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I couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled out of me in time. I couldn’t make out Johnny’s expression, but I was sure he was smiling.
“So, you’re a half-blood with no idea what it actually means to be a half-blood,” he continued.
I shrugged noncommittally. “I am.”
“And you’re not at all curious about whether I know anything, or…?”
He trailed off. I huffed out an exasperated sigh because I was curious. And he knew it.
“You can ask. I don’t bite, promise. Not even if you ask me to.”
That made me pause. “You’re a wolf.”
“Astute observation,” he chuckled. “What gave me away? Was it the unseasoned scent of blessed blood or something else?”
I bit my lip to hide my smile. Itwasthe unseasoned scent of blessed blood. It wasn’t a foul smell, exactly, but it was what I imagined “boring” would be if it were a scent: vague vanilla and unsweetened tea.
“What does it feel like to be normal?” I blurted before I could stop myself.
I could almost feel Johnny’s sad smile. “It’s boring, but I recognize, after being friends with Sariel for almost two decades, that I am extremely privileged to be who and what I am today, and to have access to the things I do and did.”
I nodded slowly. “And… and you don’t hate half-bloods?”
“Heavens no, sugar. On the contrary, I quite enjoy my best friend’s company, and I’m coming to enjoy yours as well,” he admitted with a soft laugh.
I tensed.
“Not like that. It’s been a while since I’ve made a friend I haven’t fucked or had to ghost.”
I frowned. “Johnny, how is Sariel a half-blood? He doesn’t smell like a wolf.”
“Oh, no. I’m not getting into that. That’s uncharted territory; he’ll have to tell you himself.”
“But he knows what I am.”
“Sugar, Sariel Ambrose is a can of explosive worms we don’t want to open on a night like tonight.”
I took his word for it. “Who sits on the Upper Council, exactly?”
“Oh, you know, angels and demons and everything in-between,” he answered. “A High Priestess, an Elder from the vampires, an alpha, an archdemon, and an angel, usually appointed by the Grigori.”
My eyebrows hiked up into my hairline. “Grigori still play an active role in decision making?”
“Rarely. They’re very voyeuristic,” he whispered conspiratorially. “They like to watch us struggle. It’s disconcerting.”
I shivered at the thought.
“Anyway, Azazel is the most recent appointed angel—”
“He’s an angel?!”
“You didn’t know? I mean, he's afallenangel, but seriously? Has Sariel spoken to you at all? Have you two even had an actual conversation?”
I was about to tell himyes, but I realized that, no… wehadn’thad an actual conversation. We’d either been fighting, or he’d been a silent, brooding force.
“Like I said, that’s something for you to discuss later. Right now, we’re discussingyou.”
He stood and joined me on the couch. “Can you shift?” he inquired. “There isn’t much recorded history of your kind—you can stop me at any time.”
