He nodded his approval, then watched as Penelope led Orianna from one table to another, introducing her by name. He noticed she didn’t make a reference to Orianna being hisamsouelot, and he figured that was wise since he’d yet to give Orianna the lowdown on what it all meant, aside from destined to be together, yada yada.
“Things better this evening?” Obsidian asked, standing shoulder to shoulder with Eclipse.
“She’s still here. I consider that a good thing.”
“Good point.” Obsidian turned to face him. “I hate to have to tell you this, but Michael wants a meeting.”
Eclipse studied his brother, trying to read between the lines. “With me? Or all of us?”
“All of us.”
That relieved him somewhat. While Eclipse wasn’t intimidated by the archangel, the last thing he wanted was a tête-à-tête with the male. The last one they’d had was more than a century ago, and he still remembered how well that had gone.
Turning back to look at Orianna, relief washed over him as she strolled in his direction.
Unfortunately, that was short-lived when her eyes rolled back in her head and she swayed on her feet.
Bijou couldn’t deny there were plenty ofthings to keep her distracted from her own frustrations. She’d probably go so far as to call it drama. What with all the angels and Fae fluttering around in an attempt to figure out what turned that human’s knees to Jell-O and all.
She’d witnessed it as it went down. One second the pretty young human was offering a timid smile, the next she was passing out, barely kept from crashing to the floor when Eclipse appeared at her side, preventing her impact with the floor.
A quick glance at her companion told her Oliver had been distracted by the show. He was no longer staring at her as though she was from another planet. That was good, Bijou figured.
Not that she minded the human’s attention. Oddly, she’d been a bit flattered. Not since she’d been revealed to be Kaj’s daughter had a single male given her so much as the time of day. Even the male who had been courting her at the time had eased off, treating her like a leper, as though she was tainted simply because her father was the race’s Alpha.
It made sense that it wouldn’t matter to Oliver. And he didn’t seem fazed by the way Kaj had stared at him across the room during the evening meal, his eyes all but shooting daggers at the male who had the audacity to speak with her. Either Oliver was incredibly brave or ridiculously stupid, but she was going to assume the former.
A scurry ensued as Eclipse lifted the female, easily carrying her out of the dining room while the others remained where they were, staring after the pair. Well, everyone except Penelope. She was right on their heels, eager to assist. Not unsurprising. Since the minute Bijou had arrived here at the angels’ residence, Penelope had been more than welcoming. At first, it had been frustrating because Bijou had wanted the angels to be assholes—to use Oliver’s word—but instead, they seemed rather pleasant. Which made it difficult for her to keep her mad on.
“Have you been to the theater yet?” Oliver asked when the ruckus died down.
She peered over at her new friend. He was a handsome male, she’d give him that. Not quite what she was used to. By nature, vampires were more… well,attractivecame to mind, but she wasn’t sure that was the correct term because she’d met plenty of attractive humans. But there was something about Oliver. Beneath the nice packaging, she sensed an anger that bubbled down deep. There was something else, too, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Almost as though whatever it was had been shielded from everyone.
“There’s a theater?” She stared into his pretty brown eyes. “Here?”
He nodded, then got to his feet. “I’ll show you.”
Since there was nothing she could do to assist the human and no one else seemed interested in what she was doing, Bijou found no reason to decline, so she pushed back her chair and got to her feet. She peeked into the sunroom as they passed on their way to the back stairs. More angels and a few Fae had appeared, circling the human and her mate, their eyes reflecting their concern. Perhaps she should’ve stayed so she gave the impression she was concerned, as well. It would’ve been the politically correct thing to do, but at the moment, Bijou wasn’t feeling all that PC. In fact, she was tired of putting on a front. It was all she’d been doing for the past year, ever since she’d introduced herself to her father. Being the perfect daughter to a male she hardly knew was far more difficult than it sounded.
Her attention shifted to Oliver. She admired his profile, noting the stubble along his jaw, the sharp angle of his nose, the flecks of gold in his hair. Based on the small pinhole scar on his ear, she had to assume he’d had a piercing there at one time.
“Is it true you and Penelope are twins?” she asked.
His eyes cut over to her. “Yes.”
Bijou memorized his features, taking a snapshot in her mind. She pulled up one of Penelope and compared the two as she continued to follow Oliver up the stairs to the second floor. Odd how they had absolutely no similarities aside from the coloring of their hair and eyes. In fact, as she mentally compared them, Bijou wondered how they could even be related. Usually siblings had some distinct similarities be it the structure of their bones, eyebrows, shape of their eyes, nose, even lips. She was surprised they shared even a little of the same DNA at all.
As for why she was so curious, Bijou didn’t know. She figured it was due to that hole she sensed inside Oliver, that piece of him that was being shielded from others. Had the angels picked up on that? Surely they had. From what she’d seen, they weren’t the type to simply allow anyone to invade their ranks. They were doing a background check on her, after all.
“If it’s not intrusive, might I ask how old you are?” she prompted as they started down the hallway on the second floor.
“Twenty-eight. You?”
“Twenty-seven.”
“Not to sound like an idiot but is that the same in human years?” he asked. “I mean, I assume you’re immortal and all that.”
She smiled over at him. “As far as physical maturity, we’re the same. We reach puberty at the same time as humans. But when it comes to how I’m viewed, I’m still considered a child in the eyes of my elders.”
