Page 39 of Angels Don’t Date

“She’s in a private room with company,” he said, frowning like he didn’t trust me.

“Can I pop in for just a second? I won’t take long, I promise!” I batted my lashes at him.

He tilted his head as he studied me. “I saw your show tonight. You’re still rejecting the angel, hm? I suppose you need some help with that. Second floor, fourth door on the left. If they kill you, that’s on you.”

I beamed at him. “Thanks so much!”

I hurried to the inside hall and the stairs that went up around the open central courtyard with tables and fountains and other charming things. The smell of hot rice and fresh sushi made my mouth water. Maybe I’d actually get sushi on my way out.

I hurried up the stairs, and then when I got to the right door, I opened it and went in like I was a suicidal idiot, exactly like Richard.

Three swords touched my throat as I stood, one foot in the room, the other out, hand on the doorknob, and very, very aware of the death about to skewer me with those gleaming blades. An angel was on the end of every one. Cold. Incorruptible. Ready to slay the evil vampire.

I cleared my throat but didn’t move a muscle. “Sorry to interrupt, but I wondered if I could have a word with the Commander.”

The blades pressed closer, but nothing quite broke the skin.

“Yes, yes!” the music master, Mirabel cried, pulling one of the angels back so I was only two swords to death. “Come in! You’re an answer to my prayers! I was desperately hoping that someone would interrupt my father from his lecture about how I needed to get on with giving him grandchildren. Seriously!” She yanked another angel back and then pulled me around the last sword, dragging me to a chair with a plate in front of it, then she took another chair from the edge of the room and sat down next to the Commander, so both of them could stare at me.

The Commander looked like Richard, only older, wiser, and epically more powerful. It wasn’t the power of greater magic or might, but the power of responsibility and duty. Purpose was power for an angel.

“I’ll make it quick,” I said, tugging up my sleeve and holding out my arm so they could see the rune mark on my inner elbow. “Can you please undo this?”

The Commander stared at my face for another moment before he bent down to peer at my arm. With a shake of his head he pulled out a pair of spectacles, placed them on his nose and then continued to look at my elbow.

“That’s the prettiest life-binding I’ve ever seen,” Mirabel said. “Most of them are basic stamps, but that’s a work of art. It must have taken hours.”

I shrugged. “I guess. I don’t know how long it took.”

The Commander’s eyes snapped to mine, glowing with a hint of gold around the nimbus of his eye. “You don’t know how long it took? You’re saying that my son life-bound you when you were unconscious? That’s a deed worthy of death!” His voice boomed.

Death?! I flinched and held up my hands. “No, no, I wasn’t unconscious, just asleep.” And he knew that his son was responsible without me telling him, because no one else could have done it.

Mirabel’s eyes widened. “My brother snuck into your room like a creepy stalker and did spells on you? Definitely worthy of death. Maybe dismemberment first.”

I shook my head rapidly. What was wrong with these people? Didn’t they love Richard at least as much as I did? I wanted him to face consequences, but not death! That was the whole point of this, to save him from linking his life with mine and ending up dead. “No, not like that. I was napping with him in a boat. His feathers are really soft, and the sunshine was so nice, and he was so warm, so I dozed off. I mean, the boat was rocking, and I’d recently had my heart shot and healed, so I needed rest and recovery. He didn’t do anything inappropriate other than the runes.”

“Life-binding,” the Commander corrected with a slight smile. “No, not inappropriate, just illegal. Peculiar that you’d trust someone you’ve known for a week to nap with them. Aren’t vampires usually more wary than that?”

And now I felt like an idiot. What was I thinking napping with Richard when I knew he had personality issues? “I’m a born vampire. I also tend to be trusting, but it’s not like that, either. We’ve been best friends online for five years.”

“Best friends online?” Mirabel blinked at me. “I didn’t know Richard knew what online was.”

I beamed at her, hoping to diffuse some of their willingness to execute their own family. “Oh, sure. He apparently uses his main account to lure assassins and conspirators, but he also has this pet baking account for his own personal enjoyment. You don’t know about his animal baking?”

“The pans,” the Commander said with a short nod. “I certainly know about the pans. He’s filled up the cottage with pans. And he’s started putting them around in the other rooms. He needs his own house. I keep telling him that he needs his own house, but he says he’s not home enough to bother. But the pans…” He shook his head looking mournful. He narrowed his eyes on me, but not angry, more trying to understand as he leaned his hands on the table and peered at me. “So you’ve known him for five years as this pet baker? Did you know he was my son?”

I shrugged. I didn’t want to tell them that he’d been lying for five years, because lying is death, and all that, but then I’d be lying. Lying to the Commander seemed like a good way to die.

“I thought he was a girl, SunRae.”

“Because otherwise, you could have been doing duets together all this time,” Mirabel said, also leaning forward. It was a bit like staring down two vultures. Lion vultures.

I nodded and smiled at her. Time to change the subject. “I wonder if I could talk to you about next week’s musical theme. I mean, after the Commander removes the life-binding. The baking was a disaster, and not just because of the poisoning. These people all are in desperate need of direction.”

“Other than Fellicci and my brother. You should get Pearly White to sing, too.” She started smiling wickedly. “I’m already getting bad ideas. Can I plug Singsong’s musical academy?”

“Of course! Anyway, can you please remove it?” I asked, focusing on the Commander, Richard’s father.