Chapter 4

Dumah and I were assigned our own rooms once Azrael woke and
could function again. Our suites bracketed his, wingmen to his center
with me on the left and Dumah on the right. This section of the Abbey
was quiet, almost serene with the lack of inhabitants walking the
halls.
Fewer tenants meant I awoke from the nightmare of losing my
child wrapped in the same set of arms. When the screaming and pain
finally stopped, Azrael soothed away the dark images. Night after
night he held me until I my strength returned and the terror faded.
By the fifth night, curiosity got the better of me. “Rae. Why do you
keep coming?” I blew my nose into a tissue and looked at him with
eyes still bleary from crying. “Where’s Dumah?”
He shrugged, eyes fixed on the hardwood floor. “Still sleeping? I
don’t know to be honest.”
I frowned, “Fair enough. You didn’t explain why you’re here
though. I can understand once, but you’ve been here five nights in a
row now.”
“I feel responsible for your nightmares somehow.” He picked at an
invisible thread on his pant leg. “Unless I understand wrong, these
nightly scream fests started after you were assigned as my guardian?”
“I…Yes, and no.”
Rae’s eyes snapped up and focused on mine. “What do you mean,
no?”
“They originally started before the Great War. I’ll spare you all of
the gory detail, but I lost the child I was carrying. I think the thought
of having to go to the Garden of Souls every day triggered the old
memories.” A tight-lipped smile formed on my face. “I’ll try to not
wake you up anymore.”
His silence at my admission wasn’t surprising. I’d just dropped a
small bomb in his lap and, virtual strangers that we were; I couldn’t
expect him to know how to react to that bit of information.
“Don’t worry about it,” he sighed. “You haven’t been waking me
up.”
“What do you mean? Rae, it’s,” I glanced at the bedside clock. “It’s
four in the morning. How could I not have woken you up?”
He sighed and stood. “Because I haven’t been sleeping.”
“Why not?”
 “I used to fly for an hour or two before bed every night. It was
relaxing and let me work out any pent up frustrations so I could sleep
with a clear mind.”
Guilt heated my cheeks and cast my gaze downward. “I’m sorry.
I’d fix your wings if I could.”
Rae moved closer and I looked up into his eyes. “Not your fault.”
His lips twitched as if fighting off a smile. “If you really feel bad about
it though – you could tandem fly me around the grounds for a bit.”
“Tandem? No.” The idea of pressing my body to his and launching
us both into the air was ridiculous, and yet his light smile tugged at
my conscience. “How about you join me for some tea and you can tell
me what you’ve been doing while the rest of us sleep?”
“Sure. Are you okay to walk?”
I rose from the bed and walked to the door. “Looks like it. Come
on."

Manifesting a pot of tea would have been easier but I preferred

the calming motions of preparing it. Boiling the water, filling the tea
ball for steeping, and the soothing scent of the lavender as I poured
the water into the teapot were all things I relished.
“Lavender?”
“Mhmm. It’s my favorite. Great for soothing frayed nerves.”
He shot me a curious glance, which made me smile. “Who says my
nerves are frayed?”
“You did when you revealed you haven’t been sleeping. Tell me,
what’s keeping you awake?”
Rae took two mugs down from the cupboard and I laughed at his
choices.
“What? Do you have a problem with Daffy and Wylie?”
“No.” I checked the progress of the water “But, I do think it’s
funny that every mug in this place has some sort of cartoon character
on it.”
He put a spoon in each mug and pulled a jar down from the
cupboard. “You take honey, right?”
“I do. Which one am I?”
“Which one are you?” I tilted my head toward the mugs and Rae
chuckled softly. “Oh. Um, I’d say you’re… neither? You, my pretty, are
more princess material.”
 The kettle whistled, saving me from having to reply. I pulled it off
the stove and poured the scalding liquid into the teapot while my
brain preoccupied itself with his last statement.
“Cassie. Hey, Earth to Cassiela.”
Rae’s big hand closed over mine and pulled the kettle from it a
split second before the burning sensation began. The pain racing up
my arm felt like a wild, living thing and pulled a cry from my lips.
“Sorry… I… oh, god, that hurts.”
“Easy. I’ve got you.”
Soothing coolness took place of the burning heat enveloping my
hand. I breathed a sigh of relief and gave him a small smile as I pulled
my hand from the wet cloth in his hands.
“Thanks. I got distracted, I guess.”
“Clearly. I didn’t think you made it a habit of pouring boiling
water on yourself.”
I blushed and busied myself with cleaning up the mess I’d made
on the counter. Water made it into the teapot, finally, and the
soothing scent of lavender cocooned itself around us. Rae leaned
quietly against the counter to my left and I could feel his gaze as it
roamed over me from head to toe.
“Rae?”
“Hmm?”
“I can feel your eyes on me, and it’s making me a bit
uncomfortable.”
He pushed off the counter and headed to the fridge. “Sorry. Do
you take milk or cream in your tea?”
I watched him reach for the milk. The raw power radiating from
him as he executed even the most simple of tasks looked beautiful.
Strong legs, a taut backside, and a trim waist... all leading up to a
muscular back with the broadest shoulders I've ever seen.
After the disastrous ending to the one, and only, relationship I’d
experienced, men were the last thing on my mind... As much as I
wanted to deny it, Azrael’s physical attributes, and the bit of his
personality I'd seen so far, ensnared my attention. Resistance, to
quote Piccard, was futile.
“No matter how hard you stare at my ass, Cassie, it won’t change.”
“What?” I sputtered and shook my head to clear it of the indecent
images whirling in my mind.
Rae grinned and held up the cream container.
“Milk or cream in your tea?”
 “Oh, um, neither. Thanks.”
He put the small jug back in the fridge and turned to face me.
“Care to share what was so fascinating about my backside?”
“There’s an oil stain.” I tilted my chin towards his left side. “On
your rear pocket.”

A soft flicker of candlelight illuminated the three figures crowded

nearby. Their location known only to the one who had transported
them and secured by the fact that neither side, Angelic or Demonic,
knew the place existed.
The dark haired leader of their small faction leaned into the glow
and looked over her co-conspirators. “I think the time has come to
step things up. The existing plan crumbled when Death refused to
take her with him on duty.”
An orange-eyed demon growled, causing the flame to flicker
wildly. “He’s blocked from entering the Garden, my sweet. Getting
Cassiela inside is going to be difficult to do until they realize what
they are to each other and she unlocks his power.”
She laughed softly and the last member of their trio focused on
the leader. “Then we need to make sure they’re thrown together at
every opportunity," the blue-eyed angel said. "Find reasons if we
must.”
“Don’t you think I know that? What do you think I’m doing here
while she’s having another nightmare?”
“Still mourning the little brat I got on her, huh?” The demon
shuddered and growled, his sharp incisors gleaming at his partners.
“You still owe me, by the way.”
Onyx curls swung as the female leaned forward. Her hand
caressed his cheek; a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes curved her
lips. “You will get what’s yours, my love, once we’ve dealt with Death
and his little bitch.”