grabbed my shoulders. “Let’s get you changed, and I’ll take you to the armory.”
“Oh, the armory.” The prospect of having a weapon with me again made me want to squeal with joy. The fact Raphael would give me the military lifestyle that I enjoyed and he had resented spoke volumes to me. This seemingly small gesture made me love him even more. I kissed him. “Thank you.”
He smiled. “I knew that’d put us in a better mood. Come.”
We flew back into the empty house, where I changed into a black dress and tied my scarf around my neck again. I expected Raphael to take me somewhere on the vast property I’d yet to explore, but he walked out of the gardens and headed toward the city.
“Is the military armory in town?”
“No.”
“Where are we going, then?”
“To a private vendor.”
“I don’t need anything fancy. Just sharp.”
“How practical of you, soldier.” He smiled and took my hand. I welcomed his touch.
Sunder City came alive at night, in stark contrast to the way I’d first found it. Mortals opened shops with decorated windows, and as we strolled toward the vendor, most shop owners came out to greet Raphael. They threw inquisitive glances my way, and some, mostly the younger women, gave me hateful stares. I returned them, looking forward to acquiring a sharp, fancy weapon.
We wound our way between the shops and walked deeper into the town, then finally reached an area with several unlit streets. The darkness made my skin crawl. I squeezed his hand. “The Marked would thrive here.”
“Yes,” Raphael said. “Which is why I took this route.”
Instinctively, my hand reached for my right hip, where I normally kept my weapon.
He stopped. “Nevaeh, do you believe I would let someone hurt you?”
“No, my lord. I seek weapons out of habit.”
Raphael grumbled something I couldn’t decipher, and we kept moving.
A woman moaned on the street we passed. We stepped back and watched a man press her against the wall. Her skirts went up, his pants went down, and as he entered her, she screamed for all the city to hear. I tugged Raphael’s hand, but he wouldn’t move. The man kept pounding into the woman, and arousal blossomed in my belly. Raphael flared a wing out around me and brought me closer. The soft feathers brushed my arm, making my needs stronger.
“Do we have to watch?” I asked.
“Shhhh.”
The man emptied himself and detached himself from the woman, then pulled up his pants and headed our way. When he came closer, I recognized him as the man with a hat from Mary Ann’s. He wiped blood off his mouth. I gasped and leaned to the right to see if the woman was all right. She stayed standing there for a while, then shuffled off in the opposite direction.
“My lord. Lady,” the man said by way of greeting.
Lady?
“I never took you for a voyeur,” he told Raphael.
Heat crawled up my face.
“Sex is a beautiful act of pleasure or procreation or both. I enjoy it as should everyone.”
Good for me. We’d enjoy it together. My cheeks heated even more.
The man smiled. I noted dimples that made him appear younger, the age he would remain for the rest of his undead existence. His eyes sparkled with violet flecks.
“How are you finding your new life?” I asked.
“Exciting.”
“Certainly,” Raphael said. “You do understand that blood and sex aren’t all there is to this life? There is also service.”
The man nodded.
“Very well. What news from Peen Province?”
I chuckled. “Peen.”
Raphael frowned. “You know this place?”
Well, yeah. It was about ten inches long, and I’d like to live there, please. “No. Nope.”
“Continue,” Raphael said to the man.
“We heard Ariel has fallen and that Lucifer commands her regiment now.”
Raphael stilled, and I looked up to his hardened jaw. “Are you sure he kept angels in the regiment?”
“That’s the word in the Exile.”
“And the mortals?”
“All marked, my lord, the animals, everything.”
“When did he mark the mortals?”
“Two days ago. He flew over the province in fury and swept up everyone.”
Two days before he’d visited Sunder City. I didn’t believe sanctuary meant he would be allowed to get away with taking the lord’s regiment and marking the people.
“Why didn’t you come to tell me as soon as you heard?”
“I’m telling you now.”
The undead man rose from the ground, although I could tell he was struggling against the control Raphael had over his body. Bones cracked, then the man’s arms hung like clothes over a rack, and he roared in pain. Raphael dropped him back down and