Page 116 of The Seeker
If if if…
“I would give you anything,” he began. “But Meera—”
“Stop before you make a very big mistake.” She turned off the stove and stepped toward him. “I have agreed to take you as my mate, not my keeper. I have no keeper. I have no master.” Her voice vibrated with barely controlled anger. “And I will never take one. Not even one designed by heaven. So stop that train of thought before it even starts, Rhys.”
“You’ve been a target your entire life. You’re going to be an even bigger target once you become the librarian of Irina martial magic.” He stared at her. “Don’t you have any fear at all?”
“Of course I do, but if you’re wondering about tonight, no. I wasn’t afraid in the church. I don’t operate like that. I would be afraid if I didn’t know what to do, but I did know what to do.” She turned back to the stove. “Also, Vasu didn’t even show up, so you know I wasn’t in any real danger.”
The angel suddenly appeared, sitting on the counter and swinging his legs. He looked like a teenager again. “That’s true.”
“You.” Rhys gritted his teeth. “Is he going to just show up like that everywhere we go now? Like an annoying stray cat? What do you know about this angel, Vasu?”
Vasu slid off the counter and shifted into a large gold-and-black striped tiger before he padded to Rhys and bared his teeth.
Meera kicked her foot back, making the tiger grunt and turn. “Stop. Don’t be annoying, Vasu. This house is too small for that form.”
The angel shifted into a medium-sized cat with grey and ochre markings Rhys thought might have been a clouded leopard. The leopard sat on the table in front of him, flicking an ear and staring.
Meera shoved him. “Go away. You’re just trying to annoy him now.”
Vasu bared his teeth. Rhys bared his right back. Petulant? Perhaps. The angel was acting like a child, and Rhys had suspicions.
“What do you know about Bozidar?” he asked the cat under his breath. “Is this you? Why is he showing up now?”
The leopard said nothing.
“What are we going to do about Damien and Sari?” Meera asked.
“Pick them up in the morning and take them back to the haven,” Rhys said. “At this point I’m relieved they’re coming. They’ve fought more angels than anyone else I’ve known, and Damien wields a black blade.”
Meera nodded. “Good. That’s good.”
Rhys could feel her sorrow like it was sitting under his skin. “Meera, I know you hated what happened back at the church. I know you’re not eager for conflict. But think of it this way—if we can kill Bozidar, we free his children.”
The tension in her forehead relaxed. “I hadn’t thought about it that way.”
“This angel has thousands of children scattered across this part of the world. Free from his influence, many of them might choose to live peaceful lives. Fighting and killing this angel could free thousands.” And rid the world of one of the most vicious angels in history.
“Vasu?” Meera called.
The angel appeared in his teenage form on the counter again. “Yes?”
“Do you know this angel, this Bozidar?”
The young man swung his legs. “A little.”
Liar. Rhys could see it in his face. The angel was hiding something.What a surprise.
Meera asked, “And? What do you know? Is he an ally of yours?”
“No.” Vasu shrugged. “Kill him. I have no loyalty to him or any other Fallen.”
“He’s not an ally?”
Vasu laughed. “Bozidar doesn’t have allies. He has minions. He only aligns himself with others until they’re not useful to him anymore. Then he usually kills them.” The angel watched Meera from the corner of his eye. “His death would sorrow no one, not even his human consorts.”
Rhys narrowed his eyes on Vasu. “For once I agree with him.”But why do you want this angel dead?
