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THE ANGEL COMMANDER

M y sister wasn’t very good at taking vacations. She always brought a suitcase of work along ‘for some light reading’.

“You’re one to talk, Leda,” Bella chuckled. “You can’t even take a day off without it ballooning into a quest to save the universe.”

Bella’s mood was light, airy. She was leaning back against the sofa, her muscles so relaxed that she was practically melting into the cushions. She’d just returned from her vacation this morning, and I hadn’t seen her so relaxed since…well, ever.

I’d had my doubts when Harker had outlined his plan to take her on the perfect vacation, a mission months in the making. It involved a tropical resort, lots of cocktails, and ‘accidentally’ forgetting Bella’s suitcase of paperwork.

I shouldn’t have doubted him. No doubt there’d been some tension when Bella noticed the missing suitcase, but she’d clearly gotten over it. She looked anything but tense right now.

“Actually, things have been very quiet around here lately,” I told my sister. “Too quiet. I’m so bored.” I slid my gaze to Harker, who was sitting beside her. “So I decided to mix things up a little at the New York office.”

His whole body went stiff. “What did you do to my territory?” he demanded, low and level, his lips hardly moving.

I’d offered to run Harker’s territory while he and Bella were away on vacation. Right now, he looked like he was really regretting taking me up on that offer.

“Don’t worry. It’s all still in one piece. Mostly.” I winked at him.

Bella took his hand, twining her fingers with his. “Leda is just teasing you.”

“I’m not so sure.” Harker watched me with the wary air of a lion who’d spotted a tiger in his forest. “What did you do to my territory?” he asked me again.

“I optimized things.”

“Optimized?” He cleared his throat. “ You ?”

“I can be orderly when I want to be.”

“Yeah, that’s the thing, Leda.” He sighed. “You don’t want to be.”

I waved off his words. “Don’t be so negative. I fixed your office’s decor, food, dress code?—”

“Pandora.”

I smiled at Nero as he sat down beside me. “Yes?”

“If you give Harker a heart attack, I will have to send him on another vacation so he can recover.”

I sighed. “Oh, I suppose you’re right.”

“Leda did not manage your office while you were away,” Nero told Harker, his arm curling around me. “I did.”

Harker’s shoulders relaxed in obvious relief. I wasn’t offended. Much. I suppose my nickname, the Angel of Chaos, was well-earned.

“So how have you been keeping yourself busy, if not redecorating Harker’s office?” Bella said with a twinkle in her eyes.

“The usual: drowning in deity politics.” I grabbed myself a cookie from the big bowl on the coffee table. I deserved it.

“Serving as the bridge between gods and demons is an important role,” said Bella.

“Sure it’s important,” I replied, “but after nine years, you’d think I would have accomplished more.

You’d think I could have gotten the gods and demons to at least kind of get along.

But the only two deities in that chamber who don’t hate each other are Faris and Grace.

Of course, Faris always makes a point to vote against Grace so he can continue pretending he doesn’t have feelings for her. ”

A knock sounded on the door. My oversized feline Angel opened an eye, halfway, then went back to sleep in front of the fireplace.

“It’s Nyx,” Nero said, rising.

My husband could identify over a hundred people by their knock alone. It was one of his many, many talents.

“Any idea what the First Angel wants?” Harker asked me as Nero crossed the room.

I shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

Nyx strode into the living room, magnificent in her black battle armor.

She always wore armor, like she expected a war to break out at any given moment.

Her dark hair was pulled up into a high, dynamic ponytail that swirled around her face, flowing and free, like she was underwater.

That was Nyx’s distinctive magic at work.

The First Angel was always still, always moving—always both at once.

“I have a new assignment for you, Windstriker,” she said as we all rose to greet her.

Nero set his hand over his chest and bowed his head. “I am ready.”

“No, you’re not. But you will do just fine.” A flash of amusement peeked out from behind her serious eyes. “I am promoting you.”

“Promoting me?” Confusion was a rare look on Nero, but he wore it now.

So did the rest of us.

“Ronan and I have matters to attend to off world. Long term,” Nyx added, watching him closely. “That means the Legion will need a new First Angel. That angel is you.” She handed him a platinum pin in the shape of an elaborate crown.

“I’m going to need to come up with some new nicknames for you,” I told Nero as he took the pin from Nyx. “Chief Angel. Top Angel.” I smirked at him. “What do you think, my liege?”

He pinned the crown emblem to his uniform. “I think you’re going to have to do better than that.”

“Angel Commander?”

He nodded. “Better.”

“You can brainstorm nicknames later,” Nyx said. “You have more pressing matters. Such as selecting your Executive Officer.”

“Harker will do just fine,” Nero said.

“I was thinking Fireswift,” she countered.

I snorted.

Nyx looked at me, her eyes narrowing.

“That was a joke, right?” I said. “Nero and Xerxes Fireswift do not get along. He and Harker do.”

“Fireswift is a general,” Nyx said, all sensible and boring. “Sunstorm is not.”

“Then promote him.” I looked at Harker. “You have my vote, Second Angel. Of course that means your old job is open. I think you should make Li an angel and give the job to him,” I told Nero. “He has my vote too.”

“Don’t micromanage, Leda,” Nyx scolded me. “It is the archangels who decide which soldiers shall be made into angels at the Legion, not the gods’ council.”

“Well, then, Li gets Nero’s vote,” I said. “And Harker’s too.”

“Nice of her to give us votes,” Harker muttered to Nero.

Nero snorted.

I turned toward them. “Oh, don’t worry, I will totally make it worth your while.”

“Is she talking to both of us?” Harker asked Nero.

Nero locked eyes with me. “She’d better not be.”

“I second that,” Bella added.

“Get your minds out of the gutter, guys,” I laughed. “When I said I’ll make it worth your while, I of course mean I’ll treat you to my excellent cooking.”

“Excellent cooking?” A crinkle formed between Bella’s eyes. “You make pasta out of a can, Leda.”

“I don’t think she knows what ‘excellent’ means,” Harker commented.

“Oh, you guys. Such naysayers. I’ll have you know that while you were away, I got kind of bored. There are only so many hours I can sit in council meetings. I decided I needed a hobby. So I learned to cook.”

They turned to Nero for confirmation.

“She’s right,” he said. “Most nights after dinner, I don’t even end up in the infirmary.”

“That’s because you’re immortal,” Harker pointed out.

The three of them laughed.

“You guys are hilarious .” I rolled my eyes to let them know what I really thought.

Nero wrapped his arm around me. “Seriously, though, Leda cooks quite well now.”

“Really?” Bella looked like she still didn’t believe it.

“It’s true.” I nodded. “I was really motivated. Sierra is a very picky eater.”

“Let us bring this charming conversation back to business, shall we?” Nyx said with arched brows. “I will prepare the paperwork for the transfer of power and send it over right away.”

The former First Angel left, and we turned to less serious matters.

“Anyone up for watching a movie?” I asked. “I have two tubs of ice cream in the freezer.”

A scream cut through the building, shaking the walls. A moment later, our twelve-year-old daughter burst out of her bedroom. Sierra’s auburn hair was a mess. Her pajamas were drenched in sweat.

I rushed to her, wrapping my arms around her, holding her trembling body against mine. “What is it? Did you have a nightmare?”

“It’s more…” Her voice shook. “…than a nightmare.”

Her nightmares always were.

She pulled back to meet my eyes. “It’s real. It happened.”

“What happened?” Nero asked, coming up to us slowly.

“I saw someone attack the Legion of Angels,” she said. “I saw an explosion…debris…and…” She swallowed hard. “And death.”