Gena Showalter - Beauty Awakened

He frowned as he moved his hand to his scalp, and sure enough, there was stubble on his scalp, tickling his palm. “That’s impossible.”

“Nope. Clerici isn’t fond of some of the rules the Council came up with. Rules that go against the Most High’s desires. So, he’s cut a few. He even ruled that all sacrifices for the Water be returned.”

As Koldo moved, something dug into his back. He reached around, felt—

“Wing buds,” he said, his shock deepening. His wings were growing back, too. He would no longer be bald like his father. He would once again be able to soar through the skies, taking his woman wherever she wished to go. “What could be better?”

A slow grin lifted the corners of her lips, but her amusement didn’t last long. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you have to be told. Bjorn is missing. Thane and Xerxes are going crazy as they search for him. Zacharel and the others are helping. And some guy named Kane was spotted in New York, but then he vanished again, and it’s got everyone in a tizzy.”

Kane. One of the Lords of the Underworld, and the keeper of the demon of disaster. He’d been lost in hell for weeks, though rumors of his torture had surfaced. The warrior’s friends had come to the Army of Disgrace, asking for help locating him. A promise had been issued, but no one had had any luck, until now.

“I must help my people,” Koldo said. “With Kane, and with Bjorn.” And the six demons responsible for Germanus’s death were still out there. Finding and dealing with them, before they could infect all of humanity, had to be a top priority.

“I had a feeling you’d say that. That’s why I scheduled you a meeting with Zacharel in...two hours. He’ll get you caught up on all the details I missed.”

That was wonderful, but... “How did you know I would awaken?”

She grinned slowly. “A feeling. So, what are we going to do while we wait?”

Wonderful woman. Precious woman.

His woman.

He wound his arms around her, and rolled her to her back. “Words without action mean nothing. I’ll show you.”

And he did.