"Elena." Enfolding her in his wings, he tugged her into his embrace, his hand on her hair.
What would bring her to tears? "Did your father do something to hurt you?" If Raphael could have killed the man without destroying Elena, he would have long ago.
She shook her head. "He came for me." It was a raw whisper. "Slater Patalis was drawn to my family because of me."
"You can't know that."
"Iknow . I remembered." Her eyes were rain-coated diamonds when she looked up. "
'Pretty hunter,' " she said in an eerie singsong tune. " 'Pretty, pretty hunter. I've come to play with you.' " Giving a little scream, she fell to her knees.
He fell with her, enclosing her in the warmth of his wings as he pulled her stiff body into his embrace. "Are the memories coming to you outside of sleep?"
"I was reading one of Jessamy's texts, waiting for you to come home and my eyes closed for a second. It's like the memories are just waiting for a chance now." Her body jerked against him as she sobbed. "All this time I've hated my father because Itold him the monster was coming and he wouldn't listen, when it's me Slater came for. Me! I drew him to our family."
"A child is not to be blamed for the actions of evil." Raphael wasn't used to feeling helpless, but there was nothing he could do as Elena's heart broke in front of him.
Crushing her closer, he murmured wordless reassurances in her ear, fighting the urge to wipe her memories clean, to give her the peace she needed so desperately.
It was one of the hardest battles he'd ever fought. "You are not to blame," he repeated, his body glowing with an anger that had nowhere to go.
Elena didn't say a word, just cried so hard that her entire body shook. Pressing his lips to her temple, he rocked her as the stars got piercingly bright, as the lights went out in the ledges below, as the wind grew freezing with a touch of snow. He held her until her tears were long gone and the moon kissed her wings like a lover long denied. Then he rose with her to the sky.
Fly with me, Elena.
Her wings unfurled, though her voice remained silent.
Keeping an eye on her, he took her on a wild, exhilarating ride through mountain ridges and passes, the air cutting across their cheeks. She followed with grim determination, finding ways around obstacles when she couldn't move fast enough to slip in through the small gaps Raphael utilized. It took concentration, which was exactly what he'd counted on.
By the time they landed, she was swaying on her feet. He all but carried her inside and put her to bed, nudging her into a dreamless sleep with a small mental push. She'd be angry with him for it, but she needed her rest. Because their time was nearly up.
Lijuan's ball was in a week.
Chapter 29
Elena lay in bed as Raphael dressed the next morning, watching him pull on one of the specially designed shirts that flowed around his wings. She felt tender, bruised. He'd held her all night, she thought. He'd kept the nightmares at bay. For him, she'd find the strength to fight a guilt that threatened to choke her.
Sitting up, she took a sip of the coffee sitting beside Destiny's Rose. "How do your shirts seal at the bottom?" She'd never seen any buttons below the wing slots. That seemed to be what most of the powerful angels preferred, the closures small and discreet - all but invisible. The younger angels, in contrast, seemed to go for more intricately designed options, each as unique as the wearer.
Raphael raised an eyebrow. "I'm an archangel and you ask me how my shirts stay sealed?"
"I'm curious." Focusing on the distraction to keep her mind off the past, she put down the coffee and crooked a finger.
The archangel was apparently in the mood to obey, because he left his shirt unbuttoned to walk across, brace himself with his hands on either side of her, and bring his mouth down over hers. The kiss was a claiming, no two ways about it. Long and deep and slow, it curled her toes, brought her nerves to burning life, made her moan in the back of her throat. "Tease," she accused softly when he lifted his head.
"I must ensure you never lose interest."
"Even if I live a million years," she said, caught in endless blue, "I don't think I'll ever find any man as fascinating as you." Acute vulnerability hit a moment later. She pushed at the heat of his chest. "Show me the shirt."
A tipping up of her chin, a kiss that told her the archangel was in a tender kind of mood.
"I do as my lady commands." He turned to give her his back.
Pushing off the sheets, she sat up on her knees. "There's no seam," she muttered, peering at the bottom of the slots. "No button, no zip. I half expected Velcro."
Raphael coughed. "If you were not mine, hunter, I'd have to punish you for that insult."
Her archangel was playing with her.It was an odd realization, and one that made the heavy weight on her heart lift a fraction. "Okay, I give. How do you seal the slots?"
He held out a hand, shifting to face her. "Watch."
It took real effort of will to turn her head from the gorgeous plane of his chest. If she wasn't careful, she thought, the archangel might yet make her his slave. Her eyes widened the instant she spied his hand. "Is that what I think it is?" Blue flame licked over his hand, making her heart kick.
"It's not angelfire." He closed his hand, ending the light-show. "It's a physical manifestation of my power."
She blew out a breath. "You use that to seal the edges?"
"The edges aren't actually sealed. Look carefully."
She'd looked plenty carefully, but now, she lifted up the shirt almost to her eyes. And that was when she saw them. Strands of finest blue, so fine as to be almost invisible, threaded through the white of the linen. How much power, she thought, stunned, must he have to do something like this without thought? This man would never ever tell her she was too strong, too fast, too tough. "I'm guessing us peons can't do this?"