Court of Sunder (Age of Angels #2) - Milana Jacks Page 0,44

was off the table for discussion.

Orion pulled back his shoulders. “The Command Fleet scouts are circling the city.”

“It’s about time. How many?”

“Five.”

“Oh my God,” Nevaeh said. “The fleet is coming.”

Her fear annoyed me. My soul’s mate thought me weak and unable to defend my Court against Michael’s soldiers.

“Anything else?”

“The fleet responded to the rerouting of our supply ships, managed to snag two, but the rest returned to our waters.”

I looked around for angels to send out to coordinate the ships and provide air protection, but couldn’t spare a single one. Not only that, I needed more wings. Therefore, I would have them. “Clear the sky for the scouts and let them come as far as their mission calls.”

“My lord, if allowed, they will land in the city.”

“Clear the skies for them.”

“My lord, Uriel is scouting.”

Uriel. Michael’s finest warrior, the same one who believed he could best me in a fight. And he could with his sword or spear or whatever other trinket he learned how to wield. I hadn’t spent my entire life with a sword in hand. I spent it with my power at my fingertips, one I refrained from using the day we battled. I only wanted the Marked girl dead with few to no casualties if possible. But Lucifer made a show of her death, and Michael had lost control of his power and likely his mind. I understood him now. Oh, how I understood his anger.

Orion dipped his head and sat down.

Galo remained standing.

I flipped my chair around and offered it to him. “Eat something. You have a long night ahead of you.” In our native tongue, so as not to frighten the mortals on the streets, I told him what the undead male told me. “The undead are leaving for the Peen Province and will need someone to supervise them. I have a feeling Michael will respond to Lucifer’s invasion, and I need to know if he will try to destroy my undead too.”

“I can’t leave you now that you’ve allowed the fleet’s scouts into our air space.”

“I do not need your protection.”

Cayen approached us. “With respect, my lord, I don’t think you have fully recovered.”

I looked around and noted the numerous downcast eyes. My males believed I had not recovered and we would not stand a chance of defending our Court. It was a remarkable show of loyalty that they had returned and remained with a lord they perceived to be the lesser angel. They believed they would die, and they returned to me anyway. I had to be worthy of such loyalty and show my people strength and power.

Again, I offered Galo my chair, which he, wisely, rejected and sat at another table. He must’ve deduced I was particularly sensitive about my soul’s mate and sitting next to her would be a bad idea. Good for him. “The fleet scouts,” I said and turned toward my angels, “are heading for our city.”

My angels stood.

“Since we have clear skies, when they approach the city, they will fly at extraordinarily high altitudes to avoid detection and survey us for as long as they please. Which of you can reach those altitudes without choking?”

Cayen raised his hand.

A few others too.

“But not all. Why is that, my sweet mortal?”

My mortal didn’t blink before answering. “Because the Court of Command trains the finest warriors.”

Chuckling sounded in my ranks. I smiled. “Michael’s conditioning is the stuff of legends in the Heavenly realm. It is fortunate he is my brother, an equal in every way, isn’t it? But it seems because I dedicated my life to healing his soldiers and supplying the mortals with energy to heal themselves and live longer and stronger, I have been perceived as an…unequal. Even by my own people. Because I lost my wings. Because we worked in his kitchens. Because the soldiers of our Court fled the city. Because they divided the Court in my absence, and finally, because they succumbed to Lucifer and serve him now.”

My angels suddenly found the ground interesting. Feet shuffled as their fears spread like wildfire in my lungs, choking me. Everyone feared being marked. To be in service to Lucifer was to be in service to evil.

“I understand,” I said. “Your return and decision to regroup with me is a symbol of loyalty, and I am honored.” There. I sensed Michael’s scouts flying at extraordinary altitudes, lungs struggling to hold in air, to breathe what little of it was available. They entered from the east of the city