Free Splendor and Darkness (Rebel Angels) by Cyndi Friberg

Gadrayel ?”
    “I’ll explain tomorrow. I’ve grown weary of words.”
    Moving closer, he outlined her lips with his fingertip. “One last question and I’ll let you rest. Do you know why you could see little Anna?”
    “I have suspicions, but I need to spend time with her before I’ll be able to determine if there is any validity in my theory.”
    Nate gazed at Lailah as longing built inside him. He reveled in her softness, savored her sweet scent. Abandoning himself to the dream had been so easy, but everything was different now. His life had resumed. He had responsibilities and people who depended on him. Indulging a fantasy had been one thing, but Lailah was real. She was alive, vital and…not human. Desire still simmered. The slightest encouragement would escalate the spark to a flame. Still he hesitated.
    The image of her spread wings shimmering in the darkness had permanently imprinted itself on his brain. She was an otherworldly being, a Rebel Angel. What sort of future could there be for them? Another image insinuated itself over Lailah’s angelic splendor. He saw Catherine’s gentle smile, her warm, trusting eyes. Estel’s laughter echoed through his mind and Nate stepped away from the bed.
    “Rest well.” He ignored her confused expression and took up the thick candle he’d lit earlier. Not giving himself time to reconsider, he rushed from the bedchamber.
    Dank and cold, the corridor stretched off in either direction. Nate couldn’t succumb to desire again. Believing she was a fantasy had allowed him to suppress his inhibitions. He knew better now. With long, purposeful strides, he headed for the family chapel. His hounds stirred as he crossed the great hall. He commanded their silence.
    A brisk draft assailed him in the narrow corridor leading to the chapel. He cupped his hand in front of the candle’s flame. He eased the door inward and made his way to the vigil lights. Kneeling before the angled bank of small candles, he lit four from the flame of his larger candle then heaved a heavy sigh.
    “I figured I’d find you here.”
    He looked to the left and found Judith just inside the chapel’s arched entrance. She’d removed her headdress, revealing her thick raven hair. Contained in a mass of narrow braids, the blue-black length brushed her hips.
    “Why is that?” He stood and faced her, confused by the hostility in her dark eyes.
    “You’ve avoided this place ever since your return.” She walked past him, drawing his attention to the markers lining the chapel’s walls. The ones they’d lost in the ambush were interred in these vaults. “I figured guilt might finally motivate your goodbyes.”
    He narrowed his gaze and clenched his fists. Judith was never one to mince words, but anger surged through him at her provocation. “My goodbyes were spoken long before I returned. This is not how I choose to remember them, but they are not forgotten.”
    “If guilt didn’t prompt your visit, what brings you here tonight?” She strolled beside the vaults, pausing in front of Catherine’s.
    “What do you want, Judith? Clearly there’s something on your mind.”
    “I saw the way you looked at her.” Any hint of congeniality fled from Judith’s manner. “You know this woman. I suspect you know her intimately.”
    “Mind your own affairs.” He kept his voice even yet resolute.
    “It became my affair when her blind eyes saw my daughter! Who are they? Why are they here?”
    “Lailah will explain everything in the morning.”
    Judith scoffed. “You expect me to believe one word that woman says?”
    Nate clasped his hands behind his back. “We will figure out why Anna is visible to Lailah, and I will see that no harm comes to her.”
    “To whom?” she snapped. “Anna or Lailah?”
    * * * * *
     
    Judith stormed through the castle, her hands balled into fists at her sides. Her gown billowed out behind her with each agitated stride. Why didn’t Nate comprehend the danger? Or did he