Half-Orcs: Book 06 - The Prison of Angels Read Online Free

he sat leaning against a tree with a book in his lap.
    “Yes, Tess?”
    Tessanna came around the side of their cabin as the ax fell, splitting another log. Her long black hair ran all the way down to her waist. A single braid looped around her forehead, pulling her bangs away from her face. Despite her plain brown dress she looked like a goddess to Qurrah, with her pale skin, slender body, and eyes so black only a hint of white showed at the edges. The only mar upon her perfection were her arms, laced with dozens of scars, most of them self-inflicted.
    “Someone’s coming,” she said.
    “Well then, let’s meet him at the road,” he said, putting his book away.
    “He’s not using the road.”
    Qurrah let out a sigh. The arrival of an angel may not always bring bad news, but it did mean complications. They were stretched too thin across Mordan to dally with trivial things.
    “Then let him come to us,” he said, taking her hand. “You aren’t nervous, are you?”
    Tessanna smirked at him.
    “With the two of us together? It would take many, many more angels to make me nervous…and only if I had a reason. Do we have a reason to be nervous?”
    “It could be sad news, perhaps a death in the family.”
    “I’d know before they.”
    Qurrah took her hand and together they walked to the front of their cabin. He believed her. She’d always had a strange connection to his family, especially since the tragedy with Aullienna. The thought stung him, and he forced his mind to think of other things. If something bad had happened to Harruq, Aurelia, or especially his daughter Aubrienna, he’d have heard of it long before an angel could make the flight from Mordeina.
    Mind distracted, he almost missed the landing of the angel, who softly curled about in the air so his feet touched ground with nary a sound. His hair was short, brown, and his green eyes sparkled with gold.
    “Welcome to our meager home, Azariah,” Qurrah said. “You risk much coming to me. Your kind isn’t welcome within Ker’s borders.”
    “I come as an ambassador, not an enforcer,” Azariah said. “Besides, when I am in the sky, who in Dezrel might harm me?”
    “I could if I still had my wings,” Tessanna said, picking at the hem of her dress. “But I don’t need them anymore. At least I hope not.”
    “No angel would dare pretend to know the goddess’s intentions,” Azariah said, turning to her. “But your power may have waned for a reason, and it might return with equal reason. Celestia would not leave you helpless should a need arise.”
    She smiled at him so beautifully, but Qurrah sensed the daggers hiding behind it.
    “Helpless?” she said, and a brief flicker of flame passed from her palm, across her knuckles, and back into her fingers, where she snuffed it. “I have forfeited my wings, and the power of a goddess is no longer mine, but do not think me helpless, angel. It would be poor sport watching you try to fly with your wings ablaze.”
    Qurrah put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed as Azariah dipped his head low to show he meant no disrespect.
    “It is wrong of me to be so careless with my words,” the angel said. “Especially since you and I are in such similar situations.”
    Qurrah heard the thunk of an ax, and he turned around to see his pet flailing at the log, which he’d failed to fully split. Frowning, he waved a hand at it, ceasing all functions until he could deal with it later. When he turned back he caught Azariah frowning at him.
    “Your power still wanes?” Qurrah asked, trying to prevent a conversation he had no patience for.
    “It does,” Azariah said, walking toward their cabin. “It is strange, for I cannot decipher the reason. Not all of our kind suffer like I. The warriors and enforcers still retain their abilities, limited as they are. We can still calm troubled minds and sense truth from lie, but more and more our priests struggle to have our prayers answered. It is a humbling thing, Qurrah, to