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)
Sighing, the blue-winged angel slid his sword into its scabbard, then placed his hands on his hips. “I really fucking hoped I’d avoided this whole ascension business.” A scowl. “Maybe I’ll just change the Cadre instead, si—Raphael.” A smile full of a wildness that was pure Illium.
Raphael had the sudden thought that the Cadre had no idea what was about to hit them. Laughing at the wild blue storm to come, he dropped the glamour as Illium rose into the sky to head in the direction of the Enclave.
Dmitri, he’s still our Illium. My trust in him is absolute. Though they all knew it already, he had to say those words now that Illium was an archangel. Dmitri would pass them on to Jason, Venom, Galen, and Naasir. Elsewise, the remaining members of his Seven would be torn between their loyalty to the both of them.
Dmitri’s voice was gritty in his mind. Fuck, I’m going to miss them.
Them, because they all knew where Illium went, so would Aodhan.
Now, Raphael watched Illium drop from the sky over the Enclave, and he wondered how it would play out…because for the first time in their entire existence, Aodhan and Illium were no longer equals in power.
Yesterday
33
Twenty-five years after the end of the war, and Illium and Aodhan were at a celebration thrown by Lady Caliane.
India had been devastated both by the reborn children Lijuan had created during the war—and the price the terrible heartbreaking scourge demanded of the people who’d had to deal with it. It had crushed the spirit of this vast and ancient civilization.
Then had come Neha’s decision to go into Sleep a mere decade later, leaving her yet-mourning territory without an archangel.
It could’ve broken this land.
But Lady Caliane, with her wisdom gained from mistakes so dark that she was forever altered, had stepped in and cherished India as if it was her beloved city of Amanat. So much so that she hadn’t left its soil since taking over as Archangel of India but for short visits to check in on Amanat, and visit her son. It had still taken this long for the territory to get to its feet, even begin to heal. Their unwilling involvement in Lijuan’s ugly murder of thousands of children was not an easy burden to bear.
The process would take many more decades yet.
These week-long celebrations, to be held across the entire country, were a gift from an archangel to her tired people—telling them that they could claim happiness, that joy was not a gift forever stolen from them.
Illium hadn’t been there when Caliane spoke to Raphael, but the sire had mentioned it to him. “She wants her people to remember that life is more than pain and rebuilding and grief. For one week, India will effervesce in all its glory, and it is her hope that the memory will take them through the next year, when the celebration will reoccur. She intends for this to be a high point everyone looks forward to each year.”
Illium and Aodhan had arrived three days into the celebrations, after Dmitri and Venom left to return to New York. Galen and Jessamy had also just left, with Naasir and Andromeda arriving in their stead. A flow that meant Raphael’s territory as well as his Refuge stronghold would never be without one of its senior people.
The same applied to Illium’s mother and Titus. As Caliane’s best friend, Sharine had been in India for a week prior to the celebrations, with Titus flying in right before it kicked off. They’d both stayed for two additional days before returning to Africa, with Zanaya and Alexander taking their place in India. The three archangels worked well together as allies, each keeping an eye on the territories of the other.
The sole exceptions to the constant balancing of senior people in and out were Elena and Raphael, who Caliane had requested stay for the duration—and Jason. The spymaster had asked Raphael if he could remain in India throughout. Illium could guess that the spymaster wanted to be by Mahiya’s side as she returned to her homeland—a place where her life had been a thing of quiet torment.
Mahiya herself had said so to Illium once, when he’d dropped by for dinner while near their home. He hadn’t given her advance notice, but she’d welcomed him with a delighted hug nonetheless, then plied him with foods literally fresh from the pan, while Jason made droll remarks about Mahiya reinforcing the foraging instincts of certain uninvited guests.
The spymaster had become far less remote in the decades since he’d fallen in love. His ability to become a shadow remained unparalleled, but the Jason of before would’ve never made such a dry joke while filching a fresh samosa from his lover—because it had been a joke, his own embrace of welcome as fierce as Mahiya’s.