No, I will not feel guilty about it.
Every guy I’ve ever had a crush on has chosen Violet over me, and I’ve never made a big deal about it because I didn’t like them enough to care.
This is a much different situation, and while I might one day regret it, I would devour her if she flirted with either of my mates.
I have more faith in Violet than that under normal circumstances, but I’m still healing after my heat, and apparently my hormones are a little out of control.
Annex slides a hand under my back and lifts me off the bed with him as he stands. “The angel is Zephyr, another of yoursister’s mates.” He gets us upright and waves. “Nice to meet you.” His hand on my lower back feels extra comforting as he leads us toward the door. “Our angel is injured. We’ll have to get formal hellos out of the way at a later date.”
Violet follows Annex and me downstairs, but I ignore her. Making my way over to my mom, I grab my dads along the way. The looks on their faces betray their concern as they stand in a semi-circle across from me.
“I just, um, I need to say…” My eyes ache, and I fail to make eye contact with any of them. “I love you all, and I’m sorry I yelled at you. Thank you for saving Zephyr.”
My mom slams into me with the force of a freight train as she pulls me in for a hug. “We love you too, sweetheart. That’s what we’re here for.”
My mom had a really complicated relationship with her own mother. Like her mom tried to kill her when her blood magic became evident. Really messy stuff. Luckily, my great-grandma is amazing, but I’ve always felt like my mom tries extra hard to be everything we need because of how awful the relationship with her own mother was for her.
“I love you so much, Mom,” I whisper, hugging her back. I probably don’t say that enough, but I’m going to work on getting better about it.
Wraith and Knight join in from the sides, hugging us.
Echo and Ridge, my other two dads, are around here somewhere, but I imagine they’re keeping my younger siblings busy upstairs.
“Anything you need, you know we’ve got you,” Knight says, kissing my temple.
Mom releases me, stepping back. Wraith takes her spot and wraps his arms around me.
“You handled yourself admirably under the circumstances. Never back down when protecting those you care about, even if you’re standing up to me. I’m proud of you, Hazel.” Wraith pats my back awkwardly. “I love you.”
I laugh.
He’s even worse than I am when it comes to emotionally comforting someone.
“Um, not to ruin the moment or anything,” Violet says from behind me. “The angel is twitching.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Zephyr
The first thing that comes into focus is Hazel’s face. She’s concerned, possibly terrified, and it makes my chest ache. No, actually, there’s a distinct pain in my ribs outside of the worry I feel for Hazel. It’s not unbearable, more like a minor discomfort.
The second image that I spot is Annex’s goofy smile as he peers at me over Hazel’s shoulder. “Good to see you’re alive, mate.”
“I’m about to burst into tears.” Hazel pats my chest. “Please say something.”
I wrap my arm around her lower back, pulling her on top of me. “I’m alive? How? The pain…”
“We tethered your soul to Hazel’s,” a demon with short dark hair says.
“That’s Wraith. He’s a reaper.” Hazel hikes a thumb over her shoulder in the opposite direction toward a man with shoulder-length blond hair. “That’s Knight. He’s a sin eater. My mom forced my sister out of the room, but she’s around here somewhere. Mom is a blood witch. Reaper plus sin eater plus blood witch equals devourer.” She shrugs. “Or that’s how they got me.”
I hadn’t had time to wonder about her origins, but it is good information to have. As soon as she stopped time and transformed, it clicked.
Reapers and sin eaters have no way of going undetected by my kind. We’re always able to sense them, but the only time I’ve been able to detect Hazel’s true nature is when she’s devouring or on the verge of it.
The universe gave her kind the ultimate layer of protection, allowing them to hide in plain sight.
“What happened after Nathaniel severed my connection to Oathkeeper?” I ask, my voice strangely hoarse.
