Page 34 of Feathers and Scales
A snort tickled her throat. “Yes. In fact, we met because he stole an Armand-Hippolyte-Louis Fizeau publication about the speed of light from me. He took it out of my bag when we passed in the street. I chased after him, but I found him understanding it. At first, I adopted him as my protégé, but his perceptive eye didn’t take long to realize I wasn’t normal. He harassed me for nearly a year before I told him the truth.” A soft smile played on her lips. She had been stubborn, but Simon had been more so.
“How long have you known him?”
The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She had no reason to fear his innocent query, but the explanation would spur questions, and she didn’t trust him with the answers about Miracles just yet.
She faced the window, hoping he wouldn’t catch her shifting eyes. “He was twenty-two when I found him, so awhile.”
“Hmm…”
His tone gave nothing away, and he didn’t press. Instead, he asked, “So, what was your question?”
“Are your scales as strong as diamonds?” She fought to keep the frown from her face. The thought had been troubling her ever since she read it.
“Why do you want to know?” His gaze dropped to her nails as she dug them into the journal binding, scraping the soft-with-age leather. “Does the idea bother you?”
She pulled her legs in closer. He read her so easily. “Answer the question, and I’ll answer yours.”
“We have described the heavier scales flanking our organs as such. I’m sure some dragons have tested the theory.”
Her envy rampaged, sending heat up her back. She settled into the plush leather of her seat and breathed out to calm her mind. With a clearer head, she spoke freely about her kind, knowing she wasn’t giving away any harmful information. “Where I was before we fell, light was more solid than it is here, and we used it to strike down our enemies. On Earth, our light can act like a laser, though it requires intense energy and concentration. Its cutting ability depends upon the color of the light.”
“Violet is the strongest and red the weakest? Simon’s manga mentioned your Spirit Spectrum like the rainbow.”
“Yes. The Fallen had traditions before the Archfiends, and one was to use our power to cut, blend, and mold swords from a mineral matching our light. Since I have yellow, I polished sphalerite into a weapon. Diamond belongs to the strongest power designation—black. Something Simon didn’t mention in the manga.”
Why is he so easy to talk to?At her pause, he lifted his eyebrows in question.
“The beings who wield black, for lack of a better human term, are the Archangels. The Supreme’s top generals.” She intertwined her fingers over the book. “They took a form much like ours but offered us no aid or answers. They only mocked us and showed off their power with the diamond blades. To this day, I don’t believe an Archfiend has ever reached an Archangel-equivalent light energy.”
“There’s a singular case in a previous Centurion’s records where a Tattered One had a violet light,” Daxton said. “It took an entire cinder of dragons to stop it. I can’t imagine one with black.”
“How do you terminate them?”
The tendons in his arms tensed, and a pained expression crossed his face. “We petrify them with our dragon’s black flame.”
A flame great enough to destroy Archfiends. No wonder demons fear them.“It seems you are Archangels in disguise.” The words tasted bitter. She’d never had a strong power. Before falling, she didn’t mind her position as a supplier in the angel militia, but she had her moments of greed.
Daxton chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“Just the idea of a giant lizard being compared to an Archangel.” He smiled. “Trust me, there’s nothing that civil or well-mannered about our beast side.”
Her heartbeat quickened and her lips threatened to smile. She hadn’t expected his humbling humor. Learning about the dragons had preoccupied her so much, she’d never learned about Daxton other than the deductions she’d made about him.
The link between them whispered of a loyal man. Protective. Caring. Charismatic. Familiar sensations that had enveloped her in a deep embrace when she’d been in his Spirit Cavity. She stared at the passing scenery outside until he leaned forward, crinkling the chair. Pop music from the radio filled the vehicle. After flipping through the channels, he settled on a talk station giving details about stock exchanges.It seems Daxton Dyamur has his hands in Wall Street.
Izzy tuned out the listing of pointless numbers while she struggled to concentrate on Cornelius’s journal. When Daxton slowed and traveled over a large bump, she glanced up. They pulled into a small municipal airport.
He parked the SUV and shifted toward her. “I know I’m late in saying this.”
She tilted her head, speculating why he murmured the words with a flirtatious grin.
“But you can consider this dragon your diamond blade.”
“All right, Mr. Dyamur and precious cargo I have yet to learn the name of, this is your captain speaking. We’re going to be taking off for New Hampshire, so please find your seats and secure your belts.”
Izzy’s first ride in the private jet, while she’d been recovering within Sarah, had shown Daxton’s wealth. But the blemish-free leather-and-oak interior of the plane signaled more wealth than she’d first suspected.
