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)
“Tiamat?” Elena scowled. “No, it can’t be her. She told me Marduk was an old man when they met, that that’s why her wings were different from his.”
Cassandra threw back her head, her laughter a thing of sunshine. “Oh, that is just like the Huntress of the Ages.” Amusement danced in her expression. “She is the younger…by exactly four minutes. Both born in a time of great flux; all children born then were unique in their appearance.”
Elena thought of the looks the two had exchanged, the easy affection and teasing humor, and realized she’d been caught unwitting in the midst of a long-running joke. About to smile, she suddenly froze. “Are Hannah and I giving birth to a future pair?”
This time, Cassandra laughed so hard that tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Hey!” Elena protested.
“Sorry, sorry.” Cassandra held up her hands, and when her eyes met Elena’s, they held eons of age, a weight of experience that was crushing. “You are birthing an infant, child of mortals. The consort born of angels is doing the same. That is all.
“Who they will become? Who they will love? Who will they be in the fullness of time? That is a glorious unknown. I come to tell you only that their birth is no portent, but rather a benediction unbridled. Live it, embrace it.” Her voice changed, became old and tired. “I hope, child of mortals, that one day, I will meet your babe.”
Owls flew overhead, one white-winged creature coming to land on top of the swing frame.
Looking up, Cassandra sighed. “I must go from this dream now, Elena. My Qin calls me.” A soft smile. “I would that I could bring him to this lovely place, but this is yours. I will meet him in the world he builds for us.”
“You’re together?” Elena asked as the dream began to fade at the edges, an old photograph curling up with age. “You’ve managed to hold on to each other in Sleep this time?”
A smile that was of the girl Cassandra had once been. “Yes, this time…” Her body turned translucent, her voice becoming an echo. “…this time I hold my Qin tight, never to let him go. We are happy, child of mortals. My Qin smiles.”
33
You seek to fracture destiny, child of mortals.
—Archangel Cassandra, Seer of Seers, to Elena (Before Prophecy’s End)
Elena woke to the sight of wildfire crawling up her arms and sparking on her primary feathers. She turned, hoping Raphael had slept through the entire thing, but of course he was awake.
Leaning on his elbow beside her, all wide shoulders and delicious chest, he raised a single eyebrow. “What were you up to? Don’t even try to hide it.”
“Ugh! This is the problem with immortal love—you can read each other’s minds!”
His smile held an intimacy that made her stomach flutter.
She glared at him. “I’m already pregnant. Stop smiling at me like that!”
That got her thoroughly kissed, his hands stroking down the bare skin of her waist to cradle her hip. “What was it?” he murmured afterward. “I’m even more curious now. You had the most interesting expressions on your face throughout.”
Clearly, he hadn’t caught any signs of distress or he’d have woken her as he always did when she became trapped in a loop of nightmare. “I asked Cassandra to wake up. I wanted to ask her if the fact Hannah and I are both pregnant at the same time is some kind of portent of doom.”
Groaning, he nipped at her lower lip. “Stop. Waking. Her.” A growl of an order. “But what did she say?”
Stroking the muscled line of his shoulders, making sure to pet the insanely sensitive inner arch of his wings at the same time, she told him of the dream so lovely and soft. “She’s never lied to me, to us. I feel a lot better about the whole thing now.”
“Me too,” he confessed. “I have to admit I had the same question.” A scowl. “Next time you decide to poke the bear, tell her we thank her for putting our minds at rest.”
An owl appeared at the end of the bed, padding up over the sheets until it sat on Elena’s leg. Weightless, made of dreams and power, the creature nonetheless felt like it was right there. “Um, I think she knows. And is saying you’re welcome.”
Raphael followed her gaze…and very gently moved his wing out of the way so that it wouldn’t disturb the owl. Then, despite his annoyance with Cassandra’s meddling in their lives, he said, “I thank you, Lady Cassandra, that you give me knowledge that permits me to enjoy this time with my consort without worrying about the future to come.”
The owl blinked its huge golden eyes before lifting off in a sweep of snowy wings.
“Did she stir awake relatively fast?” Raphael murmured as they watched the owl soar out the open balcony doors to vanish into the pink-blushed blue of the dawn.