Holy angels of light… he was a fool.
That explained why Oriel stood, hand-in-hand with Lizza, in his cell in Raeph’s Dominion. He quickly dropped her hand and stepped away.
She marveled at the plain crystal walls of his cell. Their soft glow lit the pale skin of her cheeks and made her abundant red hair shine. But it was the look of wonder in her blue eyes that captivated him… along with the marred brightness of her soul. Having wrestled her away from a shadow angeling—having nearly lost her—a strange possessiveness had welled up inside him. But the only claim he had to her was as her Guardian… and he was doing a substandard job of that by any measure.
“Is this heaven?” She licked her delicate pink lips in a way that tightened everything inside him.
“What? No.” He took another step away from her. He was practically up against the door now. “Heaven is a domain accessible only to Seraphim, Archangels, and Aeons. This is my cell.”
“There’s a whole hierarchy?” She seemed dazzled.
“Yes.”
Her keen eyes locked on him. “So this is like… your apartment.”
“Angelings of the light do not live separately from one another. This is more like… a bedroom.” As soon as the word left his mouth, he regretted it.
Her thin, dark-red eyebrows lifted. “You brought me to your bedroom?”
He scowled. “Only to avoid notice.” When her eyebrows did not fall again, he added, “You have to understand—angelings are nothing like humans.” She ran her gaze across the length of his body, and it did strange things to him. He didn’t think his stomach could feel any more tight. “All right, we are alike in some ways. Anatomy primarily. The wings are an extension of the angel power in our blood. But we do not eat or sleep or… do other things that are common and necessary for humans.”
She was rapt with his explanation. “What other things?”
He grimaced, but he might as well speak it. “We do not have sex. Lust is one of the deadly Sins for us, along with Wrath, Greed, Intemperance, and the others.”
“Wait… no sex means...” Her pretty brow furrowed. “So, you’re not… born. You’re created in some way.”
Oriel tipped his head back and closed his eyes. His cell—the place of his refuge and contemplation and occasional Penance in the pursuit of Virtue—was the last place he wanted to have this conversation. Not that he wanted to have it at all.
He opened his eyes and said quickly, “No, I am born of human flesh. My mother was human, my father some shadow angeling I will never know. I was born in Sin, Lizza. It is not a thing of pride, but it is a fact. And not a particularly relevant fact at the moment—”
“Hang on,” she said, holding up a finger to stop him. “What about Tajael and Charlotte?”
“That’s… complicated.” Sweet magic. He should return her to her realm before this got worse.
She frowned. “So Tajael is one of these angelings who are not ‘of the light.’ What did you call them? Shadow.”
Oriel dug both hands into his hair. “No. Tajael is of the light. Can we move on from this topic, please?”
She leaned back, and the corners of her mouth drew down. “I’m sorry. You’re taking a risk in bringing me here, aren’t you? And I’m badgering you with…” She gestured vaguely to him. “Things you find… offensive. And I guess Sinful.” She seemed vexed by this.
“It is fine.” He let his hands drop. “Rest assured, my lack of Patience is not your Sin but mine.” He took a deep breath. “But if we can move on from my Sins, I should very much like to return you to your realm. You have seen a Dominion of light. The over-dimension, as you call it. Can we leave now?”
She frowned but didn’t answer, just stepped to the wall and placed her palm against it. “Why does it hum? It seems almost alive.”
“Everything in this Dominion is made of magic—dimensional energy,” he explained.
She looked back over her shoulder. “And we’re safe here?”
“We are deep inside Raeph’s Dominion. He is the leader of my Chastity faction. We are all Protector Class here, and there are a hundred angelings within the Dominion walls. No shadow angeling would dare breach it… unless he wished an early death. And war. Which I’m afraid, to be honest, is exactly what things will come to.”
She left the wall and came to stand altogether too close to him. “The attack—you saved me. I haven’t really thanked you for that.”
“Thanks are unnecessary.” The nearness of her shining soul, here in his own cell… he stepped back, pacing the small confines of the room, nervously propping himself against the wall furthest from her and folding his arms across his chest. “I would give my life to protect any human.” And he would give it twice to protect hers. That thought tangled his next words. “B-but… that’s simply a Guardian’s duty. I fear the angels are engaged in folly with this whole business. To be honest, I fear there will be no good end to any of it.”
She frowned. “No good end. What does that mean—precisely?” She remained in her spot by the door—thank the heavens—which gave him a moment to breathe.
He kept his arms locked across his chest for safekeeping. “We’re in a delicate balance at the moment—a balance you and your experiments continually upset.” She scowled, so he unlocked his arms and held up his hands in surrender. “It’s the simple Truth, Lizza, as much as I wish it were otherwise. The fae are afeared that your dimensional drive will allow you access to their realm. That you and your technology and your mathematics will take the thing they value most—unfettered access to power. They fear you, and so they wish to destroy you. This latest attack…” He shook his head. He really needed to confer with Tajael when he returned to see what the new tactical situation was with this development. “Charlotte was kidnapped by a princess of the Winter Court—Alvara. She and the king, Remasay, held her prisoner. Of course, Tajael and a host of others, myself included, mounted a rescue. One that was successful only because the shadow forces, for the most part, remained uninvolved. But this second attack… it was shadowkind alone, and I fear that perhaps Elyon has returned to the fray.”
