“I told you, I’m not a demon.And no, I did not see anygriminions, and from the sound of them, I’m glad Ididn’t.”She eyed him askance.“You say they’re your friends?”
“Well, not friends, exactly.More like coworkers.They werein the area.”
She was about to ask what their job was and who Razr workedfor when the oven timer went off again and the phone rang simultaneously.
“Do you mind getting the food out of the oven while I getthe phone?”she asked him.“I’ll just be a minute.”
It was Sylvia from her shop with a question regarding thepricing of a couple of rare stones from Australia.By the time Jedda worked outthe kinks and got off the phone, Razr had set the table and dished up.
“This looks amazing,” he said as they dug in.After a bite,he made a sound of ecstasy that had her remembering what they’d done in thebedroom.“Itisamazing.”
“It’s nothing special.”She shrugged, outwardly nonchalant,but inside, her heart did alittle happydanceatthe compliment.“Do you cook?”
“Nah.”He reached for a Yorkshire pudding.“I mostly eatcafeteria food.”
Cafeteria food?She studied him, realizing she knewabsolutely nothing about him.She’d brought him home, cared for him, slept withhim, fed him...and he was a complete mystery.
If this were a movie, it would either be a fun romanticcomedy or thesetupfor a slasher film.She swalloweddryly and got up to fetch something to drink, taking note of the knives next tothe stove.As if they’d be any help if he decided to chop her up.The weaponshe wore on his body made a mockery of her little cooking knives.
Not to mention that he was a fallen angel, probably capableof melting her in her socks.
She fetched a couple of sparkling waters from the fridge andsat down.“So why is it that you eat a lot of cafeteria food?”
Razr took a break from shoveling down shepherd’s pie tounscrew the top off his bottle of water.“I live on sort of a campus.It’s atraining facility for a special kind of angel calledMemitim.”She must have looked as confused as she felt, because he added, “Memitimare basically earthbound human guardians.Theyhave toearn their way into Heaven.”
“Oh.Well, that must suck.Are you––wereyou––oneof theseMemitim?”
He shook his head.“I was born in Heaven, a full-fledgedangel.RightnowI’m helping to train theMemitim.”
Jedda gave herself a moment to process that.She’dreally nevergiven the Heavenly realm much thought, and ithad certainly never occurred to her that there would be more than one kind ofangel, let alone earthbound ones.
“You know, you’re not what I would have expected from afallen angel.”
“Yeah?”He paused with the mouth of the water bottle nearhis lips.“What did you expect?”
“Shrike.”She spread her napkin in her lap.“I mean, otherthan you, he’s the only fallen angel I’ve ever met.He’s what I would haveexpected.You don’t seem as...damaged.”
“I’m...not sure how to respond to that.”He smiled, hischarm proving her point.“I feel like I need to defend myself and insist thatI’m all kinds of damaged.”He tipped the bottle to his lips, and she becamemesmerized at the way his throat worked with each swallow, his supple skinrippling over straining tendons.
Jedda had to resist fanning her face.“Shrike called youan Unfallen.Is that why you’re not like him?”
He smiled, amused.“No.I’m not like him because I’m not aTrue Fallen.I’m not evil.”He put down the nearly empty bottle.“And you,” hesaid, watching her curiously, “you say you’re an elf.”
“Iaman elf.”She tucked her hair behind onepointy ear so he couldn’t miss it.Shedidn’t miss the way he’dchanged the subject.Now she was super curious about his damage.
His mouth quirked in amusement.“A lot of demons have pointyears.”
“I’m not a demon.”How insulting.And how many times did shehave to tell him that?Annoyed, she reached for her bottle of water, but in herhaste, she knocked it over, striking the marble napkin holder.The bottleshattered, spilling foamy seltzer everywhere.“Dammit.”She reached for anapkin, but once again her haste cost her, and she sliced her arm on a brokenpiece of glass.
Blood splashed on the table, and before she could mop it up,tiny emeralds, citrine, lapis, and a dozen other gemstones formed in thesplatters of blood.
“That’s...interesting,” Razr murmured.
“It’s nothing.”She swiped her hand through the mess, andinstantly the gems disappeared into her palm.“I’ll get this cleaned up––”
“Wait.”He seized her wrist and pulled her hand close.“Whatjust happened?”Gently, he pressed a napkin against her wound, which wasalready healing, but was also spilling out a couple more gemstones.“What’sgoing on, Jedda?”
At his no-nonsense tone, soft but steely, her breath burnedin her throat and her blood burned in her veins.Gem elves did everything theycould to hide this secret.If people knew the truth about them, they’d behuntedintoextinction, slaughtered for the wealththey carried within their bodies.
