Page 9 of Crimson Soul
Hunter’s black hair was shorter than the last time I’d seen him, and his blue eyes were shining bright. His hands interlocked with a curvy blonde woman with glasses that covered her kind, honey eyes. I recognized her immediately as Emma, my human friend from work.
“Angel...blood? They’re not angels, Gabriel. They’re human.” I sniffed the air but didn’t notice any scent of blood pumping through them, and my chest constricted. “They’re not…” My hand flew to cover my mouth as tears welled up in my eyes.
Gabriel’s arm wrapped around my waist, and he tried pulling me into him. I didn’t know what provoked the audacity to try to comfort me when I damn well knew he was behind this. I pushed against his chest, and he stumbled back with a frustrated huff.
“No, Lilith. They’re not alive anymore,” he said in a sharp tone. “And when they died, all compulsion was erased. They remember that night and what happened.”
“Died?” I blinked. Surely he was lying...I would’ve known...somehow...right?
“Yes, honey. Gabriel is right.” Mom stepped forward, smoothing out her knee-length, blue dress. “I’d been manipulated many times by your father in the past.” Her tone was bitter. “But I know you only shifted our memories to protect us.”
“But how?” My emotions were all over the place. Guilt weighed down my heart while anger, confusion, and grief spurred in my gut.
“Gabriel,” Dean answered with a small smile toward the angel behind me.
“I only did what I knew would benefit Lilith in the long run.”
“Gabriel?” My nostrils flared as I spun to face him and shoved a finger in his chest. “You killed my family? I swear I’ll fucking k—”
“Lilith, stop.” Dean sighed as if my reaction was dramatic.
“Stop? Are you joking? Do you even realize who he is?” I snapped, not moving my glare from Gabriel.
“He’s an angel who told us the truth. Something you didn’t do. I trust him more than you. I mean, you’re a demon aren’t you?”
I reeled back as if I’d been slapped. “I didn’t know the truth when I saw you all…but you shouldn’t trust him.”
He snorted. “He said you’d say that.”
“If someone doesn’t fucking explain why you are all in Heaven, I swear I’ll—”
“Do what, darling?” Gabriel’s hand wrapped around my wrist and lowered my pointing finger from his chest.
I pulled my hand away from him and shot him a scathing look. “You know I’ll get this thing off me eventually, and once I do—”
“What? You and your harem are going to kill me?” He chuckled. “I don’t think you’re capable of killing me. Maybe Aziel, if he had the chance, but he’s not here.”
A dull ache throbbed in my chest. I hate being separated from them. “It’s been a millennium and a half. I was only a demon when you killed me. I’m stronger now.”
“Not with that bracelet, you’re not.”
“Sorry, what?” Hunter stepped forward with Emma, whose face paled. “You killed my sister?”
“And tortured me. Didn’t tell them that, did you?” My lip quivered, and my body shook with a combination of terror and rage as I stared him down.
He glowered at me. “Not important. What’s important now is the fact that your family wasn’t human, and their souls aren’t just human souls either.”
Tearing my gaze from Gabriel, I focused on my family and best friend. If Gabriel was going to kill me, there wasn’t much I could do to stop him the way I was now.
I pressed a hand to my throat before walking toward them. “What happened to you all?”
Mom met my stride and wrapped me in a hug. Her scent was nonexistent, and it made me miss her distinct perfume and the lingering smell of cookies that seemed to always be on her.
I held her tighter, and we stayed wrapped up in each other's arms for a good minute or two. She was the only parent I could trust, and the only one who ever showed me true parental love, and fuck, I missed my Mom.
“Gabriel came to us and explained that we were from the bloodline of an angel.”
We pulled away from each other, and I sniffled. “Okay, but that doesn’t explain how and why you died.”
