Angels of Darkness
Christian.â
A slight tightening of her mouth. âI do not think you have met Fen. Come.â
She led him toward the elderly human man Noel had seen with Christian. He sat surrounded by papers at a desk in a sun-drenched corner of the room. As they neared him, it became clear the man was even older than Noel had first guessed, his nut-brown skin lined with countless wrinkles. Yet his eyes were dark little pebbles, shiny with life, his lips mobile. They lifted in a smile as Nimra got closer, and Noel realized the manâs eyesight was deteriorating in spite of the flashing brightness of his gaze.
Nimra stopped him with a hand on his shoulder when he began to struggle to his feet. âHow many times must I tell you, Fen? Youâve earned the right to sit in my presence.â A smile so vibrant, it cut at Noelâs heart. âIn fact, youâve earned the right to dance naked in my presence should you so wish.â
The old man laughed, his voice cracked with age. âThat would be a sight, eh, my lady?â Squeezing her hand, he looked up at Noel. âHave you let a man make an honest woman of you at last?â
Leaning forward, Nimra kissed Fen on both cheeks, her wings brushing inadvertently against Noel. âYou are my only love, you know that.â
Fenâs laughter segued into a deep smile, his fingers lighting on Nimraâs cheek before dropping to the desk once more. âI am a blessed man indeed.â
Noel could almost feel the history that ran between the two of them, but no matter their words, there was nothing loverlike in that richness of memory. There was instead an almost father-daughter element to it, in spite of the fact that Nimra remained immortally young, while the march of time had caught up with Fen.
Rising to her full height, Nimra said, âThis is Noel,â before returning her attention to Fen. âHe is my guest.â
âIs that what theyâre calling it these days?â Twinkling eyes shifted to give Noel a closer inspection. âHe isnât as pretty as Christian.â
âSomehow,â Noel muttered, âI think Iâll survive.â
The riposte caused Fen to laugh in that hacking old-man way. âI like this one, Nimra. You should keep him.â
âWe shall see,â Nimra said, a tart bite to her words. âAs we both know, people are not always who they appear to be.â
Something unseen passed between the angel and the aged human at that instant, with Fen raising Nimraâs hand to his lips and pressing a kiss to the back. âSometimes, they are more.â Fenâs eyes lifted for a bare instant to snap across Noelâs and he had the feeling the words were meant for him rather than the angel whose hand Fen still held.
Then Asirani click-clacked into his vision on sky-high heels and the moment broke. âMy lady,â the vampire said to Nimra, âAugustus is here and insisting he speak with you.â
Nimraâs expression turned dark. âHeâs beginning to try my patience.â Folding back her wings tight to her spine, she nodded good-bye to Fen and strode off without a word to Noel, Asirani by her side.
Fen nudged at Noel with a cane he hadnât seen until that moment. âPerhaps not quite what you expected, eh?â
Noel raised an eyebrow. âIf you mean the arrogance, Iâm well versed in it. I worked with Raphaelâs Seven.â The vampires and angels in service to the archangel were powerful immortals in their own right. Dmitri, the leader of the Seven, was stronger than a large number of angels; he could take and hold a territory if he so chose.
âBut,â Fen insisted, lips curved in a shrewd smile, âhave you experienced it in a woman? In a lover?â
âBlindness has never been one of my faults.â The bitter irony of his words made him laugh within. After the assault, he hadnât even had eyes for the days it had taken his flesh to regenerate. âItâs not yours, either, though it looks to me as if you prefer to give the appearance of it.â Heâd seen the way the old manâs gaze had turned dull when Asirani neared.
âSmart, too.â Fen waved him to a chair across from his own. Taking it, Noel braced his forearm on the gleaming cherrywood of the desk and looked out at the vast main area. Christian was deep in conversation with another woman, a curvaceous beauty with long, straight hair to the
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