He disappeared inside the office without explaining Jim Bob,so she wandered around the giant hall, marveling at the tapestries andportraits that depicted angels battling demons.All but one.The largest one,taking up nearly an entire wall, was of a stunning dark-haired man withpiercing green eyes that appeared to look right through her.Shadows seemed toswirl around the picture, as if the man inside was swallowing the light both inthe painting and in the room.
She heard footsteps behindher,knew instinctively it was Hawkyn.Or maybe she knew it was him because herheart fluttered everytimehe was close.
Oh, God, I’m attracted to an angel.An angel who isprotecting the person who wants to slaughter me.
Really, that was pretty fucked up on more than one level.
“That’s my father,” he said, and she shivered.“Azagoth.”
“I expected him to be hideous.This throws me off a bit.”She glanced around at all the impossibly good-looking people walking around,including Hawkyn.“Does explain a lot, though.Your people are...beautiful.”
“I’m guessing yours are, too?”
She felt her cheeks catch on fire.“Are you basing that onthe fact that sex demons were used in our breeding, and sex demons are alwaysattractive?”
“No,” he said softly.“I’m basing that on you.”
She sucked in a ragged, startled breath, but she didn’t havetime to respond, because a heartbeat later he was grabbing her bag and her handand heading up a winding staircase.
“The housing administrator is giving you one of the twoguest rooms on the top floor.They’re nothing special, only a little largerthan the Memitim rooms, but the bed is a double instead of a single and youhave a private bathroom.”
“Hawkyn!”A voice halted them in their tracks before they’dmade it even halfway up the stairs.
“Fuck.”Hawkyn released her hand and they both turnedaround.
Down below, in the great hall, stood two angels, theirwings—one set black and the other light gray—extended as if getting ready tolaunch into the air.Both were holding scythes, and neither looked happy to bethere.
Aurora gripped the handrail so hard her palm hurt.“Who arethey?”
“They’re Ascended brothers,” he said calmly, but his tonedidn’t relieve the icy fear that filled her chest cavity.“And they’re here topunish me.”
Hundreds of years ago, Hawkyn had waited, terrifiedand cornered, as men came to arrest him for stealing bread he’d needed tosurvive.He could still remember how hard his heart had pounded inside his thinbody, how adrenaline had made his empty belly want to spill all over theirshoes.
Shoes he didn’t have.
He’d begged for mercy, but there had been none.
Now there were two Punishers from the Memitim embassywaiting for him below, but he was a different male.He would not cower.And hewould not beg.
But this was not going to be fun.
“Stay here,” he told Aurora as he dropped her bag on thesteps.“No matter what happens, don’t move.”He took the steps down, keepinghis eyes on the two males as he went.He’d never met these siblings, and evenwith the threat of violence hanging over his head, he still wondered which ofthe seventy-two angels Azagoth had bred with were their mothers.“Hello, boys.What brings you here?”
As if he couldn’t guess.
Someone had ratted him out.Someassholehad reported that he’d interfered in his Primori’s life, and he was going toget a thorough tongue lashing.Or maybe even a physical one.
“If you don’t know, you deserve worse than what’s going tohappen to you.”The taller of the two, the one with dark hair who was thespitting image of Azagoth, stepped forward.“I’m Leonas.”He gestured to theashen-haired male with the pale gray wings.“This is Moze.”
“Nice to meet you,” Hawkyn said, hoping they picked up everysarcastic note in his voice.
Mozesnorted, butsobered atLeonas’ glare.
“We are all full brothers, sons of Azagoth and Ulnara,”Leonas said.“Which is probably why we were chosen to punish you forinterfering with the actions of your Primori.Our superiors assumed you’d thinkwe’d show mercy.”Leonas smiled, the same icy smile their father used justbefore he turned someone into a living work of tortured art.“We won’t.”
Shit.This was going to bewayworse than a tonguelashing or some sort of sanction.
Hawkyn summoned a weapon and threw up a personal shield, buteven as his scythe formed in his palm, he knew that defense was futile.Ascended angels were far more powerful than any earthbound Memitim, and sureenough, he only got two swings of the blade in before Mozehadhimpinned against the wall, his face eating stone.
