Page 99
Story: Phoenix's Refrain
“Why are you all looking at me?” I asked them. This totally wasn’t my fault.
My mind was working fast, backtracking to when I’d had the Fever. I’d seen Nyx and Ronan get pretty physical. So that’s why they’d acted so…passionate. No, more than merely passionate. Nyx and Ronan hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other. Nyx must have had the Fever then.
“This started with you, Leda.” This time, Basanti looked more amused than annoyed; the cake must have had enough time to settle her queasy stomach. “You upended the rules of magic.”
Nyx had returned to the Court Chamber, sans Ronan, but with a lot of soldiers guarding her. They looked human, minus the rather blue skin.
“Ronan’s soldiers?” I wondered.
“Yes,” Damiel confirmed. “From the Legion of the Arcane.”
“The Legion of the Arcane? What’s that?” I asked.
“It’s kind of like the Legion of Angels, but on another world. Not Earth,” Damiel explained.
“So they’re like alien angels?”
“Not angels. The arcane.” Damiel said the word like it was supposed to mean something to me.
“I guess I never thought about any Legions on other worlds,” I said.
“Ronan is a member of the gods’ ruling council, one of the seven most powerful gods out there. The Earth is important to the gods, but not that important,” Damiel pointed out. “There are thousands of worlds in the gods’ domain. And many Legions. Ronan is the Lord of the Legion. Such a title, a title worthy of a place on the gods’ council, is bigger than only Earth. It’s bigger than angels.”
Yeah, that made sense.
I watched the blue-skinned soldiers. Ronan had obviously ordered them to guard Nyx—apparently, very closely because they were practically glued to her sides.
“This isn’t just about me,” I said quietly.
But Nyx had good ears. “What isn’t just about you?”
“All the angel pregnancies. The same thing happened roughly twenty-five years ago.” I pulled a sheet of paper out of my jacket and unfolded it. It included the birth records of the angel brats. I’d compiled the list from the names of the children of angels who’d been in my initiation group. “The same thing is happening now.”
Nyx read the sheet. “Yes, the convergence of all those births of angels’ children at once back then was indeed odd. Considering this has never happened besides then and now again, these incidents are likely linked.” She handed the sheet of paper back to me, then she took a stroll around the decorated Court Chamber. “You’ve been busy.”
“I decided I’d best not waste any time setting off on the impossible task you’d set me.”
“I thought you didn’t believe in the impossible,” Nyx said, her eyes narrowed.
“I don’t, but you did when you set me the task.”
“Indeed,” Nyx laughed. “But I’ve come to realize that your tenacity makes quick work of the impossible, Pandora.”
Colonel Fireswift snorted. Wow, he was actually showing emotion. He must have been in a very good mood. And indeed he did look less grumpy than usual, standing there beside his pregnant wife. Perhaps thinking about the continuation of his legacy gave Colonel Fireswift a case of the happies.
“Not that I don’t appreciate your company, but are you going to be staying here and looking over my shoulder as I attempt to tame the impossible?” I asked Nyx.
“Apparently, I have no choice. I’ve been ordered to stay here,” Nyx replied, dour.
By Ronan, no doubt.
“Well, it was your idea to safeguard the Legion’s future on this airship,” I pointed out.
She was not amused. “Not helping, Pandora.”
Ok, then. Nyx was not in a good mood. The First Angel really didn’t like being sidelined. So I gave her some space.
“How’s the mission going?” I asked Nero.
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