Angels' Blood

Elena s instincts were screaming at her to grab the knife in her boot, do some damage and get the hell out, but she forced herself to stay in place. The truth was, she wouldn t make it more than two feet before Raphael broke every single bone in her body.         

It was exactly what he d done to a vampire who d thought to betray him.

That  vampire had been found in the centre of Times Square. He d still been alive. And he d still been trying to scream No! Raphael, no! But his voice had been a rasp by then, his jaw hanging on by stringlike tendons, his flesh missing in places.

Elena out of the country on a hunt had seen the news footage after the event. She knew the vamp had lain there in agony for three hours before being picked up by a pair of angels. Everyone in New York, hell, everyone in the country, had known he was there, but no one had dared help him, not with Raphael s mark blazing on his forehead. The archangel had wanted the punishment witnessed, wanted to remind people of who and what he was. It had worked. Now the mere mention of his name evoked visceral fear.

But Elena wouldn t crawl, not for anyone. It was a choice she d made the night her father had told her to get on her knees and beg, and maybe, maybe, he d accept her back into the family.
Elena hadn t spoken to her father in a decade.

You should have a care, Raphael said into the unnatural silence.

She didn t collapse in relief the air continued to hang heavy with the promise of menace. I don t like to play games.

Learn. He settled back in his chair. You will live a very short life if you expect only honesty.

Sensing the danger had passed for now she unclenched her fingers with an effort of will. The force of the blood rushing back into them was painful in its extremity. I didn t say I expected honesty. People lie. Vampires lie. Even She caught herself.

Surely

Nalini Singh is passionate about writing. Though she’s traveled as far afield as the deserts of China and the temples of Japan, it is the journey of the imagination that fascinates her the most. She’s beyond delighted to be able to follow her dream as a writer.

Nalini lives and works in beautiful New Zealand. For contact details and to find out more about the Psy-Changeling series, please visit her website.