Page 28 of Redeeming the Angel

She then turned away and rose to her feet.“Hey, Xoch’.”

Xochitl gave her a friendly grin that immediately vanished when her gaze drifted to me, then back to Sylvis.“Is he bothering you?”

Sylvis’s eyes darted to mine, then away.After too long a pause, she shook her head.“No.I figured out the riffs and melody I wanted before he showed up.”

Xochitl crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me.“Can’t you ever learn to ring the gate stone?It’s really rude for you to keep coming in through the forest unannounced and uninvited.”

Her Siamese cat, Isis, trotted over to Gabriel, and they touched noses before engaging in some silent communication.Was my friend managing to fool the cat as well?

I bowed low before Kerainne’s daughter.“My most sincere apologies, Highness.I’d meant to ring the gate stone, but I was called to my dear cousin’s music.”

Xochitl ignored me and kept her amber eyes on Sylvis.“Aurora heard you playing from the balcony.She told me to tell you to play those riffs again next time we’re jamming so we can work it into a new song.I really hope you retained them because they sounded badass.”

“I’ve had it in my head for a few days, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”She shifted her guitar strap and picked up her amp.“Wanna go ask the others when they want to jam?”

As they headed back to the tower, Sylvis glanced over her shoulder to see if I was following them.I’d make my way in later.Right now, Gabriel and I needed to have a few words.

I inclined my head back in the direction of the forest, so we could speak privately.“I can’t believe you’re still doing this.”

Once beneath the trees, Gabriel Leonine transformed back into his luminite form.He shivered and released his wings to blanket his nude body.“I wasn’t going to let you take a vacation from our tedious families in boring Luminista without me.”

“I’d gathered that.But you could have accompanied me here without disguising yourself as a wolf and following my newly discovered cousin everywhere.”I frowned at him and kicked a tree limb that tried to grasp my ankle.“She’s not going to be happy when she discovers your subterfuge.”

“I don’t follow her everywhere,” Gabriel argued.“You’re behaving as if I invade her bed and watch her when she bathes.”

“You don’t?”I was doubtful.

“No.That would be too far.”His sincerity convinced me of his honesty.

“While it’s a relief that you do have some scruples, you’re still being dishonest with her, and more importantly, the King and Queen.If they find out…” I paused, remembering seeing Xochitl’s cat touching noses with him earlier and Zareth’s cat’s seeming indifference before that.“Wait, how did the cats not know that you aren’t really a wolf?”

“I had a conversation with the Queen’s companion, Isis, right when I arrived.She promised to keep my secret as long as I didn’t hurt any of her people.Which from what I’ve gathered, is everyone who enters the tower except for you.”The corner of Gabriel’s mouth lifted in a mocking half-smile, rubbing in the fact that I was disliked by most of the tower’s residents.“But enough about me.Did you get around to asking your newfound cousin if she is willing to be tested on how much luminite blood flows through her veins?”

“I have not.Sylvis seems to dislike me for my part in destroying my relationship with Kerainne.”Speaking her name brought the old twinge of pain.I closed my eyes a moment to compose myself.“That said, I agree with your suspicions that she has more of our ancestry than her friends, except for your cousin, the Queen.”

Gabriel nodded.“Did you observe that Sylvis was able to sit so close to the forest without being affected?That makes me wonder if she has somewhere between a quarter or a third luminite blood.”

“I did notice that.I hope one of us may accompany Sylvis on her next visit to Earth and possibly meet her parents.”Though the thought of going to Earth filled me with distaste.The things that world had done after losing its magic were often beyond the pale.

“I’d thought of that.I would have the greatest chance since you’re so disliked.”Gabriel stepped on a slithering vine until it retreated.

“You’re also a wolf.From what I know about Earth, those aren’t welcome in their villages.”

“That’s true.”Gabriel seemed unconcerned.“But I’ll allow her to put me on a leash, and then I can project the idea that I’m nothing but a harmless dog to human eyes.”

“Or you could reveal your true form.”I swatted a fist-sized spider away and gave him a look of disapproval.“The cat may not understand that your promise not to hurt Sylvis can’t be fulfilled.I’ve seen how happy she is with the wolf.She loves having her new pet.Discovering that you’re not a wolf at all, but instead a luminite who’s been using subterfuge to follow her around and invade her personal space will hurt her.”

As I voiced my concerns I realized I wasn’t only worried about getting blamed for this debacle, but that I also genuinely cared about my newfound cousin’s feelings.The idea of her being hurt upset me in ways I was only beginning to understand.

“Maybe I should just stay a wolf for her,” Gabriel muttered.

“What?”Surely I hadn’t heard him right.

“What?”Gabriel echoed, blinking in feigned innocence.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair in frustration as the situation grew even more dire.“You’re in love with her.”

Gabriel shrugged.“I’m fascinated with her.The magic she wields on that guitar…the emotions a piece of wood and steel brings forth at the touch of fingers have me captivated.And the life she’s lived…I may be nearly three centuries old, yet somehow in a quarter-century, she’s experienced more than I.”

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