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“Anyone can memorize a few names and titles,” Colonel Fireswift continued. “But do you truly understand what those names and titles mean? Do you know how an angel is named?”
“Of course. When a Legion soldier becomes an angel, the First Angel bestows an angelic name on him or her. Windstriker. Fireswift. Sunstorm.”
“Yes, you have already listed angel names, but you have not answered the question. How does the First Angel decide on a name to give the new angel?”
“Uh…” I thought about it—and honestly had no clue. “I guess she picks something that sounds impressive and has something to do with the angel’s powers or something important that they’ve done.”
“Obviously,” he replied impatiently. “But how are angel names constructed?”
“With great care and consideration?” I smiled.
He shook his head like talking to me hurt. “An angel name is a construction of two elements, typically references to martial or magical prowess, or sometimes acts worthy of holy recognition. In my case, ‘fire’ and ‘swift’. For General Windstriker, ‘wind’ and ‘striker’. And for Colonel Sunstorm, ’sun’ and ‘storm’.”
“So you’re saying that an angel name is always a combination of two words?”
“Yes.”
“What about Pandora?” I pointed out.
An agitated crinkle formed between his eyes. “As usual, you’re the exception, the one who broke the rules.” He looked at me like it was all my fault.
“Nyx chose my angel name,” I reminded him.
“She took it from Windstriker’s silly nickname for you. I have never understood why the First Angel picked him to be her favorite.”
“Well, Nero does kick ass pretty effectively,” I said helpfully.
Colonel Fireswift dropped another stack of books onto my desk. “To gain a deeper understanding of angel history, here is some light reading.”
I gaped at the tower of books. “Light reading?”
“Merely an overview. These books are a quick study in angel genealogy.”
“So, angel family trees and stuff?”
I took the book off the top of the stack and started flipping through it. To my chagrin, there was more text than there were pictures. If all the books were like this one, I’d still be working through the stack when I went into labor—about eight months from now.
“Yes,” he said. “Now I suggest you get started. There will be no need to talk. In fact, I insist that you keep your mouth shut.”
And with that said, Colonel Fireswift sat down at the instructor’s desk and flipped open his computer. As I started reading through the first book, I heard him muttering complaints that Nyx had forbade him from setting me on fire.
* * *
While lookingover the Legion’s angel genealogy charts, I noticed something odd. Really odd.
“Hey, Colonel, I found something.”
“You have managed to remain silent for only fifty-six minutes.” His expression when he looked at me was so searing, it nearly burnt my eyebrows off. “I expected better, even from you.”
“Never mind that now. This is important,” I said breezily. “Twenty-four years ago, there were a lot of angels’ offspring born. Like Jace.” I pointed to his family tree.
“I know when my son was born,” he said coolly.
“And all those Legion brats in my initiation group two years ago. There were eight of them, including Jace,” I remembered. “All of those Legion brats were born within a month of each other. Now, that’s just not normal. Angels are notoriously infertile, but then, suddenly, eight of them all had a kid at roughly the same time?” I looked at him. “How many Legion brats are in a typical initiation group? One?”
“If there are even that many. Most Legion initiation groups have no angel offspring in them,” Colonel Fireswift said.
“But then, two years ago, there were eight at once. You have to admit that’s weird.”
