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)
Aodhan’s chest was heaving when they faced each other again, as was Illium’s. Why?
So I had glamour and could turn us invisible. Then we could take this dance to the sky. His body throbbed, blood molten at the idea of tangling wings and limbs with Aodhan high up above the earthbound starlight of the city.
Aodhan managed to capture him in a hug-like grip as he said, I hear there are blind spots all over the place. Somehow, the satellites never quite get any images in those areas at relevant times. His breath was hot against Illium’s ear, his body slick with a faint layer of perspiration.
It took serious effort—mostly because he’d rather lick Adi up—for Illium to twist out and away. I had to do something when surveillance cameras and satellites that could capture images in high definition became a thing.
Angelkind had thought about banning the technology, with a strong push from the older sector of angels, but the Cadre had decided it was useful to them, too—as long as it was in their control. The leash of that control might be long, but it was still a leash. My team wouldn’t hear the end of it otherwise.
They’d worked it so certain remote areas went “dark” on an unpredictable basis—unpredictable to outsiders and anyone looking to exploit a security hole, that is. All senior Tower angels knew where to get the list of the planned blackouts.
The juniors had to get creative, or wait until they were in the safe zone of the Refuge. Such was life when you were a young angel with amorous intentions. The oceans are still safe. Not much pinpointed on vast swathes of open water.
Conversation stopped as they came into contact again, both of them flying into kicks at high speed, which were, unbeknownst to their growing audience, part of a routine they’d practiced as youths until they could pull it off at an insane velocity.
Silence surrounded them when they landed on their feet on opposite sides, each focused grim-eyed on the other. Only Illium was close enough to spot the amusement in Aodhan’s eyes.
Have you ever had to do cleanup after a couple in the throes didn’t check for technological watchers, and got caught?
Illium groaned inwardly. Let’s not go there. There’s a reason there are so many mortal artworks that show angels “falling in agony” from the sky. For some reason, mortal minds seemed to have trouble computing that angelkind might be up to more illicit things in the air, but at least it made life easier when dealing with the inevitable slipups.
Also, forget about a couple, he muttered. One day I’ll tell you about a quartet that decided to get creative. If I have gray hairs, it’s because of those four—even I learned things when the images first showed up on our monitoring system.
Aodhan’s shoulders shook…but he blocked Illium’s next strike with a superb show of brute strength that made Illium’s cock throb in ways that had nothing to do with combat…at least not this kind of combat.
Will you two stop pretending you’re fighting to the death? came a dark voice in their heads. I’ve fielded at least five panicked reports so far and I am not in the fucking mood.
Yes, Dark Overlord, Illium replied to Dmitri.
Aodhan, please kill him so I can enjoy a moment of peace.
Eyes squeezed shut, Aodhan was clearly fighting not to laugh. Consider it done. He opened those eyes of shattered glass. “Truce, my little blue flower?” he asked in a voice so quiet, it barely reached Illium.
“Truce, my pretty Sparkle-pants,” Illium replied in as low a volume before they separated and bowed to each other in the way of warriors formally ending a sparring session. It seemed necessary in light of those panicked reports.
When they rose back up, then clasped forearms, the silent crowd began to clap and whoop at what had been, Illium knew, a display of skill they rarely got to witness. That kind of speed in angelic ground-sparring could be achieved only between two high-level warriors who’d been training together so long that they could predict each other’s moves to a hairbreadth.
Broken wing bones had never been a possibility.
After giving the others a good-natured bow that clearly delighted them, Aodhan snapped out his wings…and took off into the night sky in a seamless vertical ascent that turned him into a streak of starlight.
More than ready to be alone with his Adi, Illium took off after him.
No one else was fast enough to follow them, even had they tried.
Illium was the faster where he and Aodhan were concerned, but Aodhan was stronger, which meant he could brute-force things in a way Illium couldn’t as quickly—such as just powering through the headwind that hit them as they were striking out over the ocean.
Illium played with the currents instead, and ended up to Aodhan’s back left not long afterward. A tanker piled high with shipping containers erupted with tiny waving figures as they flew past at low altitude, so Illium circled back at an even lower altitude to “buzz” them.