Page 20 of Demon Hunger
“What do you think Jophiel wanted with me?” I asked. Several scenarios that included torture came to mind, but I couldn’t understand what the angel would gain by making me suffer.
“I’m not sure. Maybe he wanted you to tell him who the next subject is.”
That made sense. It was what he’d tried to do before. Lucifer and his team were given a slight advantage by receiving the details of the person who needed to be redeemed ahead of anyone else.
“He would have tortured me? Wouldn’t he?” My voice shook, and the fear that was borrowing itself inside my soul like a worm in a rotten apple dug a little deeper.
“I would never allow it,” he said adamantly. “You must know that. I would…” He swallowed and glanced at the ceiling for a quick second. “You’re safe under my protection.”
I didn’t feel safe. True, he had saved me. He hadn’t allowed any physical harm to come to me, but sometimes there were worse things than wounds.
Drevan cleared his throat. “Do you wish to go back to the league? I can take you.”
“I do.”
His face fell.
“But first…” I sat back on the bed, wrapped the blanket around my shoulders, and met his gaze. “Perhaps we should talk.”
His breath caught.
This was the least I could do. He had saved me, after all. Though he had no reason to hold his breath. No matter what he said to me, my stance would not change.
For a moment, as I waited for him to tell me what he’d been begging to share, he seemed to grow flustered and began pacing from one bookshelf to the other. At last, he stopped and inhaled deeply, straightening his shoulders.
“Thank you for the opportunity. I know I don’t deserve it, and I shouldn’t have been pestering you for a chance to explain.” He closed his eyes, looking infinitely tired, then continued. “First, I want to apologize for not being entirely truthful with you. Though, I didn’t lie.”
I opened my mouth to interrupt, to tell him that was a lie within itself, but when he stopped to allow me the chance to speak, I sealed my lips and decided this didn’t need to be an argument. There was no point in trying to contradict him. This was only supposed to repay a favor and check a box.
He went on. “I didn’t lie, Lucia. This is my true semblance. The other one… The other one is a curse.”
I shook my head. I wasn’t expecting that. “What do you mean?”
“The angels and humans were made in God’s image. My father is an angel, so it stands to reason that his offspring, which he fathered with Lilith—a human—would be no different. Except that when my father was thrown out of heaven, an angel who was meant to become his wife cast a curse upon his descendants. You see, she begged him to ask for forgiveness, so he could remain in heaven. Instead, he asked her to leave with him, to make a new life elsewhere. But she didn’t love him enough to do that. She grew angry and threatened him, no doubt hoping he would change his mind. Needless to say, he did not. Then she issued the curse.
“May you and your progeny be forever cursed with the semblance of a hideous beast. May your betrayal serve as a lesson to others that when you turn your back on your maker, no good can come of it. May they roam the earth forever, unworthy, unloved, far removed from God’s likeness.”
I pulled the blanket and hugged it tight to me as he repeated the words of the cruel curse.
He went on. “When I was born, my parents rejoiced. I was not a beast. I was what you see. But it all changed when I came of age.” Drevan lowered his head, looking pained and embarrassed.
A hollow feeling opened in my chest. This was nothing like what I had imagined.
“But… you…” I stammered. “You’re using magic to appear this way and Truesight is able to break through it. This isnothow you look.”
“Yes, I am,” he admitted. “It wouldn’t be helpful to go around scaring everyone, would it?” he joked. “But whatever magic I use, it only shows what reality should be. This… this would be me without the curse.”
I scrubbed at my face, pressed my thumbs into my temples, and moved them in circles as I felt a headache coming on. I had no idea how to feel about any of this. He said he hadn’t lied, that this was his true semblance, and he had. Yet, the curse was real. The curse had turned him into a monster. The hole in my chest grew and filled with confusion and frustration until I felt ready to burst.
Drevan took a step forward and kneeled in front of me. He glanced into my eyes, a pleading expression on his face. “Will you forgive me for not telling you everything?”
I shook my head, not in refusal but in confusion. “I don’t know if I can.”
He let out a pent-up breath of relief. I hadn’t saidno, after all. Drevan took one of my hands and the blanket fell around my waist.
“I’ve roamed this earth for thousands of years, always presenting myself as you see me, many times pretending to be simply human, doing my best to blend in and forget what I am. When I met you, it was no different. Except, as I didn’t know, I would… I would fa—”
I stood abruptly and pulled away from him, my heart hammering out of control. He stayed kneeling on the floor and staring at the empty space where I’d been.
