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“Got you. Now, you’re going to listen to me. I don’t want to hurt you. I want to help you. You almost succumbed to the voices of Hell. We can’t have that. I can teach you about demons and how not to lose yourself in the process. I don’t know what you think you’re doing here, but you’ve lost your grace, angel. If you get too close to Hell, it’ll pull you in.”
She looks at me and licks her pouty pink lips. Her eyes flicker with indecipherable emotions, and she gives nothing away. Does she know? She fights as if she doesn’t, but now I can’t be sure.
I groan and tighten my jaw, yanking my thoughts from how delectable she looks. I can’t help my needs. I haven’t fed in what feels like forever.
She nods. “Okay, fine. I’ll listen, but I won’t ally with you. You’re my enemy.”
I smirk. That’s what she thinks. I’m about to prove her otherwise. “Not for long. Now, let’s go someplace we can talk before the whole building collapses. I’m Damien, by the way. Do you have a name, or should I keep calling you angel?” I wouldn’t mind either way. It suits her despite her damaged wings.
“Where are we going?” she asks, following behind me without answering my question.
Still smirking, I say, “Tell me your name first.”
She scowls. “It’s Riella.” Grabbing my shoulder, she yanks me closer, gathering the front of my dirty shirt in her hands. “Now where are we going?”
I inhale a slow breath, savoring the scent of her fresh jasmine fragrance. “My apartment, of course.”
“Your lair?” Her jaw twitches. “You’re joking.”
I shake my head. “Don’t worry your forsaken little heart. It’s safe. Probably safer than anywhere you could possibly be.”
4
Shades of Gray
Riella
“Sohowdidyoufind yourself here, Riella?” Damien strolls beside me, keeping his eyes focused on our surroundings. He talks a lot for being a demon. I had expected someone of his status to be far more aggressive. I expected him to turn against me the second we stepped outside the crumbling building. I was ready and waiting, and still am, clutching my celestial sword.
But no. The strange, friendly demon does nothing that I expect. His unpredictability makes me nervous, to say the least. He keeps a couple of feet of space between us, doesn’t keep his weapon exposed, nor does he even keep pace with me. All he does is sneak glances my way and smile every so often.
Suspicious? Yes. He is absolutely someone I can’t trust. But a part of me wants to. There is something about him that I can’t explain. For one, he doesn’t meet my expectations. And I suppose that’s a good thing. The other demons that I encountered so far and sent to Hell were exactly how I imagined them to be from my training. They were terrifying and dangerous. They had also captured Damien and imprisoned him. That is something that leaves me shuffling along with him in confusion. Why would a demon enslave another? They’re all supposed to be on the same side.
“Riella?” Damien slows down to saunter beside me. “How are we going to learn to be allies if you ignore me? I mean, it’s in your right to do so, and I’m not going to force you to talk, but you leave me curious. Why would you leave Heaven after everything you’ve been fighting for?”
His smooth voice draws me from my thoughts about him, and I meet his icy blue gaze. Should I relent and answer his question? Would I be a traitor to Heaven if I do so? I really wish I had someone to guide me. Adriel said he would be here with me. He wouldn’t have pushed me alone with no intentions of jumping, would he?
I shiver at the thought. No. He wouldn’t abandon me. If only a deep, dimming part of me didn’t believe that. Because my light flickers, the earth plane trying to diminish it completely. But I can’t let it get to me. I will always fight for Heaven. It is my place to do so.
“I came here a few centuries ago, managing to make a deal with one of the rulers of the wrath plane in Hell. You should’ve seen how fucking pissed he was when I gave up my loyalty. He was such a fool, and I think it angered him more that I outsmarted him.” Damien continues to speak, filling in the silence since I still haven’t answered his question.
The wrath plane? He’s speaking of Hell. Unlike Heaven, Hell is divided into more planes. Heaven is unified, which has always made it strong. But Hell continues to grow. It needs to be vanquished and contained. It needs to lose its access to the mortal plane.
“You see, I used to be human. I wasn’t an evil man, but I have made some mistakes. Enough so that I lost my entrance to Heaven. But I learned a lot from my time in Hell.” Damien’s shoulder brushes mine as he walks closer.
I open and close my mouth in surprise. “You were a mortal too?” I can’t help the question. Because so was I. I can’t remember my life on Earth. All I know is that I lived. I died. And then I ascended.
Damien nods and looks at me from under his dark lashes. He ruffles his fingers through his raven hair and smirks. “I was. As were you. I know your type, Riella. You made it into Heaven but did something miraculous to gain your wings. How you ended up back here is beyond me.”
I know better than to give in to his desire for information about me. That’s what he’s doing, opening up, trying to get me to let my guard down. I’m not going to fall for it, though. Adriel told me time and time again how demons like to prey on people. They prey on their weaknesses and their curiosities. They prey on their humanity. And I was once human. I feel more like a human by the second. My heart beats and my body aches with mortal sensations. My wings burn too. Everything I feel now is just as I did when I was human. But it doesn’t weaken me. It makes me stronger. Makes me more aware of everything. And I’m ultra-aware of how Damien looks at me as if he wants more than just to talk to me. He looks like he wants to drag me to Hell himself.
I shrug my shoulders. “I’m on a mission. My superior will be coming shortly.”
He gives me a once-over, his dark brows knitting together. “Hmm. That’s interesting.”
“How so? What I find more interesting is that you aren’t in Hell. You aren’t with Lucifer’s legions either. So what are you doing? I don’t understand, and I want answers.” My annoyance gets the best of me, and I jerk my hand out and snatch Damien by his shoulder, spinning him and shoving him to the wall. I raise my sword to his throat and glower. “Now.”
He doesn’t react to my threat, remaining calm with his hands at his sides. His cool, casual attitude infuriates me. He’s not even afraid. I saw the fear in the other demons’ eyes, but Damien? I don’t know how to handle this.
