Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 139178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Raphael had flown there, while Dmitri had driven his precious red Ferrari. The sleek machine hovered quietly over the long green grass just beyond the trees that overhung the river, a mechanical panther that Dmitri had designed. Raphael’s best friend had taken up automotive engineering at some point in the last half millennium.
“Have to keep the mind fresh,” he’d said. “Also, Honor says I need a hobby.” A scowl. “She doesn’t think beating you to a pulp once a week qualifies.”
“I believe you were the one who was pulp last week.” Raphael had considered his own life. “Do you think I need a hobby?” The demands of an archangel’s life were myriad and complex, but…none of them could be counted as a hobby.
A chuckle from his best friend. “Come help me with the prototype. We can both tear out our hair.”
That was exactly what Raphael had done. The afternoons he spent in Dmitri’s garage while the two of them attempted to figure out a technical issue on Dmitri’s newest design reminded him of how they’d been young men together once, carefree and open to anything.
Today, his friend said, “I’ve always liked Eve.” He slipped his hands into his pockets, having come from the Tower still dressed in a formal black suit that featured the diagonal panels, invisible side closures, and mixed media fabric popular this decade. “I’m hearing rumors Illium’s thinking of bumping her up to general.”
“So am I. Far as I can tell, she has the full support of the troops under her—and her strategic game has improved by magnitudes.” Eve had come to Illium’s team as a solo hunter, so it was unsurprising that it had taken her time to settle into her position as the leader of a group.
“So.” Dmitri glanced over, his dark eyes astute. “Something’s up.”
Raphael crouched down, picked up a small stone, and skipped it over the water.
And considered how to tell his closest friend a piece of news that might devastate him. Because Dmitri had once cradled his own babes, proud and happy.
Misha and Caterina, two innocents who had been their father’s heart.
When he rose back up, his entire chest felt caught in a crushing vise. “My friend,” he said, “I am to be a father.”
Dmitri’s pupils expanded as he sucked in a breath…and then he was giving a shout of joy as he hugged Raphael with such ferocious warmth that it made Raphael’s eyes burn.
“Fuck!” The other man thumped Raphael’s back, his grin in his voice. “Fuck! A kid! Raphael!”
Grinning himself as Dmitri drew back, Raphael thrust both hands through his hair. “I barely believe it myself, but Nisia assures us that it is true.”
“How far along?”
“Not far.” He stretched out his wings, then folded them back in. “Dmitri, I am…no longer on firm soil.” He was an archangel, confident and powerful, and used to knowing what to do. But this…
Dmitri squeezed his upper arm. “Welcome to fatherhood. It’s a wild ride.” Naked emotion in his voice.
“I’m sorry,” Raphael began, his mind full of memories of a bright and loving little boy who’d pelted down the path to meet his father. “I would not—”
But Dmitri shook his head. “It’s all right, Rafe. You don’t have to worry about me—finding Honor started me on the road to remembering the joy I shared with my children, and not only the horror of their passing. Then to have Naasir’s cubs as part of my life? It reintegrated so many of the broken shards.
“Holly helped, too, funnily enough. She’s so prickly and independent, but all these years later, even though she’s full grown and a CEO, she still comes to me and Honor for advice, or just to vent.” A depth of affection in his voice that Dmitri gave to very few people. “Last week, she curled up in that corner chair in my office for a full hour and plotted how to outwit her fashion house rival.”
The wind riffled through his hair, lifting the dark strands before whispering away. “Now, I get to be the uncle you once were to Misha and Caterina.” His smile reemerged. “I’d like to share the news with Honor.”
“We’d never expect you to keep it from her.” When he and Elena had spoken of who they would tell, they’d both agreed on this point. “Just keep it between the two of you—and Nisia—until Elena’s further along.”
Dmitri nodded. “With the cubs grown, I’ve missed having children close by.” His grin was of the man who’d both disciplined those cubs and taken them on adventures across rivers and up mountains that had them ecstatic. “You’ll stay in New York?”
“We haven’t talked about it, but I can’t imagine leaving Elena and our child in the Refuge, only to see them in short bursts.” He started to laugh. “I also think my consort would shoot me in my other wing should I even suggest such a ridiculous notion.”