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)
“Love you, Ari,” Elena said with a smile as she rubbed her belly. “I’ll tell our baby so many stories about you, about all my sisters.”
The baby managed to make themselves felt even in the now-tight confines of her womb, as if excited by her words.
Laughing softly, she ate the fruit placed in her hand by one of the Legion, and continued on in this gentle task that connected her to the earth.
39
Being a child among angels is a joy. Children are petted and generally spoiled.
—Raphael to Elena (Once, before a Hunter became a Consort)
Half the Legion would come to the Refuge with Elena.
To ensure their presence wouldn’t be taken as a declaration of war on Raphael’s part, Raphael called a meeting of the Cadre—with Elijah joining in from the Refuge, where he and Hannah had been for the past two weeks.
Close to the Medica and its healers as Hannah’s due date rapidly approached.
“They are a protective force,” he said to the others. “The Primary has confirmed to me that they will protect both Elena and Hannah, and the babes, with equal fervor.” He’d already spoken to Elijah about this, had the other man’s agreement to the arrangement.
“I have never felt such fear, Raphael,” Elijah had admitted, always the wiser “big brother” who’d gone first in such matters of trust. “To have your Legion watching over them? It is not something I will ever forget.”
“To have you on this journey with me,” Raphael had said in turn, “has made it easier. I, too, am afraid, Eli. In this, I cannot protect her.”
So it was that, once again, another thread of trust, of loyalty, wove its way into the bond between Raphael and the man who had once been Caliane’s most loyal general.
To Raphael’s utter shock, it was Aegaeon who spoke first in the Cadre meeting—saying, “Of course the Legion must go! To have two consorts with child at one point in time? It has never happened in all my years!”
“I have never heard of such, either,” Alexander agreed. “The only question is, do the Legion know where the Refuge is, or will we be exposing it by telling them?”
Raphael had the answer for the Archangel of Persia. “They were born in the Refuge. In Marduk’s forge—he told me once that they were but fragments of thought when he first created them, that they grew to become what they are in the ocean.
“When I asked the Legion about the Refuge, they pointed in the exact direction and said that they always know where it is”—he took a deep breath—“because that’s where the others Sleep.”
Deathly silence—followed by a chaos of questions.
Raphael rubbed his forehead. “I don’t have any idea and I say that on my honor,” he said when the Cadre finally quieted down—after Illium put two fingers to his mouth and let out a shrill whistle. “I asked them, but those of you who have interacted with the Legion know that they do not think as we do. When I asked them which others, they simply said, ‘the ones who rest.’ ”
“Ancestors?” Suyin murmured. “It has always been legend that they Sleep below the Refuge.”
“More to the point,” Titus boomed, “are your Legion aware of any stirrings among whatever—or whoever—it is that Sleeps below the Refuge?”
Everyone went silent again, looking to Raphael. “No,” he said. “We knew previously that they rise for war and other such terrible events, but it turns out they can also rise for the purpose of protection.”
“Good.” Zanaya’s dress glittered a dark purple as sparks of light danced in the darkness of her eyes. “I know none of us here would ever attack an angel who is with child, but a bloodlust-ridden vampire for one could be a threat. As well, the Legion may come in useful should a natural disaster strike.”
None of them had forgotten the quakes that had hit the Refuge in the last great upheaval.
Even Aegaeon nodded. “Yes, the mothers must be protected.” It sounded pompous, but that was probably just because Raphael didn’t like Aegaeon.
“So we are in agreement?” Elijah said, having quietly taken up Caliane’s mantle as the one who chaired the meetings.
Aegaeon had muttered something about Eli “acting the first general” at the time, but he hadn’t brought it up again.
There was no dissent, and the questions that came next were more curious, both about the Legion and the soon-to-be-born children. The general sense of goodwill was a stark difference to the tension that had simmered in every single Cadre meeting since Aegaeon began to stir on Illium’s border.
Michaela lingered after the others had signed out, her face and body as flawless of form as always as she stood in front of him dressed in a simple black bodysuit. And yet…there was an alteration.
“I congratulate you, Raphael,” she said.
“Thank you. I hear Gavriel is to spend more time in your territory.”