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)
It hadn’t been a true choice, not as he’d have wanted for her, but it hadn’t been a thing of pain or violence, and Zoe had navigated it with her usual wit and grace. “Ash says she’s still going despite the insanity-inducing malformation in her brain—and that these days, she’s usually only insane on Tuesdays,” she’d said right before her transition, “so I’ve got nothing to worry about. Only a tiny aggressive cancer. Pfft.”
Knowing who Zoe’s mother was, Illium guessed that she was the one who’d asked Ashwini to talk to Zoe. Because Sara Haziz would’ve known about Ash’s medical history; her hunters had trusted her to the bone, had turned out for her in their hundreds when the time came.
Sara had been carried to her final resting place, beside Deacon, the weapons-maker she loved and who had taught Zoe all she knew, by an honor guard that included Zoe, Ashwini, and the consort of the Archangel of New York. But that day, she’d been just Ellie, Sara’s best friend and a woman whose heart was broken into a million pieces.
“I know it was what Sara wanted,” Ellie had said to Illium days later, while they sat on the Tower roof looking out at the sparkle of the city. Her voice had been hoarse with all the tears she’d shed and her eyes swollen because even angelic healing couldn’t keep up with her grief. “She never wanted to live forever. Neither did Deacon. I still hate that they’re gone. I’ll never again have a friend like Sara.”
Illium, with Lorenzo and Catalina forever a part of him, had needed no further words to understand her grief. What he’d also understood was that Ellie’s statement said nothing about her incredibly fierce and loving relationship with her sister and fellow hunter, Eve. Elena had always been—and always would be—Eve’s big sister, no matter that Eve was centuries into being a vampire.
Sara and Elena, by contrast, had begun and ended as equals.
Ellie had taken a shuddering breath that night they’d talked. “Zoe’s doing better than me. She told me she always knew they’d go together, and they did, didn’t they? Within a month of each other. Even though she’s a vampire, she has a faith that’s a song inside her—she believes with all she is that they’re together beyond the veil.”
A hard swallow. “I’ve decided to follow Zoe’s lead, imagine Sara and Deacon young and vibrant, hand in hand as they live a thousand adventures together.”
Zoe and her “aunt” Ellie remained family true and forever, their love for each other so deep that it shimmered in the air around them when they were together.
Today, Illium said, “I always figured she’d join Ellie’s Guard if she was inclined that way.”
“Ellie’s overprotective of her.” Aodhan handed him more food.
The man couldn’t help looking after Illium, and Illium adored him for it.
“To her, Zoe is forever the child she first knew—Sara’s precious baby girl.” Aodhan took a drink from his water bottle. “Zoe loves her, but being on Ellie’s team would drive her crazy. Ellie’s the same with Sam, but Sam’s so good-natured that he just rolls with it. Zoe’s more fiery, more like Ellie herself. They’d slam heads, then both feel bad about it.”
“Yes, I can see that. Explains why Eve refuses to become an official part of her Guard, too, even though we all know she’d decapitate anyone who dared hurt Ellie.” Of the six daughters sired by Jeffrey Deveraux, only two walked in this time, and they were linked by bonds of loyalty and love unbreakable.
“There’s a reason Titus refuses to let his older sisters near his court in any official capacity.” Aodhan scowled. “Older sisters can’t help themselves. Trust me, I have one—she just today told me I looked ‘tired and cranky’ on a call, and that she’s sending me treats via angelic courier.”
Illium laughed, continuously delighted by the relationship that had grown between Aodhan and Imalia over the centuries. “I’ll ask Zoe,” he said, decision made. “What about Eve? Do you think she’d consider it?”
Aodhan took a moment to think before nodding slowly. “It’s worth reaching out to ask. She’d make one hell of a ground commander in battle.”
“Let’s do it,” Illium said. “I’d much rather start my court with people I know and trust, even if some of them only decide to join for a temporary stint.” He made a face. “I don’t want an actual court. I want something like the Tower.”
Shifting to face him, Aodhan gripped the side of his neck. “You’ll do it. You’ll build something strong and beautiful because that’s who you are. A builder. A rescuer. A lover.” All heart, that was Aodhan’s Blue. So much so that Aodhan worried what being an archangel would do to him—because archangels had to make decisions dark and terrible over and over again.