Free Angels' Flight by Nalini Singh

appeared as if Antoine might open his mouth, the angel said, “I’m not that indulgent, Antoine, even for you.”
    Clearly reluctant, Antoine retook his seat. And that, Ashwini thought, was the price of immortality. Giving up part of your soul. She watched as Simone reached the angel, but before she could go down on her knees, Nazarach caught her by her upper arms and bent his head to her ear.
    What he said to her, no one would ever know. But when she turned back to the room, her face was a shock of white, her bones cutting against her skin. Nazarach’s right hand remained on her shoulder as he met Antoine’s eyes. “It seems Simone will be my guest for the next decade. She agrees she has some lessons to learn about dealing with angels.”
    Antoine’s face grew tight, but he didn’t interrupt.
    “You will stay loyal to me, Antoine.” A quiet order, a brutal warning, his fingers playing over Simone’s pale, pale cheek. “Utterly loyal.”
    “Sire.” Antoine bowed his head, looking away from the woman he called his own.
    But Nazarach wasn’t finished. “For what you’ve done, I’ll spare your life, but not those of your children’s children. There will be no more Beaumont vampires, not for another two hundred and fifty years.”
    Frédéric sucked in a breath and Ashwini didn’t have to ask to know why. The vampire had just been told he couldn’t have children unless he wished to watch them die. And since vampires weren’t fertile for long after the transformation, that meant he’d never ever have a child.
    Callan had remained unmoving all this time, but raised his head when Nazarach called his name.
    “If you wish your kiss to remain in Atlanta, you’ll sign another Contract. A century of service.”
    It appeared, on the surface, an almost easy punishment—after all, Callan sought to serve Nazarach anyway. But seeing the way Nazarach’s hand moved on Monique’s head, Ashwini knew very well that the angel understood there was something between the beautiful vampire and the leader of the Fox kiss. And he would use that knowledge to torment Callan whenever and however he felt like it.
    There was no blood that night. Not any that could be seen. But as Ashwini watched Simone slide to her knees on Nazarach’s other side, she understood that some wounds bled rivers of pain that stained both people and places. Simone’s silent screams were already weaving themselves into the graceful arches of Nazarach’s home.

8
     
    A shwini had never been more glad to get out of a place. Leaving at first light, she didn’t draw a clear breath until the taxi was at least ten minutes from the plantation house.
    “You sensed things in Nazarach’s home,” Janvier commented from beside her.
    “Not just his home.” If she’d had to touch Nazarach…  Her soul shrank from the horror. “Then there’s Antoine. Even Simone. She’s done some nasty things in her time.”
    “And still you feel sorry for her.” Janvier sighed. “Why am I the only one you never feel sorry for?”
    “Because you’re a pain in the ass.”
    A masculine laugh as the taxi driver brought them to a stop at the train station. Paying him, she got out and grabbed her duffel while Janvier did the same with his. Callan had returned both early this morning, his eyes holding the promise of future retaliation.
    “So,” Janvier said as she found some cash to buy a ticket from the machine, “we are back to being adversaries?”
    “I owe you a favor. I won’t forget.”
    “Neither will I.” Reaching forward when she took the ticket and turned, he cupped her cheek. “If I asked you to trust me, Ashwini, what would you say?”
    “Words mean squat. It’s the doing that counts.” And because he’d bled for her, she raised her hand to his cheek, putting them in perfect harmony. “Thank you.”
    His expression shifted, becoming starkly intimate in the hush of the early-morning platform. “Stay with me. I’ll show you things that’ll make you