger, what appeared to be pagan runes on the titanium band. It made total sense to Aodhan that Greta had been a sorceress in her mortal life.
“Yes, yes, you’re gorgeous.” She gave Smoke one last luxurious stroke. “Now off you go so I can get some work done.”
Aodhan held his silence until they were safely behind the closed doors of the elevator. Then he crouched down to scratch Smoke on the top of her head. “Just like your master, charming everyone in sight. Including a woman who looks at me like I’m a lizard that’s dared crawl into her vision. A diseased lizard.”
Illium snorted a laugh, while Smoke butted at Aodhan’s hand for a firmer scratch just as the doors opened on their floor.
After getting out, Illium went to his suite to feed Smoke, while Aodhan entered his and changed into simple pants in a loose linen, and an equally relaxed shirt of the same fabric. Only the color differed, with the pants a rich brown, the shirt a dark cream. After folding back the sleeves to his elbows, he padded barefoot into the kitchen to see what he could throw together from the ingredients on hand.