“Sir, I have questions—”
“I’m sure you do. Unfortunately, now is not the time to answer them. I sense your urgency to return to Earth. You should obey that instinct.”
She froze, heart pounding. He couldn’t know the real reasons why she was in a hurry to return, could he?
“Sir, please, before I go…I’ve been wondering, is it possible to alter a Principality’s memories—”
She broke off at Adriel’s sudden sigh. She’d never heard him make such a sound in all the years she’d known him.
“I’m glad you have found your happiness again, and I can only hope that you might one day forgive me. Until then, I will surely not forgive myself.”
Her blood went cold.No, no, this can’t be happening.“Forgive you for what, sir?” But she already knew.
Adriel’s focus sharpened. “There is no time. You must go now.”
“But—”
“A test is coming. We will see each other soon, and I will explain everything. Until then, you must face this on your own.”
She opened her mouth to reply, to beg him to explain, but he was already gone. He simply flashed away, leaving her standing alone with a pounding heart, his warning blaring in her mind.
She covered her mouth with a palm.
It’s all real.The dreams were real. The little blip of memory she’d experienced was real.
And Adriel, the person she’d trusted most in the world, had kept the devastating secret from her. For four hundred years.
She clutched her chest at the sting in her heart. It hurt. God, it hurt. It was the same pain she’d felt waking up alone in Heaven after what happened to her.
Because she’d lost Raum, she realized. Shehadbeen heartbroken. Her memories of him had been taken, but her feelings had not disappeared so easily. She had spent centuries with a hole in her heart, longing for something she couldn’t name.
In a way it was a blessing Raum had known he’d forgotten. She’d felt broken and empty with no understanding why.
My little ray of sunshine.She’d chosen her new name because of the endearment he’d used for her, and she hadn’t had a clue. Her entire life had been defined by something she had no recollection of.
The knots in her stomach tightened, and she bent over, trying futilely to draw a breath. Black spots danced in her vision.
She wasn’t the only one who’d been hurt. Raum had spoken of the numbness that plagued him. He wasn’t one to speak openly of his feelings, but she knew he felt things deeper than most realized. How much pain must he have been in? How lost had he felt? If it was a fraction of what she’d felt, it would have been agony.
The injustice of it all made her want to scream.
The betrayal felt like a knife in her back.
28
Bird’s Eye View
Sunshine flashed into the hallway outside the demons’ apartment. Yes, the last time she’d been here, Belial had been ready to kill her, but right now, she didn’t care about any of that. Her thoughts were a whirlwind, and she could only focus on finding Raum and telling him what she’d learned.
She banged on the door with the side of her fist. Night had fallen, but it wasn’t late enough that people would be asleep. If she could have barged in, she would have, but she could feel the wards within the apartment repelling her.
The door swung open after a minute of ceaseless knocking, and Mephistopheles stood on the other side, brows shooting up when he saw her.
“Where is Raum?” she demanded before he could speak, trying to look past his shoulder into the apartment. Meph wasn’t as tall as Raum, but at roughly equal height to her, it was still difficult to see around him. “Is he here? I need to speak with him.”
“You’re the angel?” He blinked. “Well, damn. That makes a lot more sense now.”
“What makes sense?”
