She approached him. “If you’re about to bark out some orders or recriminations, you can save your breath.”
He smiled. “Not recriminations. Advice.”
She raised her brows.
“Destroy the ring now, and when you see him, don’t allow yourself to hesitate. Let instinct guide you.”
“Who are you?” she asked, unable to move away from his glowing warmth.
“Don’t waste time on things that are of no consequence to you, Kate. Ask important questions as your education and experience would dictate.”
“Why should I destroy Nathaniel’s ring?”
“That ring was forged in the flesh of a future angel. Gadreel flamed the ring and burned Nathaniel with it, leaving a scar that never fades. Hatred bound them together, demon and angel, in an epic battle. When the angel’s wings are fully formed, he will take up the dagger and hunt, the urge irresistible. They track each other through the ring, drawn to the symbol of their malice. Destroy the reminder, and you’ll spare him the memories for that much longer.”
“He doesn’t remember what happened?”
“Not yet. I was given permission to alter the course of his memory’s return.”
“Why? By whom?”
He smiled. “Nathaniel was not born an angel. He was human, and after nineteen hundred years his heart needs more than vengeance. It seeks what it lost. Love. In you, I saw a spirit that suited his. So I showed you to him. When the ring was torn from his finger during their battle and fell to earth, I cast it into your path and let you see it. You took it up and kept it of your own accord. The angel chief of war thinks Nathaniel carelessly let the rain hydrate the blood and soak your skin, that you were bound by an angel’s blood by accident. I say there was nothing accidental about Nathaniel’s distraction. He did not dry the water from his skin before taking the ring and you had it clutched in your hand while you slept for a reason. In anticipation of each other.”
“But he never talked to me. Never introduced himself. It’s been years since that night. If we’re so fated, why did he ignore me all this time?”
“Ignore you?” The angel’s laughter warmed her skin like sunshine. Her muscles loosened and relaxed. She felt that she could have lain on the nearby bench and slept for an age.
She shook herself, trying to steel herself against the effect his presence had. “Cut it out,” she growled.
“So you think he’s ignored you? Lovely Kate, I want you to remember something. The investigation for which you won your great award—do you recall the details of that day?”
“Of course. The discovery of that nest of vampires changed my life.”
“In the cave, when your flash woke the oldest, the most powerful, you ran toward the cave’s yawning mouth, toward the sunlight, but you knew you wouldn’t make it. You’d gotten too close. You felt the brush of cold fingers, and sharp nails grazed your skin when you were still eight feet from freedom. What happened?”
Adrenaline spiked her blood at the memory of that terrifying moment. If that vampire had gotten a firm hold, her bones would’ve joined the pile of human remains in that cave. “I got lucky. The vamp tripped.”
“Are ancient vampires clumsy? And even if one stumbled, could you outrun it once it regained its balance?”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying something watches over you. I’m saying a warrior angel waded into the shadow and when that vampire reached out and would have grabbed you and dragged you back, a deadlier creature struck him down. You travel to the most dangerous places on earth and live in solitary safety because you claim the attention and the protection of an archangel.”
Her jaw dipped open as her mind reeled. Had Nathaniel been there? It shocked and pleased her to think so. She wished she’d realized . . . had been able to thank him . . . to touch him. “He never spoke to me or made himself known.”
“He fears it.”
Why? I’d never have rejected him. I wanted to find him so badly! “Fears it because he’s shy?” she mumbled, confused.
“No, because he sensed if he got so close, he would not be able to pull back. Angels belong to Heaven. They may not consort with humans.”
“Never?”
He shook his head.
“Then why show us to each other?” she cried, sharp pain piercing her heart. She couldn’t have Nathaniel. “That’s cruel! Why let us meet now when nothing can come of it?”
He frowned, casting a thousand shadows that chilled her skin. “If you believe it’s a hopeless cause, it will be. I don’t offer a solution. Only a choice. For him and for you.”
“Why? When there isn’t time enough for us to commit? I’m sure his wings will be finished forming soon. When? How long?”
“Hours.”
“Hours?” she snapped. “But we’ve just met. We barely know each other.”
“I’ve shown you what you needed to see. You’ve felt his pain and know his character. Take action or do not. I only offer a chance. The rest must be chosen.”
As Nathaniel used his invitation to enter the hotel, he heard music emanating from the ballroom. B. B. King sang “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” Nathaniel smiled. He’d been to a King concert in Philadelphia sometime in the 1970s. He’d listened from the stadium rafters.
Nathaniel wasn’t sure if he’d loved music when he’d been human, but once he’d become an angel, he couldn’t resist it. The original angels had invented dancing, and a passion for music had been passed to every generation since.
When Nathaniel spotted Kate, she was laughing, and he thought there might be something he could love as much as music.
On his way across the ballroom, he encountered Alissa whom he recognized from a picture that Merrick had shown him. Nathaniel wanted to ignore his promise to Merrick because he hated for anything to delay him reaching Kate, but an archangel’s promise had to be honored.
“Hello,” he said.
“Hello.” Alissa smiled, and Nathaniel noted that she smelled nice, of fresh and powerful magic and pretty perfume. Still, it didn’t move him the way the scent of Kate’s skin did when they were close.
Nathaniel removed Merrick’s gift from inside his jacket and passed it to Alissa.
“A present. How kind of you, but unnecessary, Mr.—?”