She frowns, her fingers tapping her cup. “Then why did they all look the same to me?”
“They’re mirage demons.”
Now she raises her brows at me, her expression rather incredulous. I smile, a short laugh falling from me as I say, “Basically, mirage demons can present themselves in whatever form best suits their current agenda.”
Now she gapes at me, a look of horror on her face as she says, “What? How?”
Shrugging, I respond, “It works well with the theory that people only see what they want to see.”
“So not everyone can see them?”
I nod. “The vast majority of humans have no vision into the other worlds.”
“Is that just because they don’t believe in it?”
“Sort of,” I reply. I go back to massaging her foot now that she’s once again relaxed. “But even the people who believe in ghosts don’t believe in a high enough level to see the world with any real truth.”
“And you?”
“What about me?”
She gives me an impatient look. “Are you human?”
“No,” I answer calmly, shaking my head slowly. She frowns slightly, and I squeeze her foot as I explain, “I’m a protector, a fallen angel who managed to build myself back up from the hell I was shoved into.”
“Fallen?” she asks slowly. “Fallen from where?”
“From the time before now.”
Vivian raises a brow, her lips twisting as she watches me. I expect her to ask for a more detailed explanation, but instead she asks, “What do you protect?”
“Hell.”
Her brows lower into a deep scowl. “What does Hell need protecting from?”
“Everything,” I reply shortly. She goes to respond, but I lift a hand, stopping her imminent demand for further explanation. “Obviously, it’s not as simple as that, but it’s not important right now.”
She squints at me but then nods and looks away, suddenly falling silent. I allow her to remain lost in her thoughts, giving her some time to process this new information, fully aware it could possibly put her in a tailspin. After a few minutes, she asks, “And Gemma? Where does she fall amongst the demons?”
I glare daggers at the mention of her. “She’s probably the worst of them all.”
Vivian scowls, her hands crossing over her chest defensively. “Hey, my sis?—”
“You’re gonna need to get rid of that mentality right now,” I interrupt angrily. “She may have played the role of your sister for your entire life, but let me assure you that’s exactly what it was. A role. And I think if you took a step back and assessed your relationship objectively, you’d see what a duplicitous, evil bitch she is.”
She snaps her mouth shut, her lips press together, and I wait to see if she will say anything further. When she doesn’t, I add, “She has the same exact capabilities as that table full of men you saw. So, whatever you think you saw of her, that was intentional. Intentional and not at all based in reality.”
“She was in a cage. She looked broken and desperate.”
Anger boils up inside me, mixed with disgust at the thought of that demon having Vivian in her clutches for so long. “That’s not at all how it was. She’s no more a prisoner than Seamus is.”
Her brows raise, and her lips quirk. “Are you saying Seamus has the same power as a big demon?”
I laugh lightly. “Pretty close. He certainly runs the show.”
She smiles, some of the tension easing off of her. Then she asks softly, “So if that wasn’t her true form, then what was?”
“She appeared to you in a manner that she knew would appeal to your affection for her because she wanted you to come closer. She wanted you to try to rescue her so she could get her hooks in you, so she could continue to manipulate you.”