“Who is that?” Lizza had crept closer, but only to take a seat on the thin, elevated pad that comprised his bed. He rarely slept, but it served as a spot for repose and contemplation. Worry etched her face, and he hated to burden her with full knowledge of the situation—but if Elyon had targeted her, she needed to know.
“He is the most wretched of the Fallen Angels.” His words held a righteous anger, the kind of Wrath that empowered the Warrior Angels. “He and his Regiment commit all manner of unspeakable Sin. But he is only one of the dark angels. For the most part, they are lost in their Lust and Wrath and do not bother with the human realm or the angels of light. They loathe humanity because they believe God loves you more than angelkind.” Something that Oriel knew to be true, as any of angelkind did—he simply did not curse the light for existing. “That Envy of humanity is part of their Fall. But Elyon is different—he is obsessed with humankind and the angels of light, desiring their destruction at all costs. He was temporarily defeated, but I fear if he were to gather the angels of darkness together, at the behest, say, of the King of the Winter Court, whose sole aim is to crush humanity before it can escape its earthly bonds…”
“Crush?” It was a whisper, and her face was pale… heaven of light, he was frightening the life out of her.
His arms unlocked, and he quickly knelt at her feet. “I will let no harm come to you!” It was a fervent vow, out before he could think better of it.
A smile bloomed on her face, and she gave a small shake of her head. “Here I was thinking you were the sweetest guy I’d ever met. Turns out you’re not a guy at all.” He was transfixed by the glow in her eyes—and that darkness which still haunted her soul.
Oh, the temptation! He could lift up, mere inches, and press his lips to hers. Not for a Lustful kiss, but a life kiss. To banish that darkness and let her soul shine with its full and rightful glory!
Her hand moved, and her fingertips grazed his cheek.
He startled and stood quickly, retreating to his wall, feeling both foolish and somewhat terrified. Who was he to speak of the foolishness of angels? He kept dipping at the well of temptation with a woman he was irresistibly drawn to.
She’d dropped her gaze to her hands, which had retreated to her lap. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, not looking at him.
“Please don’t say that anymore.” Angels of light—he needed out of this tiny box of temptation. “There is no part of this that is your fault.”
She peered up at him, and the anguish in her eyes cut through him like a shadow blade. “This is all because of the work. The dimensional drive.”
He nodded, wary as to where she was going with this.
She stood but came no closer. Thank magic. Her hands were clenched into fists at her side. “The drive is only a threat if people can traverse it—travel to this realm, as you brought me. Right?”
He frowned. “I suppose it could be a threat even without that, but much less so. If people are unable to travel, it is unlikely they will mount an invasion.”
“There would be no reason to.” She nodded then straightened her shoulders and stood taller. “Charlotte can’t do it without me. I’ve read up on her research—she doesn’t have the right models, the right equations to account for transporting life. I’ll simply…” She swallowed. “I’ll quit. I’ll refuse to help. That will stop it.”
His mouth hung open for a second. “You would do that.”
“Well, I can’t have humanity getting crushed because of me.” The shine in her eyes spoke of the cost to her—and he already knew it, besides.
“Lizza, no.” He pushed off the wall and came to her, his hands on her shoulders before he could think what a stupid move that was. Once there, it was impossible to let go. “This is your dream.”
“That doesn’t matter.” The tremble in her lip betrayed that.
“Yes. It does.” He took a deep breath. His hands had minds of their own, leaving her shoulders and cupping her cheeks, which were infinitely soft. He could do it, right now—give her the life kiss—and all thought of abandoning her cause would vanish. She would be renewed and restored. It was all he could do to merely speak to her instead. “Ignore what I’m saying. I’m just an angeling. I know not God’s purpose for you. But I know he meant you to know him, and if your mind, which he created, is capable of bringing you to this realm, then who am I to say that is not exactly what you’re intended to do?”
Her eyes were wide and searching, and the soft feel of her cheeks in his palms was working a strange magic on his body. Loosening his bones. Making his skin tight. Stirring an angelsong deep in his soul.
He released her and stepped back.
He scarce could breathe, and she seemed equally affected, just staring at him with those wide blue eyes. And her soul… it shone. Every word he said was Truth, but that wasn’t why they spilled from his mouth. He was desperate to heal her… but even a touch was already rousing such Lust in him, his body reacting in ways he couldn’t begin to control. A life kiss would be reckless and dangerous. She needed to heal herself—and he felt certain that would come only through her work. Her vow. He had taken vows when he joined Raeph’s Chastity faction. He knew their power.
“Are you sure?” Lizza asked, breathless. His heart told him, Go to her. His pulse-pounded body said, You are sure you want to kiss her.
With all his willpower, he said, “You have to try, Lizza. It’s what you’re made to do.” And he was made to love and protect her kind. He was Protector Class, so protection was instinctive, but he already felt the tremors of love shaking him, body and soul.
There was no question in his mind—if he stayed near her, Temptation would win out eventually. It was just a matter of time. For now, he would get her safely home. Then, by all the angels in heaven, he would have to find a replacement to Guard her.
She was nodding, slowly, her gaze dropping to the floor and staring. “We’ll have to be careful,” she said quietly, then looked up. “I should talk to Charlotte before proceeding.”
“That is wise.” And he would likewise consult with his friend, Tajael—if for no other reason than to beg his help in finding a replacement.
She gave a single nod. “We should go back now.”
The tension holding him together loosened—he almost sagged with the release.
Then, without a word, he stepped close again and placed his hand on her shoulder.
He twisted away, opened an interdimensional door, and stepped through.