Phoenix’s Refrain by Ella Summers

8

The Great Scheme

By some miracle, I did make it through Colonel Fireswift’s test in time for dinner, but that said nothing for how well I’d performed on it. My only consolation was that the evil angel had to spend the next several hours grading the boring thing.

“He’s a sadist, I tell you,” I complained to Nero over a private dinner in my apartment. “You should have seen the test. It was full of completely convoluted situations that would never ever happen in real life. They were totally unrealistic. And for each of these convoluted, unrealistic scenarios, I had to sort out who was dominant and what was the right protocol. Ahhh!” I pulled on my hair. “I’d rather have spent the day with that damn metal door you had us punch over and over again back when I was an initiate.”

“I’ll bet.” Nero’s bright green eyes twinkled. Apparently, he’d had a better day out with Harker than I’d had stuck in a stuffy closed room with Colonel Fireswift. “But you’re not supposed to be maiming yourself by punching metal doors. Or overexerting yourself in general.”

“There is no greater exertion than holding myself back from jumping across the desk and strangling Colonel Fireswift while he’s prattling on about obscure protocols that haven’t been used in two centuries.”

“To be fair, some of those protocols have never been used,” Nero replied.

“Then why learn them?” I demanded, exasperated.

He shrugged. “Because they could conceivably be used.”

“You’re not helping,” I pouted.

“I’m sorry, Leda.” He took my hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “This is just one battle you’ll have to face without me.”

“If you loved me, you’d order me to punch Colonel Fireswift in the face,” I told him solemnly.

He chuckled. “If you incapacitate Fireswift, Nyx will only send you another instructor.”

“I know,” I sighed. “And from the profiles of the Legion’s past and present angels, there are, shockingly, a fair number of angels who are even worse than Colonel Fireswift.”

The thought depressed me, so I shoveled more food onto my plate. I knew I was eating to make myself feel better, that I was trying to lose myself in the euphoria of delicious food, but I didn’t care. Comfort eating was healthier than running out and punching Colonel Fireswift because he’d annoyed me.

Nero watched me eat. “Your appetite sure has increased.”

Right, and there was that too. Being pregnant meant no tasty food within reach was safe from me.

“I know,” I said. “And I thought I was hungry when I had the Fever. I never knew what hunger was until now.”

Nero glanced sidelong at my belly.

“You can rub it for luck if you want,” I teased him.

Nero extended his hand and set it on my flat belly. He looked so happy it almost brought tears to my eyes. That was the other thing about pregnancy: the crazy, unstable hormones.

“Have you felt any movement?” he asked me.

“Not yet. I think she’s still too small. Right now, she’s just busying herself being a blackhole for energy.” I looked around and found some cake on the table. I took that too.

“Maybe you should try some vegetables,” Nero suggested.

I frowned at the bowl of peas he’d offered me. “Nah, healthy stuff makes me queasy. What I need is cake. Lots and lots of cake.” So I took more cake.

“Leda?”

“Mmm?” I asked between mouthfuls of red velvet cake.

“Have you been taking your vitamins?”

I swallowed, then said, “They make me queasy too.”

“Perhaps, we should get you some of those gummy bear vitamins,” said Nero. “The ones targeted to kids who refuse to take their vitamins.”

“Funny.” I took more cake. “Very funny.”

“I’m not kidding, Pandora.” His hand flashed out and stole my plate—and my cake. “A baby cannot survive on cake alone. And neither can you.”

“Excuse me, your holiness, but have you ever been pregnant?” I tried to retrieve my stolen property.

Nero lifted the plate out of my reach. “No.”

“Precisely.” I abandoned my efforts to reclaim my slice of cake; there wasn’t much left of it anyway. “Then you really don’t know what you’re talking about, do you?” I grinned at him as I licked the icing off my knife.

The corner of his mouth twitched. “You’re incorrigible.”

“Actually, I’ve been very corrigible today. I didn’t punch Colonel Fireswift, not even once,” I said proudly. “Despite all of his carefully-crafted digs at my character.”

“Good.” Nero ate a slice of carrot off the end of his fork.

I had to admit it, the man could make even healthy eating look sexy.

“Good? Oh, you like when I behave myself?” I winked at him.

He met my eyes, giving me a look that incited a very different kind of hunger deep inside of me.

I glanced down to make sure my top was zipped down far enough.

“You’re trying to seduce me,” he chuckled.

“Is it working?” I asked hopefully.

His eyes dropped to my chest, lingering there for a moment. “Yes.” His gaze lifted to my eyes. “But I promise to be a gentleman.”

“I wish you wouldn’t be,” I complained.

“You’re not supposed to engage in anything dangerous,” he reminded me.

“When Nyx made that mandate, she meant killing monsters. Not sex, Nero.”

“Angels are far more dangerous than beasts, Pandora.” His voice was a soft caress. “And I couldn’t restrain myself. You are more beautiful than ever before.”

