Archangel's Resurrection (Guild Hunter #15)(10)

But more than that, Akhia-Solay had honor. Even young as he was, Alexander understood honor, understood what it was to be a good person. He’d been raised by people who were honorable to the core—so honorable that they didn’t understand the depth of malevolence that existed in others. He’d seen how his mother had questioned herself about Phiron despite having experienced his malice first hand.

As he understood that, he understood that Archangel Rumaia’s honor was tainted and without value; that realization had been coming to him in fits and starts, but after today, he no longer had any doubts. Phiron wouldn’t have dared his actions had he believed he might suffer any real punishment.

Archangel Rumaia cared only for herself and those close to her; she didn’t protect those outside her inner circle. And to Alexander, to protect those who were weaker lay at the heart of what it meant to have honor. General Akhia-Solay, in contrast to Rumaia, had been known to personally fly children and other enemy non-combatants out of the field of battle.

Archangel Esphares also had the most disciplined army in the Cadre of Ten because of Akhia-Solay. The general didn’t permit raping and pillaging in war, much less in peacetime. And he kept on winning, his troops confident in the knowledge that their archangel—informed by their general—would reward them for their fidelity and hard work.

Driven by desperation, Alexander didn’t bother to look for sentries as he crossed three Refuge borders to get to the section that belonged to Esphares. He knew he must’ve been spotted, but he was a child.

Most sentries had orders to allow children to fly as they wished.

He’d planned to go to the stronghold of Archangel Esphares and ask for the general, but fate had mercy on him and he spotted the general standing directly outside the stronghold, in conversation with a robed courtier.

Heart pounding and breath painful, Alexander dropped to land bruisingly hard mere handsbreadths from the two. His knees vibrated from the impact, his teeth clenching shut. Instead of reacting with anger, the adults looked at him with startled amusement. Again, because Alexander was a child yet, no threat to anyone.

“Sir.” Alexander went down on one knee in front of the general. Not two. Because Akhia-Solay also appreciated strength. Alexander would not beg. He’d treat this as if he were a full-grown warrior rather than a stripling, approach the general in that avatar. “I would speak with you. It is most urgent.”

He could feel the general’s piercing gaze on the top of his head. Akhia-Solay’s deadly black eyes were legend, but now Alexander lifted his head and met those mysterious orbs. They sat in a face that was all sharp lines and angles beneath skin of a rich brown, the only softness provided by the general’s shoulder-length hair.

A liquid black, he wore it open today, only a single feather woven into it to speak of his allegiance to Esphares. Because that feather was brown speckled with blue—the shade on the underside of Esphares’s wings.

“Rise, child,” he said, his voice a touch impatient, then turned to bid farewell to the courtier.

Alexander waited only until the courtier was out of earshot before saying, “Sir, I need help.” The general wasn’t known for his patience with people who didn’t get to the point, so Alexander got to it. “Phiron, Fourth to Archangel Rumaia, has kidnapped my mother, and grievously wounded my father.”

Akhia-Solay turned and spat onto the grass that encircled a tree planted in the courtyard. “Rumaia runs her court like a brothel.” As an insult, it was a grave one, but then the general said, “But my archangel will not war with her over this.”

Alexander had his answer ready. “I know. I’m not asking for the help of Archangel Esphares. I’m asking for yours.” He continued to hold those strange, dangerous eyes. “A dispute between a second and a fourth will be exactly that—a dispute between warriors. A personal matter.” One Phiron wouldn’t want escalated should he lose, because to do so would be to draw attention to the fact that he’d proved weaker than another senior angel. The bastard would be trapped by his own arrogance and pride.

Akhia-Solay stared at Alexander for a long time. “You realize this will end your parents’ protection under Rumaia?”

Alexander couldn’t help the rage that seeded tremors in his voice. “She gives no protection. Rather, she makes us prey.” A stark difference. “And my parents are highly intelligent scholars. My mother leads the field in the study of rocks and the earth—and I know Archangel Esphares has many earth shakes in his lands. She’d be a valuable resource for him.”

The general waved that aside. “I’ll do this, pup, but not because of your mother’s scholarship. Because I want you under my wing and under my command. You have a heart like a lion’s—and a mind that is too bright. You need discipline and the right kind of guidance so that you don’t make the wrong decisions as you grow.”

He gripped the side of Alexander’s neck. “Now, you must stay here. Phiron is a peacock I can crush with ease. If only I could wring his neck and pull it off his body, but that might actually start a war. I’ll leave him alive and extract your mother. I don’t need to be watching out for a fledgling at the same time.”

“I’ll go to the healers, sir,” Alexander said, his pulse a stampeding beast. “Get help for my father.”

“Good. So long as you stay out of my way. I’ll bring your mother to the infirmary. Let us hope she doesn’t need it for herself.” Stepping back on that, the general took off in a blast of wind.