Page 56 of Roman

He held a tray full of food—fresh fruit, little fancy cakes and pastries, small sandwiches, and a big cup of coffee.Her mouth watered at the sight of it all.It was like a little high tea on a tray.

“Grigori thought you might be hungry,” Maalik said, holding the tray out to her.

I love him,she thought, smiling greedily and taking the tray from Maalik.

“And that is why he is my favorite immortal in the house.”She smiled, heading straight back out to the balcony and placing the tray on the small table by her seat.

Charlotte sat down, picking up one of the small sandwiches.It looked like ham, salami, cheese, and God knew what else.Maalik strode onto the balcony, taking a seat in the chair next to her as she took a bite, her eyes sliding shut in delight.

“Oh my god, it’s like a little piece of heaven,” she said, opening her eyes to find Maalik staring at her with a small smirk.

“Indeed,” he answered, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

“Oh, sorry.How rude.Would you like one?”she asked.

Maalik shook his head.“Thank you, but no.I’m on a special… diet.”He grinned.“Charlotte, I need to talk to you about my brother.”

“Did he send you here?”she asked, picking up the coffee and closing her eyes as she inhaled the intoxicating scent of caffeine.While having her first glorious sip, she looked over at Maalik to find him once again staring at her, looking captivated by the way she drank and ate.“Are you sure you don’t want some?”she asked again nervously.

He laughed, sitting back in the chair.“No, I’m sure.It is absolutely fascinating watching you eat.The way you are enjoying and savoring the taste of everything.You actually make me miss eating food.”

“What?Are you joking?Of course you eat food.Oh, wait, are you on one of those crazy protein shake diets?”she asked, thinking it would make sense to maintain that devastatingly handsome body.

Maalik burst out laughing.Anyone would have thought she’d told him some hilarious joke.

“What are you laughing at?”She frowned, confused.

“No, Roman didn’t send me here,” he told her after he composed himself.“You really haven’t been told much about us or the supernatural world, have you?”he asked, staring at her curiously.

Charlotte shook her head.“No, not really.Recently, as you would for obvious reasons know,” she said sarcastically, giving him a pointed stare, “I’ve discovered demons are real and that you all fell from Heaven.Hell is also real, and Lucifer rules down there.I also know Lucian is a Lycan or werewolf, and was the first of his kind.I’ve picked up bits and pieces on my own too, such as witches and whatnot.”She shrugged.“Honestly, no one has really explained anything to me,” she told him, a little frustrated.

Maalik nodded, his face softening.“I can understand how the last few days would have been confusing to you then.How about I give you a quick crash course in our history and the hierarchy of things to help you?”

“That would actually be pretty amazing.”

“Okay, let’s start with us.We were all angels in Heaven.You have the Almighty, who rules us all.Then, you have the Archangels.They are the strongest and most worthy of the angels.Then there was the rest of us.Roman was a commander in the Almighty’s Army, and we were his soldiers.Then, one day, we fell.”His voice trailed off as he spoke the last words.

“Is Hell run the same way?Does Lucifer have armies and commanders?”Charlotte asked with a shiver as images of demons flicked through her mind.

“We honestly aren’t too sure.One thing we know is it’s a misconception that Lucifer rules Hell.Humans, over the centuries, have blurred Satan and Lucifer together as one entity.But that’s wrong.They are two different beings.Satan had been the ruler of Hell long before Lucifer fell.You could say Lucifer is Satan’s second in command.He seems to have free rein and does what he likes as far as we can tell, anyway.We know there are Archdemons, but as for whether there is order in Hell, we do not know.There are different species of demons.You have low-level demons, which you’ve met.They can possess a human but have no powers.Then, you have stronger, more dangerous ones.Think like what you see in the movies where they do exorcisms.Those demons are dangerous.Their job is to steal human souls and send them to Hell.”

Goosebumps broke out over her body at his words.The thought of some evil being taking control of her body horrified her.“Do you try to help those who are possessed?”she asked, her heart breaking for the people who were possessed and being tortured.

“We do what we can, Charlotte.Some fallen angels actively travel around the world, searching for humans possessed by the most dangerous demons.They perform exorcisms and try to save the possessed mortals.As you’ve already witnessed in the time you’ve spent with us, our family, as I like to call us, are more hands-on.Instead of hunting certain species of demons, we hunt everything and anything that is a threat to you mortals.We help as many people as possible and send as many demons back to Hell as we can.It is a never-ending war, and one we have been fighting for thousands of years.”

Charlotte nodded, thinking how lucky the world was to have these fallen angels trying to save people, and no one even knew they existed.She frowned as she picked up another sandwich, taking a bite.She pictured Roman and the others over the years, fighting the demons and doing their best to protect humanity.

“You know, Roman is not the only one who transformed when we fell.We were all angels before this, up in Heaven.”

“Were you transformed?”she asked softly, not knowing if she wanted to know the answer.

He simply nodded.“Yes, I was.My brother isn’t a monster like you think.He is good, loyal, and would do anything to protect us all and those that he cares for.”

“But he lied to you all as well,” she answered, thinking of how the betrayal must have hurt them all.

“Yes, he did.I’m angry that he lied,” he told her.“But I also understand why he did it.Since the fall, Roman has carried an enormous amount of guilt, one that has slowly eaten away at him for all these centuries.He blames himself for us all falling from the heavens.He also blames himself for everything that has happened to us since the fall.”

“Was it his fault?Why you fell?”Charlotte asked, curiosity completely taking over.Her thoughts on Roman softened hearing the torment he’d been putting himself through all this time, all that responsibly weighing him down.