Angel Of Solace Read Online Free PDF

seared in Avrick’s mind. It did seem impossible; he had spent weeks convincing himself it was. Sariel had been devout even for a priest. Whenever he had come to her chambers late at night with his troubles, she had always been willing to answer them patiently, both as a friend and a mentor. Even when they were younger and more rebellious, when he bombarded her with question after question about the Sacra’thar, she had never grown angry or impatient.
    But how many of her teachings had been poison? The priests said she left quietly, but his other friends insisted that had not been the case. They claimed she had bickered openly with the other Angels, and some insisted there had been actual fighting. He found that particularly unlikely…
    “You need to prepare yourself, Avrick,” the older man said softly. “We will find her and any others she has corrupted, and you must be willing to do what is necessary.”
    “You doubt me?”
    Vaelen smiled. “Yes, as I know you doubt yourself. But I have faith that will change when you see the life she has chosen.”
    Avrick wondered if that were true, and a part of him—a large part—hoped it wasn’t. This was not a mission of mercy or conversion they were going on. There was only one punishment for a betrayal of this magnitude: Sariel would be dragged back to the temple and burned alive until the spirit left her body. The Angels would keep her conscious in the flames until the spirit was exorcised and could be reclaimed. It was not something that happened often, but Vaelen had told him that he had witnessed a similar exorcism as a younger man. It had lasted for nearly two hours, and there were times he still woke hearing the screams.
    “I’m sure I will,” Avrick whispered.
    Vaelen eyed him for a few seconds, then stood and clapped him on the back. “Come. Our ship leaves in a few hours, and we need to be ready.”
    Avrick nodded, glancing again to the mosaic, his eyes lost in its flames.
    ***
    Damien awoke with a start. His muscles were stiff and he could barely move, and as he experimentally flexed his hand he found his fingers pressing against something soft and smooth…
    “How do you feel?”
    His eyes shot open wide and he nearly wrenched his back when he jerked his head upwards. He was lying face down on a bed, and a woman sat upright next to him. He realized belatedly his hand was kneading the thin skirt covering her thigh and he quickly pulled it away.
    “What…?” The memories flooded back over him; he had been ambushed on board the Chevalier and knocked unconscious. He recalled a brief struggle, and then a flash of light before seeing…her?
    Yes, it was the same woman who had whispered into his thoughts and then barged into the room to save his life. But in his memory, she had been sheathed in a silvery light, glowing like—
    An Angel.
    It took him a moment to work that through and realize what it must have meant: despite his best efforts, the Covenant had found him. She hadn’t been saving him on that ship; she had just been there to drag him away before anyone else could. But this didn’t feel like a prison or a brig…
    “It’s all right; you’re safe for now,” she soothed, smiling warmly and placing a hand on his shoulder. As her skin touched his, he felt the empathic spark crackle between them, her emotions suddenly washing over his and threatening to drown him…
    “Try not to move too quickly,” she warned.
    His first impulse was to flee, as shameful as that was, but the pain in his chest quickly scuttled that notion. His second was to fight, but his wounds wouldn’t make that any easier, and if she really was an Angel, there was absolutely nothing he could do to get away.
    Damien turned his head and let his eyes slowly bring her into focus—and his breath immediately caught in his throat. She was like nothing he had ever seen before. Her skin was pale, as if it had never once been touched by sunlight, and her irises were an opaque black