Demon King (Claimed By Lucifer #1) - Elizabeth Briggs Page 0,83
Lucifer’s mate and didn’t tell me.”
“Only to keep you safe.” She spread her hands out on the table. “Hannah, I had to keep my life separate from yours to protect you. If you came to visit me, for example, you might attract the attention of others in the supernatural world, which I knew could lead Lucifer and Adam to you. But if you went about your life believing you were an ordinary human, you’d remain hidden.”
I was getting tired of everyone knowing the truth except for me and using the excuse of trying to keep me safe like it absolved them of all their crimes. But at the same time, maybe I was alive now because of Jophiel’s actions.
“What about the accident? My parents?”
Jophiel’s face turned pained. “Your parents are dead. I didn’t lie about that.”
I sensed that was true, at least. I took a moment to eat some of my food, which was delicious. I wondered if Jophiel had really made it. I’d never seen her cook before.
“You can stay with me as long as you like,” Jophiel continued, a smile lighting her face. “Now that you know about the supernatural world, I no longer have to hide things from you. I can tell you all about your life as an angel. Oh, you can even meet my sons!”
I nearly choked on my bacon. “Sons?”
She nodded, her eyes proud. “Yes, I have two of them. Callan and Ekariel. Callan is the son of Archangel Michael and Ekariel is the son of Archangel Azrael, though I hope you won’t hold that against him…”
The more Jophiel talked, the more I felt like she was a stranger, and like my entire life was a lie. The only thing that felt real anymore was the time I’d spent with Lucifer. How did that make sense?
I pushed my plate away and buried my face in my hands. “All I want is to go back to my old life of a week ago, when I was just Hannah who worked at a flower shop and lived in Vista. Hannah, who didn’t know about angels and demons and past lives, and had no one trying to kill her. But that’s impossible now. There’s no forgetting this.”
Jophiel rested a light hand on my back, as if to comfort me. “Actually, it is possible. I can remove your memories and make you forget all of this ever happened. I could hide you from both Lucifer and Adam. You could go back to being an ordinary human again who knows nothing of the supernatural world.”
I looked up at her. “How?”
“It’s one of my angelic gifts.”
The idea was tempting, but only for a second. I shook my head with a sigh. “No, I don’t really want to forget. I don’t think it’s possible to run away or hide from this anymore. This is my life, my curse, and my fate. I have to accept it. Somehow.” I drew in a ragged breath, but then sat up straighter. “And I will. Eventually.”
“And then you’ll die again and start all over,” Jophiel said, her voice sorrowful. “I don’t want to lose you, Hannah. I realize you feel like you don’t know who I am anymore, but to me, you’re still my sister and I love you.”
I started to say the words back to her too, but I couldn’t get them out. I didn’t know how I felt about anything at the moment. Especially her.
From across the house came the faint sound of my phone ringing, saving me from having to answer Jophiel. I set the coffee mug down and hurried to the guest room just in time to see Brandy’s name flash across the screen.
“Hey Brandy.” I glanced at the hallway, out where Jophiel was, and decided to step onto the balcony. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Good, actually. How are you though? I’ve been texting you, but you haven’t answered. I got worried and had to resort to actually using my phone to make a call, ick.”
I laughed, and it was so nice to have a moment of levity after the events of the last few days. Damn, I missed Brandy and her cheerful, stubborn exuberance. No matter how much life shit on her, she always found a reason to smile.
“Things are…complicated,” I admitted. “I’ve learned a lot of things over the last few days that have made me question my entire life.”
“What sort of things?”
I leaned against the balcony railing and stared across the bay covered with wispy fog, while the