Archangel's Storm

fingers spread on her lower back, his head bent over her own. “I’ll return home as soon as I can.”
    Tears clogged her throat at his acceptance that this was his place now, his haven. Stepping back, she twined her fingers through his. “I’ll walk you to the edge of my hill.” It was a joke, the rolling hillock of land barely deserving of the name, but she’d insisted on calling it that—until she’d woken up two days ago to find a neatly carved wooden sign on it, proclaiming the rise “Mahiya’s Hill.”
    It made her smile and fall impossibly deeper in love with him each time she saw it.
    Jason’s wing brushed hers as they walked through the gardens, the wild roses scenting the air in sultry perfume, the sunlight warm on her face. Her mother lived and was a lethal creature she didn’t wholly understand. Neha might yet plunge her region into war. Lijuan was stirring again, and darkness shadowed the horizon.
    And yet this moment, it was perfect.
    All too soon, they were at the edge of the silly little hill, and Jason’s fingers slipped from her own. Neither of them spoke as he spread his wings and took off, his feathers shimmering jet in the sunlight, his strength magnificent. Instead of rising high up above the cloud layer as he usually did, he did a wide sweep above her . . . and then she heard it.
    A voice so pure, it had no match. So clear and exquisite that the birds went silent and the wind sighed, held in thrall. Her heart, it twisted and broke, reformed, the ache so deep, it had no end and no beginning. She didn’t know she’d gone to her knees, was crying, until salt water seeped into her mouth.
    “The only songs in my heart were ones that made the Refuge drown in tears. So I stopped.”
    This song was not meant for the Refuge. It was meant for Mahiya. And the tears she shed, they carried no sadness. Because she’d been wrong. Her wild storm had just told her he loved her, the piercing joy of his song branding her as indelibly his.
    I’ll be home soon, princess.
    *  *  *
    Click here for more books by this author.

Author’s Note
    Archangel Fort and Guardian Fort were inspired by the incredible forts in Rajasthan, India, most particularly the forts known as Amber and Jaigarh. While the Palace of Jewels does not exist (as far as I know!), the Sheesh Mahal, or Mirror Palace, very much does. Part of Amber Fort, the Sheesh Mahal has thousands of tiny mirror fragments worked into its walls. It’s said to be a magical vista in candlelight, the light reflected in every fragment. I saw it under sunlight, and it was a stunning sight I’ll never forget.
    For photos of my trip to Rajasthan, including snapshots of Amber and other forts, please visit my travel diary at www.nalinisingh.com/diary.php.

 
    Coming September 2013 from Berkley Sensation!
    Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series returns to New York and to Elena and Raphael
    • • •
    Coming March 2013 from Berkley Sensation!
    A Psy-Changeling Anthology by Nalini Singh featuring two never-before-published novellas



Berkley titles by Nalini Singh
    Psy-Changeling Series
    SLAVE TO SENSATION
    VISIONS OF HEAT
    CARESSED BY ICE
    MINE TO POSSESS
    HOSTAGE TO PLEASURE
    BRANDED BY FIRE
    BLAZE OF MEMORY
    BONDS OF JUSTICE
    PLAY OF PASSION
    KISS OF SNOW
    TANGLE OF NEED
    Guild Hunter Series
    ANGELS’ BLOOD
    ARCHANGEL’S KISS
    ARCHANGEL’S CONSORT
    ARCHANGEL’S BLADE
    ARCHANGEL’S STORM
    Anthologies
    AN ENCHANTED SEASON
    (with Maggie Shayne, Erin McCarthy, and Jean Johnson)
    THE MAGICAL CHRISTMAS CAT
    (with Lora Leigh, Erin McCarthy, and Linda Winstead Jones)
    MUST LOVE HELLHOUNDS
    (with Charlaine Harris, Ilona Andrews, and Meljean Brook)
    BURNING UP
    (with Angela Knight, Virginia Kantra, and Meljean Brook)
    ANGELS OF DARKNESS
    (with Ilona Andrews, Meljean Brook, and Sharon Shinn)
    ANGELS’ FLIGHT
    eSpecials
    ANGELS’ PAWN