“It does affect you, though, Lilliah. You’re just not thinking about it right now. But you will. Soon, you will process what you've seen, and I don't want you to hate me when you do.”
“I will never hate you,” she vowed. “Is there something wrong with me, though? Because I am fine,” she whispered into his chest. “These things should bother me, but they don't.”
“There’s nothing wrong with you.” He laughed as the elevator pinged and Maliki and Benedict walked through, carrying the unconscious man.
“Put him in there.” Azrael nodded to an open door.
“It's easier said than done,” Maliki stressed, trying to turn. “This guy is huge.”
Lilliah watched with amusement as they struggled.
“Take a seat,” Azrael ordered, walking over to the kitchen. “Can I get you a drink?”
“Whiskey,” Maliki replied, almost collapsing on the sofa, and unbuttoned his smart jacket.
Benedict took the seat opposite, completely collected and calm. He didn’t look out of breath at all.
“How about we start from the beginning?” Azrael suggested, walking into the room holding two glasses. “I want to know everything you know. How do you know Jonathan? How do you know he's connected to Lilliah’s mother?”
Lilliah watched closely. Azrael’s whole posture was relaxed as he took the seat beside her.
“Everyone has always wanted more power, Azrael,” Maliki began, lightly swirling the liquid in the glass. “Vampires, werewolves, warlocks,” he continued, casting a quick glance at Benedict. “They've always wanted to stay alive longer, to live forever. And they know it’s possible. They know because you have lived forever.”
“The quest for power is hardly new,” Azrael cut in, sounding bored. “I don't want a story. I want the truth.”
“I'm getting there. I’m getting there,” he assured, taking a sip. “It has always been that way, as you've said, but things are changing. The battle lines are moving and things are getting a lot more dangerous.”
Lilliah sat forward.
“What do you mean?” Benedict asked tightly.
“Werewolves have always stayed with werewolves and vampires with vampires. But now, there’s a new group forming. I don’t know who is at the head, but it’s a mix. Werewolves, vampires, even warlocks and witches.”
She couldn’t help but notice as Benedict sat taller in his seat.
“Forming? Forming for what?” Azrael’s voice had suddenly gone harder, colder. He knew there was something in what Maliki was telling them.
“For power,” he said simply, casually crossing his legs. “They want power. I believe it’s these people who have your mother.”
“But why do you think that?” Lilliah pressed. “Did you see her?”
“No.” Her whole body deflated at his simple answer. “There was a game of poker that went very wrong,” he told her, dismissing it with a flick of his hand. “They pulled me aside about the money I owed, and that’s when I heard the phone conversation Jonathan was having. He was talking about the other fallen angel. I believe his orders were to take you. But somehow, he ended up with your mother. I had heard that Jonathan was connected to this new, elusive group,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I didn’t believe it at first. Have you seen him? More brawn than brains.” He laughed, taking another sip. “But then when I heard about the whole catastrophe with your mother and how you are the daughter of Michael, well, it all started to make sense.”
The room fell silent as everyone tried to digest the information.
“Did you know anything about this group?” Azrael asked, slightly turning to Benedict.
“Of course he wouldn’t have,” Maliki cut in. “It’s very hush-hush. But people get very talkative when they've had a few and start playing poker.”
“I'll walk you out,” Benedict said, tightly standing.
“Oh, okay,” Maliki said, a little dumbfounded, and he downed the last of his drink. “It really was a pleasure meeting you, Lilliah.” He smiled, reaching for her hand.
“You too.” She watched as he sashayed out of the room. “I like him,” she said, turning back to Azrael.
“Of course you’d like a gambling, alcoholic werewolf.” He smiled, rolling his eyes, and reached over to take her hand in his.
“This is big,” Benedict stressed, storming back into the room. “It all makes sense. The vampire and werewolf attacks—they weren’t done by different groups, but the same one. It’s clever,” he said, not really talking to anyone as he paced the living room. “It threw us off the real scent.”
“I agree. It's bigger than we thought. But we're still no closer to knowing who the hell it is,” Azrael fumed. “How is it possible an entire organisation has formed without us knowing about it? Surely there should have been whispers. Gossip. Anything?”
“Something like that would have been kept under wraps. My guess is only a few people actually know the true leader.”
“I agree. We'll come up with a plan.” He nodded, but his head was somewhere else. “We'll send out more people, try and get any information we can on this new group.” He stood slowly. “Eventually, they'll come to us.”
