Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 118699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 593(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 593(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Michaela did the same, before saying, “Yes. From what we’re hearing from the other territories, Lijuan planned this very long-term. There will be multiple waves.” She cleaned her face, but even with dirt on it, there was no ignoring her startling beauty. Skin of a smooth and sumptuous brown, eyes of striking green, masses of tumbling hair in rich hues of brown and gold, her wings a shimmering bronze and her body tall but with all the right curves.
Even her leathers were exquisite, a dark red that molded to her frame.
“There was an angel named Gavriel in my time,” Zanaya murmured, thinking aloud. “Your skin is a tone or two paler than his, but you have a more feminine version of his face.” The angel had been handsome beyond bearing, coveted by many. Zanaya had always thought him rather too pretty, with no edge to him, but from a purely aesthetic perspective, she’d appreciated that he was perfect.
Dropping her hand to the side, Michaela stared at Zanaya. “My father. He vanished after I was well into adulthood. I don’t know if he Sleeps or if he is dead.”
Zanaya wondered if she was imagining the question in Michaela’s voice. “I can’t help you there. But he was known to Sleep often.”
Michaela glanced at Alexander. “You never told me you knew my father.” A bite to her.
Ah, so the child has what the father lacked.
Not acknowledging Zanaya’s mental aside, Alexander said, “I didn’t know him. He was born in Zanaya’s territory, was part of her court.”
The slightest widening of Michaela’s eyes, the first indication of the woman behind the mask of archangelic beauty and power. “I wasn’t aware my father was in the court of an archangel.”
“He was very good with the children and was always hopeful for a babe of his own,” Zanaya told the other woman, not clarifying that Gavriel had been nowhere near her inner court. Rather, he’d been part of the pretty and frivolous crowd that softened up the harsh planes of a court helmed by a former general. “I liked him a great deal.”
An important position after all, is it not, lover? The ones who aren’t warriors but who make it worthwhile to go home? With their sweet songs and their colors and their ability to laugh.
Alexander’s gaze flicked to hers. I wouldn’t know, Zani. A tone as tart as a lemon. I seem to be attracted to unsheathed blades.
Hiding her laughter took effort . . . and even that urge to laugh lasted but a moment in time. “I’ll tell you all I remember of your father,” Zanaya promised Michaela, “but I think for now, we must focus on what is happening inside this territory and those of others.”
Michaela inclined her head, regal as a queen. But as she’d gone out into the field with Zanaya and Alexander, and had fought with courage, Zanaya thought there was more to this woman than might be visible on the surface. “What news have you had, Alexander?”
“Lijuan’s army has reached the heart of Raphael’s territory and is a force beyond imagining.” Leading them to the fortress’s battle command, he went to a large sand table and laid out the facts in brutal clarity. “Keemat received the following information on their numbers while we were in the field.”
By now, Zanaya had learned that Senior General Keemat was the most technologically proficient of Alexander’s generals and, as such, was in charge of maintaining communication with the courts of archangels around the world.
“That makes no sense.” Michaela frowned. “My spymaster was in her territory before the black fog, and saw no indication of a force that size. Forget about the mountains and other terrain where she might’ve hidden a troop—there’s simply no place she could’ve hidden a group of warriors this big.”
“Agreed.” Zanaya gripped the edge of the sand table. “They’d have needed food, water, latrines, living quarters while they trained. No, it can’t be done.”
Alexander nodded. “I said the same. Keemat then asked me if I wanted the full nightmare brief while still in the field.” His smile was tired. “I decided on a no. There’s nothing we can do for New York just now and I wanted all our attention on the situation on the ground. It’s terrible enough.”
Zanaya wanted to bristle at his high-handedness in making that call, but in truth she’d have made the same one. Sometimes, even a general couldn’t handle everything at once. Beside her, Michaela hissed out a breath.
Zanaya expected anger from the younger archangel, but Michaela surprised her again. “That bitch has done this to more of her people.” She held Zanaya’s and Alexander’s gazes in turn. “If she can do this ugly thing to her children, she has no moral lines at all, certainly none to stop her from infecting adults.”
Alexander stared at her. “You’re talking of such astonishing numbers as to defy probability.”