“They walk, but they do not talk. Jason tells me that for the first few months of their existence, they seem to have some semblance of sentience, that it"s possible they know what they are—but with no power over their reborn bodies. They are Lijuan"s puppets.”
“Dear God.” To be trapped in your own body, knowing you were a nightmare . . . “How does she keep them alive?”
“She awakens them with her power, but they then feed on blood.” Raphael"s voice twined around her, filling her cells with horror. “The old ones, the ones who went to the earth long ago, feed on the flesh of the recently dead to keep their own bones clothed in flesh.”
Her soul grew cold, so cold. “Will you gain that ability?”
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VII
Raphael threaded his hands through her hair once more.
“Our abilities are tied to who we are. I would hope I never become capable of creating the reborn.”
Shivering, she slid her arms around his torso. “Have you gained any new abilities in recent years?” Because she knew him, knew how thin the line he"d skated. Not that long ago, he"d broken every bone in a vampire"s body while the pitiful creature remained conscious. It had been a punishment Manhattan would never forget. “Raphael?”
“Come.” He rose into the air.
Yelping, she shifted her hold to around his neck. “You could"ve warned me.”
“I have faith in your reflexes, Elena. After all, if you hadn"t shot Uram, New York might yet be drowning in blood.”
She snorted. “That wasn"t all me. I seem to remember you throwing fireballs at him.”
“Angelfire,” he murmured. “One touch and it would"ve killed you.”
Rubbing her face against his chest as he flew them over the lethal beauty of the massive mountain range that surrounded the lights of the Refuge, she said, “I"m hard to kill.”
“Take care, hunter.” Dipping, he swept down toward the edge of a crashing waterfall. “You can still be hurt.”
They were so close she could skim her fingers along the glittering beauty of the water, the droplets diamonds trapped under moonlight. Wonder burst to life inside of her. “Raphael!”
Rising, he flew them back up into the icily clear night sky, each star cut in crystal.
“You said a strong vampire could kill me,” she said, feeling the cold color her cheeks as the wind ripped through her hair. “Angelfire, I can guess. What else am I vulnerable to?”
“Angelfire is the easiest method, but those archangels who can"t create the fire have other means.”
“I wasn"t planning on hanging out with the Cadre, so that"s good.”
Lips against her ear, a touch that seared her to the toes, but his words . . . “Disease is no longer your enemy, but fellow angels can also kill you. You"re so young that if you were partially dismembered, you"d die.”
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She swallowed her gorge at that violent image. “That happen often?”
“No. Usually, the head is cut off and burned. Very few survive that.”
“How could anyone survive?”
“Angels are resilient,” he murmured, twisting to glide them back down.
“This place is huge,” she said, glimpsing lights far in the distance. “How can no one know it exists?”
Raphael didn"t answer until he"d landed on the balcony outside their bedroom. “Immortals may disagree on many things, but on this we are united—our Refuge must never be known to mortals.”
“Sara?” She clenched her fingers on his upper arms. “Did you do something to her mind?”
“No.” Eyes of endless, merciless blue stared down at her, eclipsing everything else. “But if she speaks of it, I must silence her and all those she tells.”
A cold knot formed in her stomach. “Even if that would break my heart?”
“Make sure she doesn"t speak.” He cupped her cheek, his fingers cool from the night air. “And that will not come to pass.”
She pushed away from him. This time, he let her go, let her walk to the end of the balcony and stare down into that ragged tear in the flesh of the earth. There were fewer lights now, as if the angels were bedding down for the night. “I"m not part of your world, Raphael. I"m still human inside—I won"t sit back and let my friends be slaughtered.”
“I would expect no less.” He opened the doors. “Come, sleep.”
“How can you expect me to sleep after saying something like that?” Swiveling on her heel, she stared at him.
He glanced back, a being of such power that she still couldn"t accept he loved her. But was an archangel"s love like a human"s? Or did it cut deeper? Draw heart"s-blood?
“I forget,” he said, “that you are so very young.” Moving to her, he stroked his fingers down her temple, over her jaw. “Mortals fade, Elena. It is a simple truth.”
“So I should forget my friends, my family?”
“Remember them,” Raphael said, “but also remember that one day, they won"t be there.”
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Grief was a wild-eyed beast inside of her. She couldn"t imagine a world without Sara, without Beth. The ties she had with her younger sister might"ve been eroded by the choices they"d both made, but that didn"t mean Elena loved her any less. “I don"t know if I have the courage to survive that kind of loss.”