A nod against his chest. “Don’t worry, Archangel. I’m okay.”
No, he thought, she wasn’t. But she would survive, as she’d survived the losses of her childhood, Uram’s evil, the staggering change from mortal to immortal. Come.
The flight over the Hudson was relatively quick, the wind no longer against them. Once there and in dry clothes, Elena said, “I’l see if my hunter friends in Japan were able to dig up any more intel.”
While she did that, Raphael spoke to the leader of his Seven in the library. “Do you foresee any problems in my absence?” Lijuan wasn’t the only one who’d noticed that he’d become more vulnerable to injury—it might wel be the incentive another angel needed to attempt conquest.
Dmitri shook his head. “The fact that I’m here wil deter anyone who might have ideas. They know I’m no new-Made vampire.”
“If there is an attack, go for the kil .” Only the most ruthless wil would keep the city safe. “I’m leaving Venom with you, with Jason ready to fly in if necessary, while Galen holds the Refuge territory. Il ium comes with me, and Naasir is already in Tokyo.” The vampire would meet them in Kagoshima.
“What about Aodhan?”
“I’m sending him back to the Refuge.” The angel had already pinpointed Caliane’s possible location on a satel ite map. “I don’t want Galen alone.” He didn’t trust the others in the Cadre not to strike at him through eliminating one of his Seven.
“He would’ve been my choice as wel ,” Dmitri said. “Other than Galen, Aodhan is the one most used to handling your affairs in the Refuge.” The vampire turned a fraction as Elena walked into the room, and Raphael knew he’d likely curled out a tendril of scent in an effort to get a rise from her. About to tel Dmitri that today was not the time, he saw Elena’s lips curve.
“That hard up for a date, Dmitri darling?” she purred. “I have a number you can cal .”
Dmitri’s eyes narrowed, and at that instant, there was nothing of the sophisticated male who was Raphael’s second. Instead, it was the warrior honed in fire who spoke. “You look weak.” It was a condemnation. “You’re in no shape to go into battle beside Raphael.”
Dmitri, take care. A soft warning—Raphael al owed Dmitri to push Elena, because the inescapable fact was, Elena needed to be able to hold her own against vampires and angels alike. Dmitri was the perfect testing ground. But there were some lines he would not al ow even Dmitri to cross. It is my consort to whom you speak.
Jaw set, Dmitri parted his lips to reply, but Elena beat him to it. “I might look like shit, but I’m feeling plenty blood-thirsty.” Her voice was a razor. “I’d be happy to demonstrate if you’d like to step outside for a while.”
“I would not damage the Sire’s consort.” Arctic politeness.
Elena put fisted hands on her hips, cheeks fil ing with color. “Raphael, tel him you won’t do anything to him if I get ‘damaged.’ ”
“That would be a lie, Elena. I would tear out his throat.”
Dmitri’s smile was loaded with provocation. “Too bad, I guess. You’l have to wait for my touch another day.”
Elena glared at both of them. “No wonder the two of you get along. I’m going to go finish my cal s—I just wanted to let you know that a hunter who was in that part of Kagoshima a week ago said he got the creeps the entire time he was there. As if something was tel ing him to leave or else.”
Raphael met the gaze of the leader of his Seven after Elena left. “You wil go too far one day.” Dmitri had proven his loyalty, but Elena was Raphael’s heart. There was no contest.
The vampire shrugged. “She fights better when she’s angry than when she’s hurt.”
The fact that you enjoy baiting her had nothing to do with it?
“Side benefit.” Dmitri’s smile faded the next second. “Sire, if your mother wakes, what do you want me to do?”
Raphael understood what his second was asking. “If she wakes and she is as before, there wil be nothing anyone can do.”
30
The last time Elena had set foot in Japan, it had been on the trail of an investment executive—a vampire who’d decided that having served ten years of his hundred-year Contract, he’d now live a life of leisure using the money he’d siphoned from the accounts of his more trusting vampiric clients.
The angel who held the Contract had been “severely angered” by the fact that not only had the vampire broken the agreement, but that he’d used his position in the angel’s employ to swindle others. Elena had been given a “kil if unable to retrieve” order, but she’d brought the idiot back to his angel alive if petrified.