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Wrath tilted his head and considered her question. “That I cannot answer. Nephilim are so rare.” He raised his glass to her. “And thus special.”
For someone who’d been told she was going to live a helluva lot longer than she had originally supposed, Eddie was remarkably calm about the information. She would have thought she’d be happier about the news. “And Dee?”
“Is mortal.” Wrath looked saddened. “That is another reason why we limit our exposure to humans. Once we grow attached to them, we spend a long time mourning them once they are no longer with us.” He stared out at the view. “The temptation for us is always to find a way to keep them with us indefinitely. It can lead to some disturbing consequences. Even hell princes and archangels do not have power over life and death.”
And there was the giant downside. Eddie needed to think more about that, but not right now. “So, you came through the hell gate and what happened? Where did you meet my mother?”
“At the theatre.” The sinking sun softened the harsh lines of Wrath’s face. “She was on the stage dancing. I didn’t mean to stop, but she was so graceful and so lovely. She had this passion for life that drew me to linger.”
Expression tender, Wrath lost himself in his memory.
“You liked her?” It seemed Rosabella’s allure ran the gamut of the male species.
“I loved her,” he murmured. “Perhaps I still do.” He turned to look at her. “I see in you all the best of your mother.”
A lump clogged in Eddie’s throat, and she blinked rapidly. There must be allergens down here making her tear up. She didn’t want to like Wrath, but his openness appealed to her.
“She had fire and energy,” he said. “She had this determination to embrace what life she had and bend it to her will.”
That didn’t sound like Eddie. “I’m not like that. Rosabella and I are very different.”
“Maybe.” He shrugged and sipped his wine. “But I see what I see, and you are only beginning to discover your true self.”
The incident with the demons put in a memory appearance. “And apparently, I have a temper. A really fucking bad one.”
“That would be from me.” He smiled, and it made her want to tell him all her secrets. “I believe Shade has already told you that all those demons would recover.” Elbows to his knees, he leaned forward. “And if it makes you feel any better, what you did to them would have been nothing compared to what I would have done to them if they had harmed you.”
“Did you send them?”
“No.” All softness fled Wrath’s face, and his eyes glittered. “There were definitely of me, but I suspect they were a group of the demons who have escaped my horde.” His hard gaze met hers. “But I will find them, Eddie, and I will make them sorry they so much as scratched you.”
Fuck. Eddie’s mind reeled. It was like the ultimate missing parent fantasy come to life, yet she felt wrong footed and awkward. She didn’t know what to say to hearing all the things her heart had craved for so long. “Okay.”
“Know this, Eddie.” His stare held her captive. “You are precious to me.”
The lump grew, and she stopped pretending that she didn’t want to bawl her heart out. “Okay.”
“I do not care that Nephilim are hunted and killed. You will not be harmed in any way. I will end the world before I allow that.”
“You really need to stop saying shit like that.” Her heart felt like it would burst out of her chest.
“Okay.” Wrath smiled and sat back. “For now.”
She needed to change the subject. But first, more wine, so she finished her glass.
Wrath leaned closer and refilled it.
“If you loved my mother, why did you not stay with her?”
Wrath hung his head and stared between his hands. “Rosabella did not love me.” He sat back and sipped his wine. “Not as I loved her.”
Rosabella had a hit ’em and leave ’em policy with men, but even she couldn’t have been happy passing on this one. “She didn’t love you? Are you sure?”
“Quite sure.” Wrath’s smile was tinged with sadness. “I asked, you see, and she was nothing if not honest.”
Eddie leaned forward to catch all of what he said next. “What did she say?”
“She said she wanted to be free to live her life on her terms.” He motioned around them. “I made this palace over in a way I thought would please her, but she did not want to stay here. She sought your earthly diversions and pleasures over what I could offer.”