I blushed. “Ah, stop.”

He set his hands on my cheeks and leaned in, meeting my eyes. “I’m serious. You’re positively glowing. And your magic…” He drew in a deep breath, his eyes closing. His tongue slid across his lips very, very slowly.

“Like catnip for angels?” I asked.

“Better. It’s like the Fever.”

His hand was suddenly on my thigh. Temptation tickled his lips. His eyes were undressing me.

I decided I liked that. I liked it a lot. I moved off my seat and sat on his lap, straddling my legs around him. I kissed him, long and slow and deep.

Nero moaned against my lips. His hands locked onto my hips. He lifted me up, then repositioned me on his lap. He now held me in an embrace, no longer a sexy straddle.

“No, it was better before,” I complained.

“Behave, Pandora,” Nero whispered against my lips.

“I’ve been behaving all day,” I told him. “Now I want to play.”

Nero caught my misbehaving hands. He trapped them in his, preventing me from roaming, from exploring his body.

“Behaving myself is no fun at all,” I complained.

“I know.” A slight smile twisted his lips. “But you need to keep it up.”

I stuck out my tongue at him. “Spoilsport.”

Then I withdrew my hands, keeping them to myself, like the good girl I totally was not.

“I am confident in your ability to behave yourself,” Nero said.

I laughed. “Who, me?”

“Yes, you, Angel of Chaos. You are far more sensible than you pretend to be.”

“Sensible.” I pouted out my lips. “How sexy.”

“I’m serious, Leda.” And his face told me he meant it. “If you punch Fireswift, I’m not entirely confident he would remember he’s not allowed to punch back.”

Nero set his hand on my belly. He held it there, like he was trying to protect our daughter from harm. I smiled at him, then rested my head on his shoulder. He continued to stroke his hand across my belly. His other arm was wrapped around me, his hand massaging my back. Nero was obviously very worried. Worried about me. Worried about our daughter.

“All right. I’ll be boring and sensible,” I promised him.

I couldn’t stand to see him like this. So…so vulnerable.

Nero kissed the top of my head. “Thank you.”

“Tell me about your day with Harker,” I said. “I hope it was better than my day.”

“We searched Purgatory, where Bella believes Thea’s grimoire to be, but we didn’t manage to find it.”

“Need some help?”

His chuckle was dark—and deliciously decadent. “You’re trying to get out of another day of angel class with Colonel Fireswift.”

“Yep,” I said shamelessly. “But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be an asset in the search for the grimoire. I’m quite familiar with all of Purgatory’s nooks and crannies. Remember, I grew up in this town.”

“So did Bella. And she was with us the whole time.”

“Yeah, well, Bella is more of an indoor kind of lady,” I said. “Remember, I lived on the streets for a few years before Calli took me in. When your very survival is dependent on hiding from gangsters and other street urchins, you get really well acquainted with all the best hiding spots in town. You need my expertise.”

“You make a compelling argument.”

I looked at him and smiled. “I do, don’t I?”

“But Nyx isn’t going to let you skip your angel lessons to rummage through trash bins and navigate the town’s underground sewage systems.”

“That’s because the First Angel has no sense of fun.” I gave Nero a hopeful look. “But you do.”

His thumb traced slow, soothing circles into my palm. “Leda, why do I get the feeling you’re trying to get me into trouble?”

“I have no clue what would give you that idea, General,” I replied. “Because you know how I’m always so well-behaved.” I winked at him. “Especially with you.”

His laugh was a purr, pure and simple. And it sent tingly sensations cascading through my body.

“You know.” I cleared my throat. I’d promised I would behave, and so had he. I was already regretting that promise. “So this grimoire sounds pretty important. It could give us answers about Bella’s past. What happened to her mother? How is it her parents don’t realize she was born? And why did Ava manipulate events so that Bella was born? Why did Ava want Bella to be my protector? What is Grace’s plan? What is Ava’s plan?”

Bella had told me Ava said both she and Grace had a plan.

“All of this matters to Bella,” I said. “It matters to me too. And, you know what, it matters to the Legion as well. Gods and demons are scheming, and all this scheming seems to revolve around me and Bella—around this Earth, this place in the universe. Why did I end up here? Why did my sisters, my brother, and I all end up with Calli? It all means something. Something big.”

“I agree with you, Leda,” said Nero. “I truly do. This is big. Bella believes Thea’s lost grimoire is the key to decoding the mysteries of Thea’s wand.”

Bella had been trying to get Thea’s wand to perform magic, but so far she couldn’t get it to do anything at all, including even turn on again. Ava must have given the wand to Bella for a reason, though none of us had come up with a reasonable guess as to why.

