Archangel's Light (Guild Hunter #14)(12)

No doubt because Aodhan had always been right beside Illium, confessing to all the things he hadn’t masterminded. And vice versa. Never had they allowed each other to fall alone. And no matter what, Illium wouldn’t do that now, either.

Even if it hurt to have Aodhan’s voice in his head, Aodhan’s presence beside him when he knew Aodhan was in the midst of walking away from all that lay between them, he’d give Aodhan what he needed.

That was what it meant to be a friend.

Illium would do this one last thing for his friend before he no longer had the right to use that word to describe their relationship.

“It is good to have you here, Illium,” Archangel Suyin said as he rose to his feet and folded back his wings. “I have gathered a small court, but given the dearth of strong angels in the world, after the war . . . well, my territory is not a first choice for many.”

“You’re gaining a reputation as a strong and fair archangel.” Illium dared the personal comment only because Suyin was a warrior beside whom he’d fought in battle. And though she’d ascended, she didn’t yet have around her the cold burn of power held so long that it was in the blood. “Your court will grow.”

“And, I suppose,” Suyin replied, “I do not need a huge court when my territory is so very small.”

He knew exactly what she meant—though China was a sprawling territory if measured by landmass, its population had been decimated by the choices of its former archangel. It would take Suyin centuries upon centuries to build it back up to anything near the powerhouse it had once been.

At some point in the far future, the other archangels would get over their Lijuan-induced skittishness and begin to look at this land with covetous eyes. Whether Suyin chose to fight to hold on to it, or accede to their demands in favor of ruling a more compact territory, it’d be a choice made on a strong foundation.

“Walk with me,” the archangel said, and he and Aodhan fell into step on either side of her, all of them keeping a polite distance so their wings didn’t brush.

Illium found himself surprised by Aodhan’s formal deference. After so long working at Suyin’s side, he’d expected more casual intimacy between the two. But that, of course, was none of his business.

Jaw set, he stared straight ahead at this strange garden that bloomed in the heart of winter. It made him remember what Ellie had told him about the red roses that had bloomed in the snow in Imani’s garden. Those blooms had augured a time of death and blood and war. He hoped this garden was nothing but a small strangeness.

It was after they passed a tree blooming with trumpet-shaped yellow flowers that had dusted the path in sunny pollen that Suyin spoke again. “I’ve decided to begin the rebuild—physically speaking.”

A glance at Aodhan. “I know we have spoken of priorities many times, but I see now that I cannot move forward if I am always in Lijuan’s shadow. I must make China Suyin’s land rather than hers. And for that, I first need a citadel of my own choosing, with nothing of her in it.”

Aodhan inclined his head in that way he had of doing, his face calm and his expression difficult to read. “I understand. Illium and I are at your service.”

Illium, too, had no argument with Suyin’s decision. Even setting aside her madness of the recent past, Lijuan had ruled this land for millennia, stamped every part of it with her mark. “Where are you thinking of building your citadel?”

“Ah, I made that decision some time ago.” Suyin’s face softened. “I will build on the coast, far from the places preferred by my aunt. A new start to a new reign. Also a place I can hold in battle when it comes in the future, for it will. No member of the Cadre can look at this empty land and not covet it.”

Illium wasn’t so sure about that; Raphael had never been land-hungry. It was part of the reason he and Elijah got along so well, their border having held since Raphael’s ascension. Not many people remembered that Eli had actually governed Raphael’s territory while the Cadre had been short an archangel.

When Raphael ascended, Elijah had given up that land without a fight, for he’d much rather rule well in a smaller sphere than spread himself thin. Raphael thought the same way.

Suyin stopped beneath a tree whose leaves were a deep ruby with fine veins of pink, the perfect foil for her coloring. You should paint her this way, he found himself saying to Aodhan.

I’m already making the mental brushstrokes.

“I will gather my people and head to the coast tomorrow.”

Illium sucked in a breath at Suyin’s pronouncement. “So soon?”

“Ah, Bluebell”—a soft smile as she used the nickname by which his friends so often called him—“none of us have settled here. Today, as I walked among my people, I saw most hadn’t even unpacked their meager belongings.”

The wind blew back her hair, revealing even more of the flawless lines of her face. “As soon as we unearthed the nexus, I knew I’d been wrong to believe this place had escaped my aunt’s malevolent shadow—but though we kept the knowledge of the nexus from the mortals, they feel the lingering whisper of her evil.”

A cloud of quiet sorrow over her bones. “They will die here,” she murmured. “If I make them spend the winter in this place, I will wake in spring to a graveyard of lost souls.”

She shook her head, steel cutting through the sorrow when she next spoke. “I refuse to permit Lijuan to reach out from beyond death to snatch victory. It may not be the best time to move, but move we will.