Free Wings of Redemption by Sarah Gilman Page B

“Thank you.”
    “Can the surgery be done here?” Kestrel’s arms tightened.
    “Preferably not,” Cherie said. “I have minimal experience with the procedure. Same for the other doctors on staff. Aneurysms simply don’t occur in the demon or archangel population. Saffron, who is your primary physician?”
    She gave the name of the doctor and the hospital.
    “I’ll pass my results on to them. Expect the surgery to be scheduled before the week is out. We’ll see to transportation.”
    “What about risk of rupture in the meantime?” Saffron dropped her hands to her middle, which concealed the hidden aneurysm.
    “Avoid heavy lifting or anything with harsh contact, like boxing. Otherwise, go about your normal activities. I encourage you not to shy away from exercise, as it is far more beneficial than harmful. Sex is fine, too.” She cleared her throat. “If I understand Kestrel’s talent correctly, he should stop hearing your voice now that we’ve set a solution in motion. If not, there’s a likelihood of impending rupture and we’ll resort to emergency surgery here.”
    Saffron fought a wave of nausea. “Can I go home? I’d be close enough to the hospital for emergency surgery there.” She spoke the words even as she hoped Cherie would insist she stay. Once she left the colony, she’d certainly never be able to come back. She squeezed Kes’s hand.
    “I’d rather you stay here where Kestrel can detect changes at any time. However, the decision is yours.”
    “I’ll stay.” She craned her neck and met Kestrel’s gaze. “Can I call Thyme and tell her what’s going on?”
    “As soon as we get back to the tower.”
    Cherie smiled. “Good. Kestrel, would you please step outside?”
    Kestrel left and the door shut behind him. Saffron shivered without his body against hers. She sat on the exam table.
    “Do you have any other questions for me?”
    “A million.”
    “All right. First, count to ten out loud.”
    Saffron counted.
    Cherie turned toward the door and shouted, “Kes?”
    “I didn’t hear anything,” Kes called back.
    “Excellent.” Cherie touched Saffron’s shoulder.
    The relief hit so hard, Saffron buried her face in her hands and cried. Though far from okay, at least she had Kestrel—the archangel who shouldn’t have cared about her, but did.
    …
    If she were anyone else.
    Kestrel shoved Dec’s words aside and focused on the matter at hand, namely not flying into a building in his distraction. Now that would be an embarrassing way to die. He could see the headline now:
    Idiot Archangel Flies into Building Thinking about Female. Does Species Proud.
    In much need of some flight time, he’d left Saffron to shower. He’d made a couple trips between the business district and the tower, stocking his home with a variety of food. Now, he just circled. He beat his wings and flew higher, away from the buildings and into open sky.
    He wasn’t the only one taking advantage of the wide swath of blue between storms. Nal streaked over with her cardinal-red wings, circled him, and shot off down the valley. Rave, with his raven-black plumage, ascended and flew at Kes’s side. Onyx, Rave’s recently fledged daughter, flew to their left, struggling but holding her own with the strong drafts that made the forest canopy below them sway.
    Kestrel had never had the strong desire to be a parent—he couldn’t contemplate raising a child without envisioning how he’d explain to him or her the species’ plight, or worse, wondering if the young would end up on the planet alone, the last of the race. A small part of him regretted not having children, but the idea of giving a child such a burden caused him pain.
    However, he couldn’t begrudge Eden’s mated pairs. He envied them. They refused to give up on survival or on family. They were simply braver than he.
    Rave—Eden’s lone telepath save for his young daughter—turned his head to the side and stared at Kes with an expression of pure