Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter
Twenty-One
Hawkyn held Aurora’s hand tight as they materialized
in Sheoul-gra. As Primori, she wasn’t supposed to be
here, but he’d gotten permission from the Council to
break that rule, just this once.
They’d been remarkably cool about it. Maybe they were
loosening up already.
“Are you sure your father is going to be okay with us being
here?” she asked as they stepped off the landing pad.
He honestly wasn’t sure, but he didn’t want her to worry.
“He’ll be fine. He’s going to have to get used to my presence no matter what,
now that I’m the liaison between him and the Council.”
They strode through the courtyard and up the giant staircase
leading to Azagoth’s mansion, and as they entered, Emerico came out.
Hawkyn had a heartbeat to decide if he wanted to be nice…or
if he wanted to rip Rico’s lungs out of his rib cage the way Hawkyn’s shadow
wings had been torn out of his.
In the next heartbeat, he had his half-brother up against
the side of the building, his forearm across his throat. Nice it was. But only
because Aurora didn’t need to see any more of Hawk’s violent side.
“You piece of shit,” he said, keeping his voice level. “You
ratted me out to the Council.”
“Yeah, I did.”
Hawkyn had to hand it to the guy. He was a weasel, but he
was pretty open about it. “I don’t need to ask why,
but I want to know what you got out of it.”
Rico’s grin was all fang. “A clean
slate. All my sins gone. Sorry, man, but I had a couple of wing-shrivelers in
my past. I needed something juicy to get them removed.”
As much as Hawkyn hated the answer, he understood it.
Ascension was the goal of every Memitim, and when failure meant spending an
eternity in the human realm—or worse, it was every angel for himself.
That was something else Hawkyn planned to change.
“You’re a bastard,” Hawkyn growled as he shoved away from
Rico. “Stay away me, brother. And if you fuck with anyone I care about, you’ll
deal with me.” He flared his wings, sending a message of strength his brother
would understand. Hawkyn hadn’t played around with his new powers yet, but he
already knew that they were far more extensive and powerful than anything Rico
could even begin to comprehend.
Rico nodded, a deep dip of his head, and scurried away like
the rat he was.
“I’m sorry you had to deal with that,” Aurora said as he
grasped her hand again and guided her through the mansion on the way to
Azagoth’s office. “Are you okay? I can’t imagine my own brother betraying me.”
“I’m okay.” He smiled down at her.
“Really. I’ve been dealing with shithead siblings for centuries. Rico is a
product of his human upbringing and Memitim rules that pit us against one
another. But shit’s going to change, so that’s all that matters.”
They stopped at the door to Azagoth’s office, and he had to
tamp down butterflies as he knocked.
A moment later, the office door swung open, and they stepped
inside. Azagoth and Lilliana were sitting in the two big leather chairs near
the fire. She looked curious, and Hawkyn couldn’t tell what the hell his father
was thinking. His expression was a mask, his eyes utterly flat. The guy would slay it at a poker tournament.
“I heard you got a promotion,” Azagoth said, his voice as
flat as his eyes.
Word traveled fast. Hawkyn had gone straight from the
Memitim complex to Aurora’s place, where she’d been busy cleaning up after the
battle had practically destroyed her house. Maddox, at least, had taken the
human’s body away, the empty, broken shell left behind after the bludgolem
died.
They’d showered, made love, eaten, made love again, and now
he was ready to face his father after their blowout.
“I’m officially the liaison between Sheoul-gra and the
Council,” Hawkyn said. “But I can’t do my job if I’m not welcome here.”
Finally, there was a chink in Azagoth’s non-expressive
armor. Just a slight widening of his eyes, but it was there. For a moment.
“Why would you not be welcome here? I told you it was your
choice.”
“You didn’t try to talk me out of it,” Hawkyn pointed out.
“You didn’t give a shit.”
Azagoth laughed. “If I didn’t give a shit, I wouldn’t have
given you a choice at all. Do you think I’m shy about kicking people out of my
realm?”
“He’s not. He’s really, really not.”
Lilliana smiled. “Congratulations, Hawkyn. You’ll have to tell us how it
happened. From what I understand, the Council created a position and a status
for you. That’s...incredible.”
It was. Made him wonder what role
the child Aurora carried would play in the future, if Hawkyn was being rewarded for his own role in conceiving it.
“I have more incredible news,” he said, barely able to
contain his excitement. This was big. Bigger than a relaxing
of the rules allowing them to drink. He handed Azagoth a scroll.
Azagoth broke the seal and started to unroll it. “What is
it?”
“The first batch of names and information you need to find
your sons and daughters who are still in the human world.”
Hawkyn doubted that anyone had ever seen Azagoth as shocked
as he was at that moment. The parchment shook as he stared down at it, and when
Lilliana reached over to take his hand, he hauled her against
him. He just held her like that for a long time, his gaze glued to the scroll,
his chest heaving against Lilliana’s cheek.
“I don’t...” He cleared his throat and looked up at Hawkyn.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“That’s a first,” Lilliana muttered, but she was smiling,
and the gratitude in her eyes as she nodded her thanks at Hawkyn made this even
better.
He hadn’t known how she’d react.
After all, a lot of small children, in-your-face reminders of her mate’s unions
with other females, were going to be invading her territory.
He should have known Lilliana would be happy for her mate.
Slowly, as if emotions were weighing him down, Azagoth came
over to Hawkyn.
“Thank you,” he said roughly. “This...is incredible.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Hawkyn said, “but I’m
surprised this was so important to you. You barely acknowledge our existence
most of the time. Why bring in even more of us?”
Azagoth glanced over at Lilliana, who smiled reassuringly.
When he turned back to Hawkyn, there was warmth in his gaze. Not hot flames of
malevolence, but genuine, warm emotion.
“My life was devoid of meaning for a long time,” Azagoth
said. “I had a duty, but not a life. Lilliana brought life to me, and my sons
and daughters have brought even more. I thought I didn’t have room for it all,
but I do. I just have to
remember not to fight it.”
Hawkyn had no idea what that meant, but Lilliana did, and
even through the joy in her expression, he thought he saw a flicker of worry.
But maybe that was just his imagination.
“I understand Azagoth has a new grandchild on the way?”
Lilliana said, coming to her feet. “Congratulations, you two. I’m guessing
there’s a lot for you to work out now.”
Aurora nodded vehemently. They still had to figure out where
they were going to live while Aurora’s house was being repaired, they had baby
plans to make, and before the baby came, they had to get to know each other
even more.
He was going to enjoy every second he spent learning about
her—inside and out.
“I’m happy for you,” Azagoth said, and in a shocking move,
he wrapped his arm around Hawkyn’s neck and hauled him in for a brief, powerful
hug. “And I’m proud of you.”
Hawkyn’s eyes stung. He’d never had a parent. Even after
he’d moved here, Azagoth had been less a father and more a dictator. His
affection had been fleeting, as intangible as a ghost. He’d felt it now and
then, but in an instant it would be gone, and Hawk
would wonder if it had truly been there at all.
This time, there was no doubt.
For the first time in his life, he had no doubts about
anything. For the moment, life was perfect.