“Do not judge what you cannot understand,” he warned.
“Fair, but I’d remind you the same.”
He seemed to accept that and showed real emotion before glancing between us and meeting my gaze. “You are the first I cannot see through your glamour and that raises questions I should demand the answers to. I should.”
“But?” I swallowed a tired sigh when he didn’t answer. “Is Dylan right and there’s one thing that you just can’t let go? If that’s it—just ask that then.”
He ran his tongue over his teeth, clearly not liking that I wouldn’t just bend to his will.
Except it wasn’t just that. It was more than that.
“You can’t even speak it because you can’t believe it in your soul,” I whispered, my heart hurting for him. “You look as wrecked as I would feel if Kyria or Elijah had gone off the rails and someone told me that. It wouldn’t—there would never be a world where I could accept or reconcile with that.”
Bingo. It was all in his eyes.
I swallowed loudly. “It was my portal in their house. That’s what they’re protecting, but—I didn’t see the beginning. Yes, I arrived—”
“Jasmine,” Dylan growled.
“It’s hisbrother, one he loved,” I told him. “There is no world where—I would never stop if it was Elijah.” I let out a slow breath and met the angel’s gaze. “I came through the portal and the fight was going on. I sent the message for help and others came. We helped. They did not lie that they handled it.”
The angel crossed his arms over his chest and bobbed his head. “They just left you off the report.”
“Yes. And I’m sorry for your loss, but he—I’veseenpeople out of their minds and feral. I cannot…” I blew out a harsh breath. “When he saw a demon in the house of an angel like I was welcome there, it was like another layer of feral rage that—” I sniffled and blinked back tears.
“Not all of us feel that way,” the angel muttered.
“You misunderstand,” Dylan mumbled.
I nodded that he was right. “David, Nathanial, Sebastian—all of them—all they cared about was getting me back out. Lucifer came for me and—he did most of that damage to himself in his madness that angels had made friends with demons. It was all insanity. I’m sorry for your loss, but I couldn’t lose them and I don’t regret calling in the help.”
“No, I don’t suppose you do,” he said quietly. He opened his mouth but then closed it, shaking his head. “You are so young and even your ancients are young to me, but when you live so long, you blink and centuries have passed. A blip and one sibling or another has slid so far off the path that—free will is truly the double-edged sword when we are denied so much.”
“I definitely have a lot of complaints about the way things were set up,” I agreed.
Sadness was in his eyes when he met my gaze again. “Or were changed. You weren’t wrong, young Nephilim. You were originally Nephilim.” He nodded when I couldn’t hide my shock. “Originally.”
“What changed?” Dylan asked.
“Pride,” I answered. “Someone’s pride is what always ruins things and hurts others. What pushes people to make others below them or… It’s always pride.”
“Yes, but not solely, and honestly I was not party to it. It was before many of us and that knowledge erased. I would suspect those who were called as such were erased as well and that is why we were then created and not told we could father children.” He swallowed loudly. “Thank you for answering my questions.”
I knew I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, but I was still worried at this development. “How do you know I’m telling the truth if you can’t get a read on me?” I nodded when he shot Dylan a look.
“His fear thinking of that day says it all,” he answered directly. “Whatever you went through or how it played out—it wasn’t nefarious and Lucifer was truly that problem. He’s not worried about you getting caught or… There’s more, but clearly that has more to do with you not wanting him here, and I am not here to get to know you or be your friend.”
Well, that was good to know.
“They won’t be punished, right?” I checked.
“No, and I will make it clear that I investigated more as well, but they are playing with fire gathering more angels of their level to their cause,” he warned, giving me a hard look. “Many do not want you and yours to return to the status of Nephilim, which was before that level of angel even came about. Some will take them as trying to bring that about.”
“That’s not what’s happening since they didn’t even tell me about that,” I promised him. “They saw how much we weredoing for each other and how we could have a community like other supes instead of the lies—the shit you even said when you arrived. Why shouldn’t it be like that or—”
“You are all fight and passion, young warrior,” he muttered with another sad look. “You will burn bright but burn out if you do not pace yourself better. Many of us know that from experience.”
And then he was gone. Not just hidden like before, but somehow I knew he was gone.