“Yes, finding Thea’s grimoire is important,” Nero said. “But what you’re doing in that classroom is also important, Leda. As you said, you are at the center of this all. Whatever is coming, you are going to lead the charge—or defend against the charge. And to do that, you need powerful allies. Angels.”

“I know.”

“We angels aren’t easily swayed. You are the Angel of the People, Leda, but you aren’t an angel of angels. The other angels have known each other for years, decades, even centuries. You’re an outsider. You need to learn how to persuade angels, how to charm them and inspire them. How to lead them. Because it’s so very clear to me that this is all about you. You will fight the coming threat, but only with a powerful army at your back will you succeed.”

“You know all of the other angels,” I said. “You’re part of the angel in-crowd. Won’t they listen to you?”

“They might—when faced with a common threat. But you need to convince them, not I. Because it will be you leading them. Only you can convince them to follow you.”

“That won’t be easy.”

“No, it won’t,” he agreed. “That’s why you need to be in that classroom, learning strategy, etiquette, and anything else that will help you deal with the other angels. The day will come when you will need angel allies, and it will come soon.”

“Finding Thea’s grimoire is also important,” I insisted.

“It is, and that’s why Harker, Bella, and I are all looking for it.” Nero gave me a crooked smile. “Don’t micromanage, Pandora. You’re not the only one who knows how to hunt for treasure. And the rest of us can tie our shoelaces without your help.”

I chuckled at the image of angels tripping over loose shoelaces. “Ok. So what are you three fearless shoelace-tying heroes up to tomorrow?”

“We’ll start again on the streets of Purgatory early tomorrow morning. Bella and Harker are back at Calli’s house, planning our search.”

I latched on to the most important part of what he’d just said. “Ooh, so Calli had Harker stay for dinner.”

“For dinner. And to grill him,” he said. “Calli had that look in her eyes, the same one she gave me the first time I was over for dinner at your house.”

I laughed.

There was a knock on my front door. I rose from the table and walked across the living room. When I opened the door, I found Ivy and Nerissa on the other side. And Zane was with them.

“So, what’s the scoop, ladies?” I asked.

“Nerissa and I have both cleared your brother, physically and mentally,” Ivy told me.

“His magic is quite odd, a mixture of light and dark,” Nerissa added. “But that’s to be expected after spending two years with the Guardians. Zane said they’d given him their Life potion several times.”

“His mind is sound,” Ivy said. “No sign of manipulation.”

Zane walked past them. “Thank you, ladies.” He turned and bowed to each of them in turn.

Nerissa blushed. Even Ivy looked like she was receptive to my brother’s charms.

“You both have boyfriends,” I told my friends. “And, as for you...” I snatched Zane by the hand and pulled him into the apartment. “… you know you’re only supposed to use your gifts for good, not evil.”

“Sorry, Leda, it’s been two years since I’ve had a chance to flirt with anyone who’s not evil or brainwashed,” Zane replied.

His sheepish shrug was so convincing that even I nearly bought his boyish charm act. Half of the sixteen-to-twenty-year-old ladies in Purgatory had had their heart broken thanks to my brother, and the other half of them were lining up to be his next big mistake.

“I will forgive you,” I told Zane. “This time. But you really must learn to behave yourself. Learn from my stellar example.”

Nerissa snorted, and Ivy choked on her own laughter. They’d followed us into my apartment.

I spun around and gave them a good angel glower. “Excuse me, I will have you know that I am an angel.”

“That’s hardly news, Leda.” Ivy coughed.

I stood up taller. “I’m very dignified.” I turned to Nero so he could back me up.

“You’re the most dignified Angel of Chaos I’ve ever met,” he said silkily.

Ivy was laughing so hard, she started choking again. Nerissa slapped her on the back, her expression amused. But that good mood soured the moment her eyes fell upon the many half-eaten cakes on the table.

“Leda, I do hope you’re eating more than cake,” Nerissa said, her face stern.

“I sure am. I’m eating lots of ice cream too.”

“Have you at least been taking the vitamins I gave you?” Her voice was strained.

“They make me queasy.”

Nerissa sighed, then shot me a long-suffering look.

“Dr. Harding, you need to order her some gummy bear vitamins,” Nero told her.

Her forehead crinkled in confusion. “Gummy bear vitamins?”

“Don’t listen to him,” I said quickly.

Nerissa didn’t say anything more on the matter, but I could tell the wheels of her mind were turning as she tried to figure out how to get more of those unappetizing prenatal vitamins into my body.

“So, you’re free, Zane,” I said after Ivy and Nerissa left my suite. “What do you want to do now?”

“I’d really like to go home,” he said solemnly.

“Great idea. Nero and I will join you. Bella is home from New York. And Gin and Tessa are there, of course. We can all be together again. Can you imagine how epic that will be, after all this time? Calli has been nagging me to visit for dinner, and tonight I will.” I wrapped my arm around my brother. “And I’ll come with the best present ever: our beloved Zane is back.”