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I nodded. Ava was everything to me. I didn’t know where I would be without her. “She’s the mother I know. The only family I have. Thank the goddess she was able to escape before your father executed her as well,” I replied.
Michael opened his mouth and then closed it. Dragging a hand through his perfectly coiffed hair, he started pacing. I flounced back on the bed tracking his movements. He looked like a caged beast in this small space, his wings kept above the ground with his tense shoulders. He turned to me a couple of times as if to say something but then resumed his pacing. He was giving me a headache. I sat up.
“Will you stop wearing a hole in my carpet?” I asked, exasperated. “What’s the matter with you?”
His jaw flexed, and he stopped in front of me with his hands on his hips. He stared at my carpet as if the answer to all his problems were woven into the threads.
“You would hate me—-”
“I already do,” I retorted.
He gave a soft shake of his head and continued, “You’ll hate me more for telling you this.” He took a deep breath and kneeled in front of me. Apart from the fact that an Archangel was kneeling in front of me, even kneeling he was tall enough to be at eye level with me. Taking my hands in his, he said, “But I’ve limited time here in Clifton. So, I have to be the one to tell you this, if it would get you to reconsider.”
Taking a deep breath, he continued, “That night, you weren’t the only one who lost their family. Ava, your aunt, did too.”
I frowned at him. Of course, she lost family as well. My mother - her sister was executed.
“That night, she gave up her family to bring you to safety, because my mother asked her to.” He stroked my hand even as I struggled to follow, comprehension completely escaped me.
“You see…she’s not your real aunt. She was my mother’s favorite maid.”
I forgot to breathe. Cold seeped into my heart, and I blinked the burn in my eyes away. That can’t be true. “You’re lying.” My voice, though soft, was a harsh whisper.
He tightened his hold on my hands. “Believe me I take no pleasure in this.” He leaned in and cupped my face. “My mother had promised your mom that she would get you out safely and Ava agreed to it.”
Tears ran down my cheeks and he brushed them away with his thumb. It soothed the ache within me, however the truth had shredded my insides. My whole life was a lie and I was truly an orphan.
A deep sob shook me again and the Archangel enveloped me in his arms. I
curled into him, making myself as small as I could. I wanted to hide, to escape this new reality. My beloved aunt? A maid? Ava was in the hospital, fighting a terminal illness. The woman who I thought was my aunt was no relation to me. She had agreed to help a young girl out of the goodness of her heart. She gave up her family, her life for me. Did I even deserve it? My heart broke again - both for myself and her. What a mess.
Michael held me, while my sobs drenched his nice shirt. I didn’t want to dwell on why I’d found solace in the arms of the man whose father killed my family. All I knew was that I hated him a little less for being honest with me. No one else had ever been honest with me…even Ava.
“I don’t know what to say. Or to think. Or do,” I said, my voice thick with pain. My vision blurred when I looked up at him, everything in me hurting.
“Come with me to Regent City and bring her too. She deserves to return home. You deserve to return home.”
My chin quivered again, and I pursed my lips to not burst into another sob. “I’m truly alone,” I whispered, the words hurting far more than the truth.
With a finger on my chin, he pulled me to meet his determined gaze. “Never. You have me. Always,” he declared.
Michael
Clifton’s palace was quiet as I strode into the conference room. Archangel Raphael was hunched over the map of Eason. The red pins on the map indicated vampire attacks. There were tons of them. Far too many for my liking. But I found a solid ally in Raphael, who’s as motivated as I am to rid his territory of the scourge.
“You look like a hurt puppy, Archangel,” Raphael said in greeting. He had an easy way about himself, a smile always at the ready. I could never be that upbeat. My father had drilled broodiness into me. “The meeting didn’t go well?”
“It’s complicated,” I said, sinking into the sofa.
Stretching my arms above my head, I worked out the knots in my shoulders. Sleep was elusive. I’d stayed by Seraphina’s side, watching over her. She didn’t get much rest. Instead, she’d tossed and turned most of the night, and guilt had driven me half mad. Watching her break shredded my heart. I swore to never see unhappiness cross her face again.
It wasn’t easy to leave her in the morning. But she had insisted. She wanted to visit Ava at the hospital and go into work to take her mind off things. She hadn’t decided yet on returning to Regent City. I didn’t want to push, but I couldn't imagine leaving her here. Almost like a limb I couldn’t do without, the thought of not seeing her again left me depressed. A niggling thought took root. What if…
“How did you know Chloe was your mate?” I asked.
Raphael whirled to me, eyebrows high up on his forehead. “I’m starting to guess the complication here,” he responded with a smirk. He settled next to me, adjusting his wings on the massive couch. “When you find your mate, it’s like your world explodes. There’s nothing else you can focus on, except her. It fucking hurts.” He sighed, a soft smile that softened his public image of an Archangel. “You’re also always horny. Like fucking hell.”
It was easy to laugh with Raphael.
