“That doesn’t make him any less mine, especially considering—” she began.
Her thought was cut off by a sword that protruded from the center of her chest. She shifted on her feet like she was a marionette until the puppeteer was revealed as my son.
A cascade of emotions ran through me from shock to glee at seeing my son, to sadness our reunion was ruined, to satisfaction that the evil woman was royally fucked, and back to proud of the man my son had become.
“Ma. Da,” he said with a little bow.
I looked at my husband and mouthed, You told him.
“There is much to explain. But he found the thumb drive, not I.”
It had been password protected. I’d chosen not a hard password, but one most in this time would not know. The password to unlock the drive had been “Gabriel.”
“You must hurry. Riders approach,” Cin said.
There was not enough time to get dressed.
“Cin,” Duncan said.
“Da, I have her. Just come out back.” He marched the demon like a pig on a spit out of the room. Once they were gone, we got up. While Duncan pulled on his shirt and pants, I stared down at my nun’s habit. I couldn’t go to my rooms and find something more suitable to wear. As I put the habit back on, I laughed.
“Have ye gone mad?” Duncan asked, with a twitch of his lips. He could feel my emotions and know that not to be true.
“I think it’s funny I’m going to meet angels as a nun, especially considering all the vows I broke in this very room not long ago.”
Duncan tried and failed not to laugh. Then he sobered. “Ye should stay here.”
I shook my head and took his hand in mine. “I’ve got this.” I loved he didn’t argue that I was a feeble woman or some such. I could feel his trust, and it filled my heart with joy.
He grinned, and that was how we walked out to greet the men from his order. We went and stood by Cin, who held an unsightly old woman by his sword through her chest. For a second, my brain tried to reconcile the beauty of the woman inside with the decrepit one out in the light of day.
Now that my angel side was open to me, the answer came as easily as pulling a book from a shelf. Demons walked in darkness. Their true nature was revealed in the light.
My attention was yanked back to the men astride great winged beasts. I hadn’t had a good view the first time I’d seen them. Now standing before them, I could put faces, voices and names together.
“Uriel,” Duncan said, with my hand still in his.
“Brother,” Uriel said. Uriel was a handsome man with gold-brown locks that framed his pretty face. He was no Duncan, in my opinion, who was the most handsome of them all.
“Zadkiel,” Duncan said to the second. He’d been the other man who had spoken when I’d seen them the first time.
“Gabriel,” Zadkiel said to Duncan. Zadkiel had kind eyes set in a solemn face that could turn as many heads as the other two. His dark hair was the color of chocolate and brushed the collar of his tunic in waves.
Then Duncan turned to the third. The one who had watched more than spoken. I was pretty sure I knew his name. When Duncan spoke, he confirmed my suspicions.
“Raphael,” Duncan said.
“Brother Gabriel,” Raphael said, but his gaze shifted to me. “It is time, brother, for you to take your rightful place.”
Raphael was also gorgeous. It was his eyes that were spellbinding, not the bright blue of Duncan’s but nearly colorless, in stark contrast to his light-brown hair which flowed down his back.
“What place is that?” The question came from someone else.
My head snapped to our left as a fifth made his approach. His flaxen hair that mirrored my own dragged up a memory I wanted to forget.
“Michael,” Duncan all but growled.
The man who’d stolen my mother’s virginity didn’t respond to Duncan. His eyes were all for me. “Daughter,” he said and he didn’t look a day older than the man who’d killed my mother all those years ago.
I hadn’t had the chance to explain that to Duncan. It hadn’t been in my letters, as I had needed to see Duncan’s reaction. I wanted to know if he’d known of Michael’s schemes.
Duncan’s hand tightened around mine. I glanced up at him to see the question in there. He hadn’t known, and I felt relief a hundred times over.
“Gabriel,” Michael commanded. “Unhand my daughter.”
Duncan made no urgency in looking away from me. When he slowly turned his attention to Michael, he didn’t let go of my hand, nor did he speak.
Michael, with a need to fill the silence, rambled on. “You don’t understand what pains I went through for her creation.”