Devilish Mate

27

With a smug little smile, I sliced off another piece of filet mignon, which I'd cooked in a peppercorn sauce. Beside it were rosemary roasted potatoes with a touch of onion, and broccolini sauteed in garlic. "How is your training going so far? I didn't have time to ask you last night. I had...other things on my mind."

Heat rose to her cheeks at the reminder of our encounter at the piano. “It's going well. I’m starting to remember more about myself, and I'm gaining control of my powers."

"Good." I took a sip of red wine. "I meant to ask, what would you like me to call you? Hannah? Haniel? Eve, perhaps?"

"I'm sticking with Hannah. I don't feel like I'm really Haniel anymore after all this time." She dropped her eyes to her food. "Of course, Hannah was created by Jophiel, so I'm not really her either. I'm honestly not sure who I am anymore."

"You do know who you are. You always have, deep down. No matter what name you go by, the true essence of who you are never changes." I reached across the table to take her hand. "I've found you hundreds of times, and your soul is always the same. Jophiel might have created a fake life for you, but your true self still crept into every single aspect of it. Your affinity with plants and flowers. Your love of books and history. Your commitment to honesty and truth. In every life, going all the way back to Eve, you had a light inside you that made the world better for everyone around you. Losing your memories could never take that away.”

She blew out a breath and squeezed my hand. "I suppose you're right. I just wish I didn't feel so damn confused all the time, and so out of place. Am I an angel? A Fallen? Am I on the side of the angels or the demons?"

"You're on the side of peace, as you always have been." I paused as I considered my next words. "When Jophiel returned my memories, it filled in a lot of gaps in my past. Do you remember when you came to me as Haniel, and how much you hated me? But then we had long talks about the war, and about how it was destroying both angels and demons. We each saw that it couldn't continue, or both species would be wiped out. You convinced me to swallow my pride and try to end the war for the good of my people, even if I didn't think it was possible. You urged me to work with Michael and try to come to a truce. And I did. Even after you were taken from me, after I had no memory of Haniel, I ended the war." I leaned forward, as she hung onto my every word. "Jophiel might’ve been able to erase my memories of you, but not how you affected me. You changed me, Hannah. Part of you was still with me, even if I couldn't remember."

That got a faint smile out of my lovely mate. "I'm still impressed you managed to end the war. I know how hard that must have been. And from what Olivia told me, you've been working to make sure the peace lasts too."

I sat back and picked up my wine glass, swirling the dark liquid inside. "I've done what I can to protect my people, and peace has been beneficial for both sides. Though it was painful to leave Hell behind, our population is increasing again now that we're living on Earth. For whatever reason, it's easier for immortals to have children in this realm. For that benefit alone we must maintain the peace."

Sadness touched Hannah's brow at the mention of children, but then her eyes took on a look of determination. "Then that's what I'll dedicate the rest of my life to—keeping that peace. After I deal with Adam, anyway. Do you know where he might have gone, or what his plans are?"

"I have my suspicions, though we haven't found him yet." I watched Hannah's expression, debating whether she was ready to hear this, before deciding there could be no more secrets between us. "The ancient journals he took were Samael's accounts of things that happened to us in the early days, when you were Eve and I had just left Heaven to rule Hell. It contained information about the curse, along with many other things... Including the locations of the Four Horsemen and how to release them.”

"The Four Horsemen?" Hannah’s jaw dropped, her fork dangling uselessly from her fingers. "They’re real, too?”

She said too like she’d only just started believing in angels and demons, and I wondered if telling her this was a mistake. "Unfortunately, yes. How much do you remember about the Elder Gods?"

She stared off into space as she searched her memories. "Not very much. They're ancient, powerful beings who created all the races and the different realms. But I don't remember what happened to them."

"Their children—angels, demons, humans, and fae—rebelled against them, as all children do in the end. It was the first war I fought in, back when I was an angel. The Elder Gods eventually retreated to another realm called Void. All except four of them. Pestilence. War. Famine." My mouth twisted in distaste. "And Death."

"Death..." Hannah whispered. "He's the one who cursed us."

Though I hated discussing this, I was pleased she was finally remembering her life as Eve, even if in only tiny snippets. "Yes. My father."

Her eyes widened at that. "Death is your father?"

"Indeed." Bringing up my father demanded another glass of wine, I decided, before I poured one for both of us. "He's gone by Death, the Grim Reaper, Thanatos, and many other names throughout history. Adam was always his favored human, and I was always a disappointment. Too much like my mother, Aurora, he always said. He thought it amusing to curse you in order to torment me for all eternity."

"But now you've broken the curse."

"Yes." I raised my glass to that. "Once again, I've defeated him."

She arched an eyebrow. "Once again?"