Demon King (Claimed By Lucifer #1) - Elizabeth Briggs Page 0,75

them to crack open. The room was blessedly dark, curtains pulled tight, though a sliver of light filtered through. It was daytime, but where was I?

Something didn’t feel right. This didn’t smell like my lightly perfumed room in the penthouse, where even the expensive fabrics had a scent all their own. And it definitely wasn’t Lucifer’s room with his decadent black silk sheets.

I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes. I was in another luxurious bedroom, tastefully done in shades of cream and dusky pink. The enormous room was sparsely furnished, but it had more of a deliberate minimalist vibe than feeling half-finished, and I was struck by the sheer size of the space. If I yelled out, it would echo. As I let my brain wake up and recover from the night before, I took in the smooth wood dresser and intricate sconces on the walls, both painted the same shade of pink. It was like waking up on the inside of a strawberry cream dessert.

This certainly didn’t look like Lucifer’s style. Not when I remembered all the black and silver that filled his spaces or the very safe neutrals that his guest room boasted. Where was I?

The bedroom door opened, and sunlight filled the room from the hall on the other side, putting whoever had opened the door in shadow. The person flicked the overhead light on, and the room illuminated. It took me a second to realize who had walked in while my eyes adjusted to the unexpected brightness.

When I saw the person holding a breakfast tray, my jaw dropped. “Jo? What are you doing here?”

My older sister gave me a droll look. “I live here.”

I watched her walk around the bed, barely believing what I was seeing. Jo looked like her normal, beautiful self, with hair almost the same shade as mine that ended just above her shoulders. She’d always had a grace and sophistication I could never match, with her billowy frame and radiant skin. Even her nails were shiny and perfect. Pink, naturally.

“You’re safe.” She set the tray in front of me and poured us both some coffee. The situation felt strangely familiar, and eerily close to when I’d woken up in my apartment after the car wreck. My mind tried to piece together what had happened last night, but everything was fuzzy after Lucifer’s display. But as my brain cleared and the coffee worked, I remembered more.

Someone had grabbed me in the alley of The Celestial. Someone with wings. Someone who knocked me out.

Someone who looked a lot like Jo.

I scooted back in the bed, suddenly desperate to put distance between us, not caring that the tray wobbled as I moved. Was no one as they appeared anymore? And why the hell could everyone fly?

“How do you have wings?” My tone was accusing, but I couldn’t help it. For fuck’s sake, my own sister—the last family member I had left—had knocked me out and kidnapped me. I was allowed to be a little upset. “Are you a Fallen too?”

She drew back and huffed, visibly offended. “Of course not. I’m an angel.”

“An angel?” That didn’t make me feel any better somehow, and it made no sense. “How is my sister an angel when I’m human?”

She sighed and seemed to choose her words carefully. “We were sisters in one of your former lives, when you were an angel. I’ve tried to protect you ever since.”

I stared at her, the weight of her revelation almost more than I could handle after all the other things I’d endured in the last week. Was everything about my life a lie? Was I nothing but a collection of past lives, with people and events I couldn’t remember, while everyone else could? I wanted to bury my head in the pillow and scream.

Jo must have sensed my inner turmoil because she stood. “Take your time and rest. Eat some breakfast. The shower is through that door, and the closet is beside it. I’ve put a few things in there you can wear.” She moved to the door, lingering there as she twisted her hands together. “Come see me whenever you’re ready.”

She left me alone, which was a relief because I needed time to get my head on straight. I was still in my ball gown, and it was wrinkled to high heavens. Hopefully not ruined.

I was starving too, since all I’d eaten last night were a few fancy appetizers, and I devoured the omelet Jo had brought me. Then