Hawkyn held Aurora’s hand tight as they materialized in Sheoul-gra. As Primori, she wasn’t supposed to be here, but he’d gotten permission from the Council to break that rule, just this once.
They’d been remarkably cool about it. Maybe they were loosening up already.
“Are you sure your father is going to be okay with us being here?” she asked as they stepped off the landing pad.
He honestly wasn’t sure, but he didn’t want her to worry. “He’ll be fine. He’s going to have to get used to my presence no matter what, now that I’m the liaison between him and the Council.”
They strode through the courtyard and up the giant staircase leading to Azagoth’s mansion, and as they entered, Emerico came out.
Hawkyn had a heartbeat to decide if he wanted to be nice…or if he wanted to rip Rico’s lungs out of his rib cage the way Hawkyn’s shadow wings had been torn out of his.
In the next heartbeat, he had his half-brother up against the side of the building, his forearm across his throat. Nice it was. But only because Aurora didn’t need to see any more of Hawk’s violent side.
“You piece of shit,” he said, keeping his voice level. “You ratted me out to the Council.”
“Yeah, I did.”
Hawkyn had to hand it to the guy. He was a weasel, but he was pretty open about it. “I don’t need to ask why, but I want to know what you got out of it.”
Rico’s grin was all fang. “A clean slate. All my sins gone. Sorry, man, but I had a couple of wing-shrivelers in my past. I needed something juicy to get them removed.”
As much as Hawkyn hated the answer, he understood it. Ascension was the goal of every Memitim, and when failure meant spending an eternity in the human realm—or worse, it was every angel for himself.
That was something else Hawkyn planned to change.
“You’re a bastard,” Hawkyn growled as he shoved away from Rico. “Stay away me, brother. And if you fuck with anyone I care about, you’ll deal with me.” He flared his wings, sending a message of strength his brother would understand. Hawkyn hadn’t played around with his new powers yet, but he already knew that they were far more extensive and powerful than anything Rico could even begin to comprehend.
Rico nodded, a deep dip of his head, and scurried away like the rat he was.
“I’m sorry you had to deal with that,” Aurora said as he grasped her hand again and guided her through the mansion on the way to Azagoth’s office. “Are you okay? I can’t imagine my own brother betraying me.”
“I’m okay.” He smiled down at her. “Really. I’ve been dealing with shithead siblings for centuries. Rico is a product of his human upbringing and Memitim rules that pit us against one another. But shit’s going to change, so that’s all that matters.”
They stopped at the door to Azagoth’s office, and he had to tamp down butterflies as he knocked.
A moment later, the office door swung open, and they stepped inside. Azagoth and Lilliana were sitting in the two big leather chairs near the fire. She looked curious, and Hawkyn couldn’t tell what the hell his father was thinking. His expression was a mask, his eyes utterly flat. The guy would slay it at a poker tournament.
“I heard you got a promotion,” Azagoth said, his voice as flat as his eyes.
Word traveled fast. Hawkyn had gone straight from the Memitim complex to Aurora’s place, where she’d been busy cleaning up after the battle had practically destroyed her house. Maddox, at least, had taken the human’s body away, the empty, broken shell left behind after the bludgolem died.
They’d showered, made love, eaten, made love again, and now he was ready to face his father after their blowout.
“I’m officially the liaison between Sheoul-gra and the Council,” Hawkyn said. “But I can’t do my job if I’m not welcome here.”
Finally, there was a chink in Azagoth’s non-expressive armor. Just a slight widening of his eyes, but it was there. For a moment.
“Why would you not be welcome here? I told you it was your choice.”
“You didn’t try to talk me out of it,” Hawkyn pointed out. “You didn’t give a shit.”
Azagoth laughed. “If I didn’t give a shit, I wouldn’t have given you a choice at all. Do you think I’m shy about kicking people out of my realm?”
“He’s not. He’s really, really not.” Lilliana smiled. “Congratulations, Hawkyn. You’ll have to tell us how it happened. From what I understand, the Council created a position and a status for you. That’s...incredible.”
It was. Made him wonder what role the child Aurora carried would play in the future, if Hawkyn was being rewarded for his own role in conceiving it.
“I have more incredible news,” he said, barely able to contain his excitement. This was big. Bigger than a relaxing of the rules allowing them to drink. He handed Azagoth a scroll.
Azagoth broke the seal and started to unroll it. “What is it?”
“The first batch of names and information you need to find your sons and daughters who are still in the human world.”
Hawkyn doubted that anyone had ever seen Azagoth as shocked as he was at that moment. The parchment shook as he stared down at it, and when Lilliana reached over to take his hand, he hauled her against him. He just held her like that for a long time, his gaze glued to the scroll, his chest heaving against Lilliana’s cheek.
“I don’t...” He cleared his throat and looked up at Hawkyn. “I don’t know what to say.”
“That’s a first,” Lilliana muttered, but she was smiling, and the gratitude in her eyes as she nodded her thanks at Hawkyn made this even better.
He hadn’t known how she’d react. After all, a lot of small children, in-your-face reminders of her mate’s unions with other females, were going to be invading her territory.
He should have known Lilliana would be happy for her mate.
Slowly, as if emotions were weighing him down, Azagoth came over to Hawkyn.
“Thank you,” he said roughly. “This...is incredible.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Hawkyn said, “but I’m surprised this was so important to you. You barely acknowledge our existence most of the time. Why bring in even more of us?”
Azagoth glanced over at Lilliana, who smiled reassuringly. When he turned back to Hawkyn, there was warmth in his gaze. Not hot flames of malevolence, but genuine, warm emotion.
“My life was devoid of meaning for a long time,” Azagoth said. “I had a duty, but not a life. Lilliana brought life to me, and my sons and daughters have brought even more. I thought I didn’t have room for it all, but I do. I just have to remember not to fight it.”
Hawkyn had no idea what that meant, but Lilliana did, and even through the joy in her expression, he thought he saw a flicker of worry. But maybe that was just his imagination.
“I understand Azagoth has a new grandchild on the way?” Lilliana said, coming to her feet. “Congratulations, you two. I’m guessing there’s a lot for you to work out now.”
Aurora nodded vehemently. They still had to figure out where they were going to live while Aurora’s house was being repaired, they had baby plans to make, and before the baby came, they had to get to know each other even more.
He was going to enjoy every second he spent learning about her—inside and out.
“I’m happy for you,” Azagoth said, and in a shocking move, he wrapped his arm around Hawkyn’s neck and hauled him in for a brief, powerful hug. “And I’m proud of you.”
Hawkyn’s eyes stung. He’d never had a parent. Even after he’d moved here, Azagoth had been less a father and more a dictator. His affection had been fleeting, as intangible as a ghost. He’d felt it now and then, but in an instant it would be gone, and Hawk would wonder if it had truly been there at all.
This time, there was no doubt.
For the first time in his life, he had no doubts about anything. For the moment, life was perfect.