Angel's Honor by Erin M. Leaf Read Free Book Online Page B

think better of yelling at him. “Raphael’s
mother is here, though.” She glanced at Gabriel’s mate. “Nice lady.”
    “Oh God,” Raphael said.
    Gabriel smiled. “I’ve heard she’s
opinionated.”
    “You could say that again,” Raphael
muttered under his breath.
    Ariel laughed. “She wasn’t at all
surprised to find out you’d mated to Gabriel.”
    “Did you tell her?” Gabriel stopped
just inside the doors that led outside. Candles burned in the sconces on either
side, casting flickering shadows on his sister and Raphael’s faces.
    “No. She knew. She showed up here
an hour ago and walked right over to me.” Her face showed her confusion. “It
was weird.”
    Raphael huffed. “My brother
probably told her everything.”
    “Your brother sounds like a
know-it-all,” Ariel teased.
    Raphael grinned. “He’s older, so
yeah, you could say that. Exactly five years older than me.”
    Gabriel noted that he refrained
from mentioning his brother’s power.
    “That would make him, what, thirty?
He’s exactly five years older than me, too.”
    “Yes.” Raphael looked at Gabriel,
cutting off any further questions. “Are you ready?”
    Gabriel narrowed his eyes, thinking.
Why didn’t Raphael want to talk about his brother? Raphael held his gaze
steadily.
    “Gabriel?” Ariel slid her hand into
his. “Are you okay?”
    He nodded, pushing aside Raphael’s
strange reticence about his brother. He had to focus on the battle ahead of him
and not be worrying about small family issues. “I am.” He settled himself. He
had only a minute left before the challenge.
    Raphael pulled his head down and
kissed him softly. “I am here for you, whatever happens.”
    Gabriel smiled. “I know.” He hugged
Ariel and pushed open the door.
    ****
    Outside, all the People who lived
in the area and a few from further away had gathered around the large
stone-paved circle that dominated the clearing. They had met here for
centuries, ever since angels had come to the new world, to discuss the People’s
business, celebrate when possible, and more grimly, to battle their enemies. When
the enemy is your leader, it makes for a particularly grim occasion to be
standing here, Gabriel mused, waiting just at the edge of the worn stones.
    “So. You have shown up with
not even a second to spare,” Samael mocked, hands on his hips. He stood in the
center of the giant circle, shoulders back and belligerence in every line of
his body. His dull brown wings looked black in the light of the moon.
    “I am not one to hurry toward rash
business,” Gabriel replied mildly. “We do not have to fight. You can still
concede.” He held out his arms and walked forward. “My marks show God’s desire.”
The black lines along his skin were stark reminders of his change in status. As
the people caught sight of them, he heard murmuring. Not everyone believed the
rumors, he realized. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
    Samael scoffed. “Tattooing over
your legacy is among our most abominable crimes. I am appalled that you,
Michael’s son, have done such a thing.”
    The first, faint stirring of anger
tickled down Gabriel’s spine. “You know I would do no such thing. Do not seek
to create crime where it does not exist. Our People know truth when it stares
them in the face.” He knew everyone would understand what he didn’t say: that
Samael had been a cruel and demanding leader all his life. His insistence on
tithes above and beyond the ordinary to support his lavish lifestyle was only
the least of his crimes. There had been rumors of rapes and abuse among the
human servants. There had been whispers about how he treated his mate and other
women. If the People hadn’t had such strict customs about obeying their
leaders, he would have been deposed years ago.
    No. Samael’s father, and his father’s father would have been deposed, he thought. The People’s oldest
traditions said that God would pick their Alpha, and he would be known by