Raum nodded. “We can’t die from blood loss. Without the weapon in him, that’s the only thing wrong with him now. He’ll just be unconscious for a while.”
“Areyouokay?” His hands were horrific. “Your fingers...”
“They’ll grow back. Thank you for saving him.”
Belial scrambled over on his hands and knees, long hair falling over his face. “I’m sorry,” he was muttering, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry...” He was still gigantic, and his massive wings dragged on the floor behind him. “Meph...”
“He’s okay,” Raum said. “Jacqui saved him.”
Belial jerked his head up and Jacqui flinched. His eyes were completely obscured by dancing flames. But then he whispered, “Thank you,” crawled the rest of the way to her side, and engulfed both her and the unconscious Meph in his enormous arms.
She went rigid, expecting to be crushed to death, but relaxed a moment later when she realized it was just a hug. She looked at Raum on the ground nearby, watching with those big golden eyes, and she couldn’t resist beckoning him. He shuffled over, and Belial opened his humongous arms and swallowed him up too.
And that was how she found herself in a cuddle pile with three demons.
Dan stared in disbelief at the scene before him. His wife was in a group hug with a King of Hell, and he wasn’t even concerned for her safety. Because only a fool would miss that Belial cared for her and the other demons, and Jacqui cared for them right back.
Just to make him feel like more of an asshole, at that moment, Eva and Asmodeus came running down the path, hand in hand. Or rather, hand in claw. The day was already so full of impossibilities, it didn’t even surprise him to see that they had escaped.
As they reached Dan, standing rooted to the ground outside the studio, Eva shot him a glare full of loathing that cut to the bone. “What have you done?” Without waiting for an answer, she ran to the cuddle pile with Asmodeus by her side.
Belial opened his wings to admit them, and Eva gasped when she saw Meph. Asmodeus’s head snapped up to look at Dan, and his lips peeled off his fangs in a snarl.
“He’s okay,” Raum said, “Jacqui got to him—”
“Oh my god, your hands!” Eva screamed.
“They’ll grow back.”
“B-but—”
“I’m sorry,” Belial was still saying.
“It’s not your fault, Bel,” Raum said.
He hung his head. “I could have pulled the blade out, but I was lost to the fucking rage, and I couldn’t think straight. He could have died, and it would have been my fault.” As he spoke, his body returned to its original size, and his white-feathered wings shrank with him. Angelic white, because Belial was, in actuality, a fallen angel. The second most powerful angel to ever defect from Heaven.
Dan should have marveled that he was looking at the great demon in the flesh. He should have been taking the chance to kill him. But no. He was standing there feeling like the biggest jerk on the planet. All this grief and shame and heartache was his fault. Not Belial’s for losing his temper. His.
And judging by the look Eva was giving him, she knew it too.
26
The Aftermath
Eva was so past being in shock that nothing could faze her anymore. So her dad was a fallen angel.Cool, cool, cool— Okay, she was still freaking out.
Once the numbness wore off, she knew she’d be livid. As far as she was concerned, her entire life was a lie. And so was her mom’s.
“You’re her father,” Ash growled, glaring daggers at Dan, “which makes her a—”
“Don’t say it.” Dan’s voice was hoarse. “Don’t even think it. You have no idea the lengths I’ll go to protect that secret. To protect her from being hunted and used by the likes of you.”
It was like Ash didn’t hear him. “Nephilim!” His voice was so loud, Eva cringed and slapped her palms over her ears. What was with demons and preternaturally loud shouting? “And you left her unprotected!”
She climbed to her feet and placed a hand on his back beneath the wound between his wings. His skin was burning hot and wet with blood. “I’m fine, Ash. I’m right here and I’m okay.”
Ash’s head whipped around, and he stared at her with those creepy black eyes. She tried not to let her wariness of his demon form show. The last thing he needed right now was to think she was afraid of him.
