“Because it’s not. We will confess to Father that we have secured her to our side. He will call off his dog.”
Luc spun on Raphael. “Are you mad? He’ll want to use her against me.”
“That is what the charm is for. We will keep her hidden.”
“Idiots! None of this makes sense. You will take Nadia, cloak her with a charm, tell Father you have persuaded her to fight on the side of good,”—Luc emphasized this with air quotes—“then deny him when he demands her attendance? Do you honestly believe he will not send Michael and his minions after either of you?” Amazed by their short-sightedness, he shook his head. “You do not have the forces I possess. You will be slaughtered or, at the very least, imprisoned.”
His brothers shared a concerned glance.
“That brings us to the second part of the plan,” Gabriel said. He took a deep breath before continuing. “You will need to be presented to Father as a prisoner. He will not bother himself with Nadia if he has something better—you.”
Luc drew his sword and backed away.
“Think about it, Luc,” Raphael urged. Walking toward him with hands raised. “You can save her life by surrendering.”
“It’s the only way, brother,” Gabriel said, his gaze solemn.
“Not the only way,” Luc disagreed. “You can come to my side. With both of you, we would be too powerful for Michael and his army.”
Gabriel focused on the woman behind Luc, deep in thought. Raphael looked pained and frustrated.
Of the two, Gabriel, whose motives were pure, was the trustworthy one. But Raphael… no, he sported a hidden agenda. The quicksilver calculation in his eyes had told on him. Believing in him would be suicide.
Luc lowered his sword, but didn’t sheath it. “I need to talk to Gabe in private, brother. After I have done so, I will make a decision.”
At Gabriel’s nod, Raphael took his leave with Thamiel shadowing him. If he made a wrong move, Luc would be made aware in short order.
“What is it you wish to discuss?” Gabriel asked.
“Rafe’s performance makes my skin crawl. I cannot help but believe we are being naive.”
“No one would dare call you that,” he scoffed. “You are steps ahead of the rest of us.”
Luc wasn’t so sure.
“Not this time,” he admitted. “Since meeting her, I’ve been more reactive than strategic. I’ve not had the time to set safety nets in place.”
“I’ll admit it’s the same for me.” They watched Nadia for a short time, noting the wonder on her face. “She appears harmless, but the power she wields could tear down the walls between realms.”
Luc cast him a sharp glance. “You fear her?”
“No. Unlike our kind, she has compassion and heart. Her light is pure. One has only to look closely.”
And it was true. Until now, he’d believed her glow was celestial in nature, and in part, it was. However, she also possessed what had been trained out of Luc and his brothers long ago—humanity.
“I’d mistaken her for an innocent,” he confessed. Upon learning her perfect body contained the seductive powers of Mata Hari, he knew better. “She’s complex.”
“Yes.”
“We never addressed her age or where she’s been before arriving in Grimwich. If it is true that you were last with Adalyn over eighty years ago, where has Nadia been hiding? Why does she believe she’s only thirty-four years of age? The forty-eight-year gap makes no sense.”
“I’m as baffled as you, brother.” Gabriel frowned. “Only a being as powerful as the Creator could wipe her memory, but why?”
“If he had her, of a certain, he wouldn’t let her go just to start a war,” Luc added. Or would he? Perhaps his soldiers had been lingering in an apathetic state for too long. If he believed they’d all become complacent, would he stir this hornet’s nest? To what end? His own amusement?
Doubtful.
Father always had a reason. It might not be evident to others, but the overall arch had meaning.
