Page 33 of A Silenced Midlife

"Lucifer might already be there," Ava chimed in, her tone laced with caution as she grabbed a sticky note from the mayor's desk and wrote down Liam's address.

"Excuse me?" Mayor Brown blinked, taken aback.

"Ah, you don't know, do you?" I sighed, realizing this was going to come as a shock. "My father is Lucifer."

"Lucifer?" His mouth opened slightly, as if trying to process the revelation. "I could sense you were something special, but I assumed it was your fae side. I had no idea you were also a nephilim."

"Really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Did I not explain how rare nephilim women are?" Mayor Brown said, his voice carrying a mix of awe and disbelief.

Ava and I exchanged looks. She shrugged, and I turned back to Mayor Brown. "I didn't really consider myself fully nephilim."

"You're as much nephilim as I am," he countered with a hint of pride in his voice. "My mother was a shifter, my father an angel. Your mother is Fae. It's not just half-humans; all of us with an angel father are nephilim."

"Then we're kind of like cousins?” I offered a smile. It was always nice to have more family.

His face transformed with the realization, and he looked gobsmacked. "I can't wait to tell the others. They'll want to meet you."

"Others?" I pondered what that meant, but one thing was clear: our world just got a whole lot bigger.

15

AVA

"Olivia, slow down, will you?" I gripped the dashboard as my bestie floored it down the road. Her blonde hair streamed behind her like a comet's tail from the wind coming in the window.

"Live a little, Ava," she called over the roar of the engine. Olivia had always known how to push boundaries. Today felt no different.

We whipped into an empty parking lot, and Olivia stomped on the gas, spinning the car in tight circles. My heart raced while my stomach churned, but all I could do was clutch at the oh-crap bars, praying to whoever listened that we'd survive Olivia's joyride.

"Gods, Liv, you're scaring me to death!"

"Isn't this fun?" She laughed, and for a moment, I envied her carefree spirit, a gift from her goddess lineage, no doubt.

Finally, she steered the car back toward home, tires screeching their protest. We pulled into her garage, and I stumbled out, woozy from the adrenaline and nausea mingling in my veins.

"Thanks, but I'll walk from here," I said, trying to hide how shaken I was when she began making a portal to my place. "I can't handle a portal."

"Sure thing." Olivia beamed, oblivious of my near-death experience by her hands.

My legs wobbled as I made my way back to my place. The breeze was a welcome caress against my skin when I pushed open the back door. "Winston, front door, please" I murmured, knowing the sentient house would oblige. A gust of air confirmed his compliance before I collapsed onto the couch, thankful for solid ground and the familiarity of home.

A few minutes later, as my nausea faded, my thumb paused mid-swipe over my phone screen, the faint sound of a meow piercing the silence. I looked up, squinting towards the foyer where a small, hairless creature sat staring back at me. My brows knitted together.

"Who are you?" The words fell out, half-amused, half-baffled.

It meowed again, tilting its head. A Sphinx cat, with skin like peach fuzz and large, lemon-shaped eyes, right there in my house. I'd only ever seen them online or on TV, never up close.

I pushed off the couch, curiosity nudging me forward. It was then that Lucy-Fur, drama-mama herself, burst down the stairs like hell itself was on her tail.

"Demon!" she screeched. "Intruder! It'll devour us all!"

I couldn't help it, I laughed. "Really, Lucy? Call Lucifer, then, if this thing is a demon."

"Use your head, woman. The King is giving me the silent treatment," Lucy-Fur spat, her white fur bristling. "Can you believe him? After Scotland? A few days in my body is nothing. He's too dramatic and being childish. She seethed with annoyance. "Just a wee vacation, and he acts as if I've betrayed the seventh circle."

I reached down, my fingers sliding under the warm, wrinkled belly of the hairless cat. With a gentle tug, I lifted it into my arms, and despite Lucy-Fur’s hissing protests, I couldn’t suppress the laughter bubbling up from my throat.

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