Mists of Velvet

I’m supposed to be avoiding Gabriel.”
    “There,” Bran commanded as he pointed to Rowan’s and Bronwnn’s hands. “Tell us the meaning of that symbol.”
    Suriel glanced at their palms, his face tight.
    “Camael,” he whispered. “He’s alive, then, is he? I thought him long gone.”
    “Who is Camael?” Bran demanded. “Bloody hell, this grows more vexing and confusing.”
    “Does Cailleach know?” Suriel asked her, ignoring the Sidhe king’s glare. Bronwnn nodded, making the fallen angel smile. “She won’t like that.”
    “Who or what is Camael?” Bran thundered.
    “Camael is an angel of murky associations. He was an archangel, an angel of war, but more notable for his obsession with God’s new creation. It was he who told us of the delights to be found in the flesh. When I followed him from heaven, I expected to be taken to Earth, but then I discovered he had been frolicking in Annwyn with a goddess named Covetina.”
    Covetina had been her mother. Had she also been Rowan’s?
    “How did you get in?” Bran demanded.
    “Cailleach let us in. Camael, Uriel, and me.”
    Bronwnn couldn’t believe her ears. The Supreme Goddess? The angel’s dark eyes turned to her, his eyes lit with mirth. “Cailleach fancied Camael, but he had eyes only for her handmaiden, Covetina.” Suriel looked at the woman named Rowan. “You have his eyes, that lovely jade color.”
    Rowan collapsed against the Shadow Wraith. “That’s not possible. My mother left me at Our Lady of Mercy and in the care of the nuns. I never knew my father. She was just an ordinary woman . . .”
    Bran cleared his throat and placed an object wrapped in white silk on the wooden table. “When Sayer, Keir, and I went to your store a few weeks ago, Sayer enchanted you so that I could discover information about Mairi.”
    “Bran!” Mairi gave him a slap.
    “Just precautions, muirnin ,” he murmured. Then he focused his attention back to Rowan. “While Sayer was asking you questions, I came upon this.”
    Opening the silk, he revealed an ornate athame encrusted with gems, including a large moonstone, the gem that represented the order of goddesses. On the blade was angelic script.
    “You told us the nuns found this in your bag. It was the only thing of any value.”
    “It’s just a blade.”
    “No,” Bronwnn murmured, “it is not. It is a sacred ritual tool used in the Shrouding ceremony of a goddess and her mate.”
    “That’s angelic script.” Suriel pointed to the engraving. “And I see Camael’s sign on the etching.”
    Rowan’s eyes were big and wide as she looked at Bronwnn. “We’re sisters?”
    Bronwnn nodded, feeling happy to have found a sibling, but desolate, too, because the angel in question was not her father. The evil mage was. Obviously Rowan had been created out of love, and she had been conceived in darkness.
    Awkwardly, Rowan embraced her. Bronwnn immediately felt her beauty, the purity of her spirit. “ Nephillim ,” the word whispered to her. Her sister was part of the Sacred Trine. Did she know it? Did the others?
    Pulling away, Bronwnn smiled at her sister. “You’re not mortal at all, but angel and goddess.”
    Rowan blushed and looked over her shoulder. “I can’t believe it.”
    “I can,” Keir murmured.
    “We must act soon,” Bronwnn announced. “In my divination, the mage has seen me. We’ve spoken. When I see him, he can see me. But we have an advantage. When I see him, it’s in the present. I know what he’s doing, what he’s planning.”
    “How?” Suriel questioned, his suspicion aroused. She wasn’t ready to divulge that. First she wanted to tell Rhys, and then she would let the others know.
    “I have my ways.”
    “Everyone is an open book here, Goddess.”
    “You shut your mouth, Suriel,” Rhys snapped. “Leave her alone.”
    “Or what, flesh bag?” Suriel taunted.
    “Enough!” Bran barked. Everyone stopped bickering and looked to the leader of the group.
    “It’s late, and Rhys and Bronwnn are exhausted. Nothing more can be done tonight. I suggest we digest what we’ve learned and convene here tomorrow morning. Wraith, take Rhys to the east wing. Mairi, show Bronwnn to her room, please.”
    “We’re not being separated,” Rhys snarled.
    “It’s not my decision, but Cailleach’s.” Bran’s gaze traveled over her. “I have to honor the adbertos and Cailleach’s will.”
    Bronwnn was tugged out of Rhys’ arms, but not before he whispered into