“What’s the difference between a fallen angel and a demon?” I crossed my legs and leaned back in the rickety chair. “I thought they were the same thing.”
“Ah.” She finished her cereal, pushing the bowl away. “No, humans have that whole part wrong. Angels and demons are entirely different species from another realm. And they’ve been at war for centuries.”
“And fallen angels are…?”
“Angels who end up here. They’ve either abandoned their realm or have been kicked out of it for breaking the rules.” She palmed the table and leaned forward. “I know why you’re asking this. You’re wondering if it’s even possible that you’re one of them. As crazy as it sounds, it is. If your parents were two fallen angels, you could have been born here, same as everyone else.”
“My parents are definitely not fallen angels,” I said with a bitter laugh. “Trust me.”
Her brows arched. “No offense, Mia, but how do you know? Would you be able to tell? It sounds like things have been kept hidden from you. Maybe they were a part of that.”
The question caught me off guard. Obviously, nothing about my parents evensuggestedthey were fallen angels. My mother was an alcoholic, and my father had been absent for most of my life, always off on another business trip. My grades had never been good enough for either of them. My failed attempt at running track had put disappointment into their eyes. I’d succeeded at dancing, but they didn’t like how much time I had dedicated to it.It’s sinful, moving that way, my mother had often said.
And yet she drank herself unconscious multiple nights a week.
“They’re nothing like the fallen angels I’ve met,” I said, thinking of Suriel and Rafael. Those two were opposite sides of a coin, but still very much the same coin. There was nothing human about either of them, and it showed.
“Maybe someone hid them like they hid you.”
“Maybe,” I murmured, frowning.
Just as I opened my mouth to ask another question, Az strode into the kitchen. Caught off guard, my cheeks flushed with heat. Like always, he looked impossibly impeccable. His smooth dark suit highlighted his muscular physique, and the stubble scattered across his jawline was trimmed and neat. There were no bags beneath his eyes. No sagging shoulders. He looked ready to take on the world.
Me, meanwhile…well, I was a fucking mess.
“You’re not ready to go?” he asked me, forgoing any pleasantries, just like always.
I simmered beneath his gaze. “Go where?”
“I see.” He sighed. “Valac didn’t tell you.”
“There you go.” Priyanka took a sip of her coffee. “Valac strikes again with his communication issues.”
Az’s eyes darkened. “We have an appointment at nine, and we can’t be late.” His gaze swept across my face. I hadn’t removed my makeup last night, and I could feel the mascara clumped to my lids. Lovely. “How quickly can you be ready to go?”
I motioned at the sequinned dress. “Um, never? I’m not wearing this, and I don’t have any other clothes here.”
He frowned. “We don’t have time to go shopping.”
Priyanka pushed up from the table, tossing Hendrix a piece of her cereal. He caught it midair with a little flick of his tail feathers. “You can borrow something of mine. Come on, let’s get you ready to go.”
Stubbornly, I didn’t move an inch. “No one has even told me where I’m going.”
Much to the shock of no one, Az merely smiled as Priyanka bustled me out of the kitchen, keeping the information to himself.Ugh. Demons.
* * *
We stood in the glittering, golden lobby of Parkins, Weller, and Smith while a fresh-faced receptionist murmured into a phone. Az stood tall beside me while my borrowed clothes hung oddly on my body. My damp hair curled around my shoulders, frizzed by New York’s summer heat. There hadn’t been time for me to use a hairdryer.
Serena bustled into the lobby in her pristine pantsuit and heels. Her shoes clicked along the floor, echoing in the silence. When she reached us, she held out a hand. “Good morning, Mr. Asmodeus.”
I bit back a laugh.Mister Asmodeus?Oh, he would never hear the end of this one.
“Good morning, Miss Mason.” They shared a firm handshake, and nothing in either of their eyes indicated they were at all acquainted. Let alone that he’d saved her from a psychotic, supernatural serial killer. Serena had kept that little adventure under wraps. The partners of the firm frowned upon their attorneys getting involved in supernatural affairs outside of the office. That meant accidentally dating one and then being used as a lure.
For me.
And, rumor had it, I wasn’t their favorite person on the planet.
