“Who? You told me hisereswadied. That means he’s all alone, is he not?”
“He has plenty of loyal subjects.”
“Not the same, Obsidian, and you know it. What you’ve built here … this is a family. These aren’t your subjects, thefiestreigharen’t merely fighters in your army. They belong to you and you to them. I wouldn’t blame Michael if he wanted to experience that.”
Obsidian understood where she was coming from. He could even understand why Michael might want that. The problem was, Obsidian’s brothers weren’t all on good terms with Michael. And he feared he’d overstepped by making decisions without discussing with them first. He’d already agreed to allow Michael within the walls of the mansion for as long as he desired. He’d agreed with the best of intentions, in an effort to save his family.
“What are you going to tell him about the training?”
“What can I tell him?” he countered, repositioning so he was standing behind Penelope. He draped his arms over her shoulders and pressed his palms to her belly. “He’s promised to provide healers if I agree. How can I decline? We need them.”
Perhaps now more than ever. And there was a significant amount of selfishness in that belief. Their son or daughter would be arriving within weeks, and the thought of Penelope enduring any complications that might cause harm to her or their child… The ache in his chest was all the answer he needed. Those healers were a necessity for all of them.
“Whatever your decision, I know it’ll be the right one,” Penelope said, her fingers curling over his biceps as she held on to him. “Your heart’s in the right place, Obsidian. And we, as your family, will support you.”
Yeah. That was what he was worried about.
Chapter Forty-One
“It’ll need a little work to getit back to its original glory,” Kaj told the males as they strolled through the kitchen to the dining room beyond.
“How many bedrooms?” Mirakel asked.
“Forty.”
Blaz whistled. “Damn. Those angels don’t play around, huh?”
Kaj smirked. “You should see the new place.” Compared to the new residence, this was little more than a shanty on steroids.
“What about the underground space?” Huracan asked.
Figuring it was easier to show than tell, Kaj led them back through the main floor. It was open, high ceilings, large windows, plenty of space to house them and those they determined worthy of the fight ahead. Kaj wasn’t sure how fond he was of the decor, but that was simple to fix. They weren’t strangers to hard work, and fortunately, funds were not in short supply. They could bring civilians in to do the job provided the angels agreed to shift their cloaking spell a few miles to the north.
It was a damn fine place to put down roots. Not only was it large enough to house them, it gave Kaj options to expand the Zenith, grow them into the formidable army necessary to protect the race from everyone, including traitorous vampires.
“Right now, I want to get it furnished,” Kaj told Mirakel. “Hire someone to handle it. Check out their background first. But let’s get some furniture in here. Bring on a handful ofvestrahnto maintain it. We’ll need a computer setup, get tied into the Misplaced Halos boards.”
Mirakel nodded, no doubt making mental notes.
The five of them made their way down the concrete steps to the space beneath the mansion.
“Now that’s more like it,” Blaz noted.
Yes, the angels had spared no expense with the underground residence. If he had to guess, this area was designed and built long before the aboveground structure had been added.
“Where do the tunnels go?” Huracan asked, nodding to a series of hallways that branched off in all directions.
“Likely through the mountain,” Kaj told him, though he wasn’t sure where they went. Something told him they connected with the angels’ current residence, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to tell the others that. Not until he’d checked it out for himself and secured it so no one could breach the angel mansion without his knowledge.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Mirakel said, his words directed at the others.
“I need to check in with my daughter,” Kaj told them. “If you can spare me for a couple of hours.”
Mirakel bowed. “Of course,phaal.”
It still felt strange for them to refer to him as their Alpha, but Kaj had refrained from asking them not to. He knew it was important that they had a leader. Their very existence was based on it, in fact.
“I’ll be back shortly.”
