Devilish Mate

23

“You and I are probably the only two who could understand,” she said with a laugh. “I’ll admit, I’m selfishly glad we met just so I could have someone to vent to about it.”

I chuckled at that. “Lucifer said you’re working as a liaison between the angels and demons?”

She twisted her mouth a little before she spoke. “Yes, I’m trying to keep the peace between them, but it takes a lot of time and effort to overcome thousands of years of hatred. Both sides believe the other one is the villain, but we’re hoping to change that.”

“Yes, I remember that from this life. Before I knew who I was, I was convinced that demons were evil and that Lucifer was, well...the devil. In every sense of the word. Only once I met him and began remembering my other lives did I see how wrong I was, and I realized I’d thought the same thing about angels when I was a Fallen. I urged Lucifer to end the war, but I died before I could see it come to pass.”

Olivia’s eyes soften. “But it did come to pass. Lucifer and Michael signed the Earth Accords over thirty years ago. I’m sure you had something to do with changing Lucifer’s mind about angels.”

“Perhaps,” I said, just as the server brought our fancy salads along with some breadsticks. “I also vaguely remember being Persephone and spending some of my time ruling with Lucifer in Hell, and the rest of my time in Faerie. That was a struggle too, but at least demons and fae weren’t at war then.”

“No, the fae have always managed to stay neutral, although in my opinion, they’re really trying to manipulate both sides for their own gain. I wouldn’t be surprised if the High King has plans to move on Earth someday.” Olivia paused and her cheeks colored. “Sorry. I hope that’s not offensive, since you were a fae once.”

I waved a hand. “It was long ago, and you’re not wrong about the fae. Even among their own courts, their intrigues are legendary. Let’s just say I didn’t struggle too hard when Hades captured me and took me to the underworld.”

“I bet. I mean, who could resist Lucifer? Or his son, for that matter?” Then she slammed a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with horror. “Oh s**t, I am so sorry. I completely forgot that you’re Kassiel’s mother. You just don’t look anything like him in this life, and um, wow I have really messed this up, haven’t I?”

Her embarrassment and awkwardness made her so much more relatable, and it only made me like her more. “It’s okay. Really. In fact, maybe you can tell me about Kassiel. How did you two meet?”

She seemed relieved, and then launched into a story about how she’d pretended to be a full-blooded angel to attend Seraphim Academy, the school where angels went to train, in order to find her missing brother. There she met her brother’s friends, Callan, Bastien, and Marcus, along with Kassiel, who was one of her professors at the time. She explained that Kassiel had been sent there undercover on a mission for Lucifer, and was also pretending to be an angel. Together they all found Olivia’s brother in Faerie and uncovered a vast conspiracy of angels trying to send demons back to Hell, led by the former Archangel Azrael, who was now in Penumbra Prison. I listened raptly as she described how my son had helped take down Azrael’s secret society, and how Lucifer had orchestrated their release when they were all sent to Penumbra Prison. My heart swelled even more with pride for my son...and for my mate. Despite once being the number one enemy of the angels, Lucifer had helped them on numerous occasions in the last few years, and now was working directly with Archangel Gabriel—Olivia’s father—to make sure the two sides remained at peace.

“Thank you for telling me your story,” I said, as we were finishing up our meal. “I had no idea about any of that.”

“It’s why we were happy to help Lucifer when he asked us to resurrect you and why we’re eager to remind you about your angelic side now. We owe him a lot, and we also want to make sure the treaty stands between angels and demons.” Her voice softened. “Until recently, I was forbidden to even exist, but now I can hold a privileged position in both societies, and have angel and Fallen lovers. I will fight to keep that peace however I can.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Can I ask about that?”

“About having four mates?” Olivia laughed. “Of course. I’m surprised it didn’t come up sooner, especially since Kassiel is one of them.”

My cheeks heated. “Sorry, am I that obvious?”

“No, I’d want to know too, if the situation was reversed.” She met my gaze and lowered her voice. “As part Lilim, I have to feed on the s****l energy of multiple people to survive. I tried once to do it with fewer people, and it only ended up draining them of life. Four seems to be the perfect number to keep all of us healthy and happy, and if none of the guys complain, I’m certainly not going to either.”

I considered her words as we headed outside the restaurant. “Do you know Asmodeus? He recently fell in love with a human friend of mine and gave up immortality to be with her.”

She smiled, but there was a touch of sadness in her eyes. “Yes, he’s my half-brother actually. Mom—Lilith—told me she’d turned him mortal, and I couldn’t believe it at first. I was planning to go visit him once we were done helping you.” She sighed, her voice dreamy. “I hate that he’s going to grow old and die, but it is rather romantic he gave everything up to be with her. And honestly, probably a lot less work than managing four mates. Sometimes it can be a lot.”