If I'd been ethereal, I would've been able to do just that. It was one of my gifts. Not as a human, though. "Do you know anything about his curse?" I asked.
Sandalphon shook his head. "No, and at first I had no idea Lucifer would live this long, either."
"How did you know our life spans would be long enough to bear a child?" I asked.
Sandalphon smiled. "It is my gift to know approximately how long a human will live. Some things can and do change that, of course. Humans have free will and their fates change all the time. But you and Lucian still have many years to go. I don't know why this life cycle is longer than any you've had before, but it is not my place to question the will of God."
I put my face in my hands. "Dude. Question next time." My voice was muffled behind my fingers.
Michael chuckled. "Yeah, if you'd said something to Gabe when you first realized they had a long life span, he might've been able to prevent a lot of problems."
"I didn't know Lucifer was cursed," Sandalphon said. "Can I help?"
I shook my head. "No. And you damn well better not say anything to anyone."
With a sigh, I waved my hand at him, dismissing him. He didn't wait around for Michael to help, he disappeared with wide eyes.
"Of all the luck," I muttered. Suddenly starving, I stood from the table and opened the refrigerator door, staring inside without seeing a damn thing that looked good. Putting the remaining lunch meat that I hadn’t fed to Jellybean away.
My emotions overwhelmed me, the hormones from the pregnancy and shocking news more than I could take. Throwing my head back, I wailed. Tears streamed down my face in a quick rush, soaking my cheeks before Michael could scramble out of his chair and rush to my side.
"Oh, Lil. I'm sorry." He picked me up and carried me to the couch. He stayed quiet, with me next to him on the couch. When my sobs subsided, Michael smoothed my hair back from my face and smiled at me. "You're blotchy."
I snorted. "It would be a good time to do a blog about covering red skin."
I hiccupped and burrowed into his shoulder. "It was just a lot, knowing that I could've had children over the years."
"Yeah, but what about raising them? You wouldn't have been able to."
He patted my back awkwardly.
"I don't know. Maybe once I experience handing a baby over to an adoptive mother, I'll change my mind, but right now it seems a little bit better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."
He hummed his agreement. "We'll have to petition the Big Man if he will even listen. See if he'll lift his edict from Sandalphon and let things happen as they happen. He was always all about meddling in human affairs, but lately, he's been more standoffish, so he may surprise us."
We sat like that for a few more minutes while I calmed down, but the sound of the garage door opening startled both of us. Michael stood and winked at me. "Back when I can."
He disappeared, and in my state, Michael leaving caused me to dissolve into a fresh round of tears.
Jellybean, who had laid on the ground at my feet, put his head in my lap until Lucian came in and heard me crying. Soon I was curled up in his lap, trying to explain it was just a hormonal fit, and I was fine.
He didn't buy it, but he also didn't press. I stayed on his lap until I fell asleep.
Chapter 15
Gabriel
I stoodbefore the gate separating the between and Hell. Fallen were spread out all around me, eerily silent as they stared up at the dark obsidian gate. Each of us had our wings visible behind us, and the glow that hovered around all angels and Fallen lighted the darkness of this realm. It was rare to see this many Fallen gathered in one place, but the rumors couldn’t be stopped.
The gate was falling.
Sariel stood at my side, and his unspoken irritation was almost as palpable as the tension among the Fallen.
“We’re working on it,” I finally said, irritated that I even felt the need to explain myself.
Sariel sighed. “Low-level demons are being seen all over the earth. Angels are working around the clock to keep them from hurting humans.”
Yeah, I’d been receiving the reports. I knew how bad it was.
