Chapter 10
Nightfall slipped in,casting shadows over the monastery as Shae pounded her fists into the punching bag Angelus had strung up from the thick branch of a tree in the backyard. Soft lights from the monastery wall reflected small circles on theground.
Her biceps burned, and her fingers ached. She swiped her sweaty brow with her arm and blew out a frustrated breath, her concentration in knots. God! Two hellish days of training had passed. Angelus had worked her to the bone while Dagan helped her strengthen her shielding abilities. But there was a distance between them, which just battered ather.
She couldn’t do this anymore—she needed a break or she was going to crack. She undid the laces on her glove with her teeth and pulled them free, all the while aware that Angelus sat on a wooden bench beneath the tree, watching her. Undoubtedly following Dagan’s orders to keep an eye on her while he was gone onpatrol.
The sensation of being trappedgrew.
“You’re finished?” he asked,smiling.
“Yes.” She tossed the gloves on the bench near him and rubbed her sore knuckles. “Let’s go to thevillage.”
The smile faded. “Shae, I cannot. Dagan will be furious if I break hisorder.”
“You won’t. He said to stay with me, right? So, wherever I am? You. Stay. With.Me.”
“I cannot.” He rose and tied back his mahogany hair. A sword appeared in his hand, and he started a soloworkout.
With the urge to keep moving growing, she trudged around the building to the front, stopping at the granite handrail enclosing the courtyard. There was nowhere else to go. She gripped the cold barrier, trying to centerherself.
“Shae?” Angelus appeared at herside.
She didn’t respond, cutting him a strained look instead. His dark eyes skimmed over her face, and he exhaled heavily. “Very well, but just anhour.”
So sure she hadn’t heard right, she blinked. At his wry smile, relief swept through her. “Thank you. Let me gochange.”
Ten minutes later, they took form in the dense trees surrounding the village, and as they headed toward the hub of the main street, Shae frowned at Angelus. He didn’t have those stunning good looks she’d gotten used to, and his tapered ears appeared ordinary—like human ones. His usually vibrant hair was a dull shade of brown. “What did you do toyourself?”
“Glamour.” A smile tipped his mouth. “So I could fit inhere.”
Shae didn’t bother to tell him, even glammed down, he was still too pretty. Curious, she asked, “Don’t you havewings?”
“I do. But while in the human realm, they are invisible. Humans see a fae’s wings, and they become entranced. It is one of the laws that have to be adhered to before coming to thisworld.”
Now she was prying, but who cared? “Do you know what Dagan is? I mean, you’re fae. Andhim?”
“He’s a Sumerian god. His grandsire, An, is the supreme highgod.”
She stopped dead in front of a closed bookstore, her jaw hitting the dirt. “Noway!”
“He is.” Angelus halted beside her. “As are all the Guardians, except for Aethan. He is an Empyrean, an angel, but not like the sire, Michael. He’sthearchangel.”
Whoa. As far as otherworldly beings went, sure, she had a demon best friend and knew about them, demoniis, and Fallens, who gave up their wings to live a different life. Beyond that? She hadn’t given much thought to what else lived in thisworld.
Dagan was a god—a Sumeriangod.
Her heart skipped a beat when she recalled the difficult time she’d given him after he abducted her. And smiled. Heck, she wasn’t even sorry. Most fun she’d had in a longtime.
Shae continued walking. It all fit now, his enormous size, the height, his hair…the aloofness, and those hauntingly beautiful, inhuman, yelloweyes.
But he was a vampire,too.
How did thathappen?
The noise and laughter from farther up the street drew her attention to a blinking red sign.Club Samhain. The thing was a beacon for party revelers. Hopefully, dancing and getting lost in the music would help ease this restlessness insideher.
Fees paid and wrists stamped, they walked inside. Heavy metal music rocked her eardrums. Perfume and liquor infused the cool air. Shae got a table in the back since it was still early. Drinks ordered from a passing waiter, she smiled at a wide-eyed Angelus. “So?”
