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15

Angels’ Court

The day of my very first Angels’ Court had come. I climbed the long staircase to the Court Chamber on the upper level, where I would soon hear the first petitions. Alec Morrows, my head of security, kept pace beside me.

And Alec was sure in an agitated state. “The reason Nyx put you, Colonel Lightbringer, Captain Singh, and Lieutenant Jones on this airship is that compared to the buildings on the ground, the airship is easy to defend and hard for people to get in. And now you want to hold an open petition court here, inviting random people on board?”

“They’re not random, Alec,” I told him. “They’re petitioners. They need our help. And we need theirs.”

“That’s very nice of you to actually give a shit about the general population, Leda, but how am I supposed to protect you when there are so many people coming on board?”

“I agree with Morrows,” Stash told me. “Your decision to see petitioners will make the airship harder to defend. It will make you harder to defend.”

Stash was at my other side. They had me surrounded, like they were afraid someone could jump out the wall at any moment and try to kill me.

“Look, guys, most people who will come to the Angels’ Court will have honest intentions,” I said to them. “They just want our help. They just want their pleas to finally be heard. Sure, there might be some who take advantage of the situation. In that case, it’s a good thing I have such capable protectors to deal with those people.” I smiled fondly at them.

“Damn, she’s good,” Stash muttered. “Complimenting us.”

“I liked you better before you went to angel manners academy,” Alec told me bluntly.

I laughed. “It was only for one day, and it was hardly anything as romantic as an academy. Just Colonel Fireswift and I stuck in a stuffy room with lots of books and lots of test questions. Now, if you’re both quite finished being pessimistic, I have work to do.”

Stash shook his head. “We’ll take care of the security. Don’t worry.”

I grinned at them. “Oh, I’m not worried. Not at all.”

“Just in case, you should be armed at all times in the Court Chamber,” Alec said.

“I have magic, Alec. I’m always armed.”

Alec grunted in amusement.

I’d reached the top of the endless staircase. Finally. I crossed the massive hall that took up much of this level. Along the way, I spotted a familiar pair of female corporals.

“Anderson, Lexington, what are you doing here?” I called out.

The two soldiers snapped around to face me, looking very guilty. Anderson was so nervous, she forgot to salute. Not that I cared.

“Sorry, Colonel,” Corporal Lexington said, her words rushed, like she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to get them all out if she didn’t speak quickly. “We took a wrong turn.”

I glanced past them, where my brother Zane was standing, a croissant in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other. Wrong turn. Right. Since I’d come aboard the airship last week, I’d seen Anderson and Lexington take more than one ‘wrong turn’. Those wrong turns inevitably put them within ogling range of Zane.

“I’m pretty sure Lieutenant Morrows assigned you to guard the level six corridor,” I told them, channeling my inner angel. I even made my wings turn red, just for fun.

They gaped at me like I was going to set them on fire.

“But if you’d rather do something more fun, our guests from Heaven’s Army are looking for sparring partners.”

The two corporals looked at Stash, who flashed them a wide grin.

Lexington turned a little green. Anderson’s nervous face was slick with sweat.

“No takers?” I waved them off. “Then back to the sixth level with you.”

They hurried out of there faster than if I’d cast a telekinetic blast behind them.

When they were gone, Alec turned to me and snickered. “Channeling General Windstriker there, were you?”