Beatrix's eyes went wide. "An angel? What? Are you sure about that?"
Athena never looked away from the chained figure. Her left eye still glowed faintly gold. "I have no doubt. My divine vision is a gift from heaven, remember? It cuts through illusions and secrets."
"More than that, it knows the difference between angels and demons the way we know day from night. Right now, that giant woman burns like a white flame from the higher realms. She is one of them."
Beatrix stood frozen in place. Velma's mouth hung open. The Countess had ruled Fondel for years after her husband's death. She had faced rebel nobles, monster raids, and the endless hunger of a world short on men.
Yet Velma had never once heard of angels walking the soil of Promiscua. Faith itself had grown thin across the continent. In the Kingdom of Concord, where Fondel County sat as a quiet corner, people only whispered of heaven and the old hosts.
