Page 27 of Protected by the Fallen
Eleven
I will saythis for the Dark Embassy, they definitely know how to host a guest.
I’d thought our London apartment was nice, but the private rooms within the historic building put its finery to shame. Adrian, Zeke and I share a suite with three bedrooms, one study, a formal dining room, and two parlors for entertaining. Gilded light fixtures are posted against the walls in every room, and chandeliers hang from the ceilings in the parlors and dining room. Fine curtains frame each of the tall, wide windows throughout the rooms.
Adrian and Zeke had not hesitated when Joseph informed them of Lukas’ spontaneous visit and his word of warning. My meager belongings were immediately moved to the embassy, and I’ve scarcely been out of our new rooms the past two days. Everything happened so quickly, and I am struggling to process and accept all the changes. It doesn’t help that it feels like a new one appears every hour, on the hour. Back at the apartment, it seemed like The Dark Council or Sarah, on the Council’s behalf, regularly requested the guys’ presence for one job or another, but it’s only grown worse now that we live in the embassy. Adrian and Zeke are right under the council’s nose, and it is easy for them to be summoned within a moment’s notice. I am constantly left alone. I’m trapped in the embassy by myself, and I don’t do well with being alone. It gives me too much time to think and overanalyze whatever preoccupies my mind.
“Angel?”
I lift my eyes from the plate in front of me. “Yes?”
“Did you hear my question?”
Adrian and I are having lunch, and for once our conversation has nothing to do with Fallen angels, demons or the security of my secrets. As boring as it sounds, we’ve been discussing college. I talked with Annie this morning, and she’d excitedly shared the fact she’d been accepted into the Honors college at Texas State after waiting to hear back for more than two months. The subject sparked a conversation with Adrian, and we’ve been discussing the merits of liberal art studies versus a Bachelor of Science degree before I lost focus and zoned out.
“No. I’m sorry. What did you ask?”
“If you have considered what you’d like to study in college?”
Part of me—the bitter part—wants to remind Adrian I will not get to choose what I do with my life. As a Fallen angel of both bloodlines, I can’t see a future beyond all of this hiding and secret keeping.
But Adrian isn’t trying to be cruel. He isn’t trying to taunt me by reminding me of all the things I will never get to experience thanks to the incredulous truth of what I am.
So, I answer the question like I would have before all of this happened—before I learned Fallen considered me a threat. “Pre-med. Probably biomedical sciences.”
“Medicine.” Adrian dips his chin. “Like you’re father.”
“Yes.” My adoptive dad, Oliver Messenger, is a dermatologist. I always saw myself doing something more exciting than mole removals and acne treatments, but still medically related. At one time, I considered emergency medicine, but then I changed my mind to surgery. Who knows which one I might have chosen if circumstances had allowed?
“Well, you’re certainly smart enough for medical school.”
I raise an eyebrow. “How would you know?”
“Joseph was your teacher, right?” he asks in an obvious tone.
“Yes, but I didn’t think you guys are actually friendly enough to talk about stuff as unimportant as my high school grades.”
“Nothing is unimportant when it comes to you, Angel.” He flashes a flirtatious smile, and I roll my eyes.
“Well, the four of you do seem to be getting along more.”
“We have a common interest,” he says, rephrasing what I’ve already heard on several occasions. The millennia-old conflict between Light and Dark Fallen is all but forgotten when it comes to me and each of my four soulmates. It wasn’t always that way, but I have to admit it’s nice to not hear constant insults thrown between the two sets of brothers.
I know I should feel flattered by the situation. Instead, it’s starting to feel like I’m ganged up on. No longer can I fib to the Dark Fallen and know the Light Fallen won’t set the record straight. The guys share all intelligence, and definitely the kind which concerns me.
“Have you always wanted to follow in your father’s footsteps?” Adrian asks.
“Pretty much.”
“Why?”
My head tilts to the side, confused with what he means by the question. “Why do I want to be a doctor?”
“Yes.”
Shrugging, I answer honestly, “I don’t really know. I’m good a science, and I like helping people. It just always seemed like a good fit for me.” Now that I think about it, my healing powers will really come in handy if I pursue a medical career.
“Do your parents pressure you to go to medical school?” Adrian leans back, crosses his arms and gives me a probing stare.