“Azrael,” Benedict stressed, his eyes skimming to Lilliah then back to Azrael. “I think the best course of action would be to travel to New York and—”
“Do not even finish that sentence,” Azrael warned. “We have spoken about this, and I refuse to do so again.”
“Travel to New York?” Lilliah asked, her interest piqued. “What are you talking about?”
“Nothing,” Azrael quickly dismissed.
“There could be a spell to restore your memories.” Benedict had said the words so quickly, she wasn’t sure she’d heard him right.
“Benedict!” the roar of Azrael’s voice was unlike anything she had ever heard.
“There’s a spell?” she asked, trying to ignore Azrael’s outburst.
Before Benedict could answer, Azrael had flown across the room, knocking Benedict into the wall.
“Holy fuck!” She rushed to Benedict’s side as he lay on the floor. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” He coughed, trying to sit up. “I'm fine, Lilliah.”
“You could have hurt him!” she yelled at Azrael, who didn’t look affected at all. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“He's fine.” He shrugged, turning to walk away.
“Benedict, can I have a minute with Azrael, please?” she asked, helping him to his feet.
“Yeah,” he replied through clenched teeth, limping towards the door.
“Don't think this is over,” Azrael warned, watching him open the door.
Benedict turned, nodding his head only once before leaving.
“Is it true?” she asked as soon as she heard the door lock shut. “Is there a spell that could give me my memories back?”
“Lilliah.” Azrael sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It was nothing. Just forget about it.”
“Nothing?” She laughed, looking wide-eyed at him. “You just flung Benedict into a wall.” She paused to let her words sink in. “For nothing?”
“Yes,” he claimed, looking up at her. “That's what I'm telling you.”
“You’re lying.”
“The spell is dangerous. You could die.”
She started to pace, trying to understand the information.
“What does the spell do? Make me remember who I am?”
“It could bring back your powers. The theory is that if you remember who you are, you will remember your powers.”
The silence filled the room. All she could do was stare back at him.
“Were you ever going to tell me about this?”
“No.”
“This is my decision,” she told him, her anger rising with her voice. “It's up to me if I want to have the spell cast or not.”
“You have no idea what the spell consists of. It's dangerous. You could die. It's never been done before.” He stood and wa
lked over to her.
“It is still my decision,” she replied, stubbornly refusing to let go of her anger. “I want to remember. I want to be able to fight and protect myself. How dare you make the decision for me!”
“Please,” he begged, shaking his head. “This is too dangerous.”
“But it’s up to me,” she repeated. “It's my decision to make. And with everyone who seems to be after me, surely it’s the best option? Surely my being able to look after myself will help everyone?”
The shrill of her ringtone broke the mood.
“Oh, let me guess, your friend Jeremy?” Azrael asked snidely.
“Don’t try and change the subject!” she shot at him, cancelling the call and throwing the phone on the sofa. “You kept this from me. You lied to me!”
“How did I lie?” he asked, his anger finally flaring. “I just didn’t tell you about it.”
“It’s the same thing!” she screamed. “You took a decision out of my hands and made it for me.”
The phone started ringing again.
“Oh, for the love of . . .” Azrael flew across the room and snatched up her phone.
“Don’t!” She tried to stop him but it was too late.
“Hello?” he asked smoothly into the phone.
“Put the phone down, Azrael,” she warned, running up to him and reaching for the phone.
“Who are you looking for?” he asked, holding the phone out of Lilliah’s reach.
“Azrael!” she shouted as he held her effortlessly away with one hand.
“No, Lilliah’s right here, hold on.” He held her phone out to her. “It’s your friend, Jeremy,”
She grabbed it from him and turned around.
“Hey, Jeremy,” she said and took a breath, trying to get her anger under control.
“Lilliah?” he asked from the other end. “Who the hell was that guy?”
She glanced over her shoulder to see Azrael staring at her. For a moment, she wanted to hurt him. She wanted to watch his face as she told Jeremy that he was no one, just a friend. But at the same time, she didn’t want to hurt him, even if he was a dick sometimes. Plus, she had lied to Jeremy enough. It was better to tell the truth when she could, even if it was something he wouldn’t like.
“He’s a guy that I’ve met.” She turned back to look at the wall. She and Azrael had never discussed their relationship.
“So he’s your boyfriend?” he all but shrieked. “What? Since when did you have a boyfriend?”
“I never said that,” she said but decided not to carry on with that line of reasoning. Azrael was her boyfriend. “He was my boyfriend, but he might not be now.”
Azrael’s eyes widened with her words. Panic streaked across his face before he quickly masked it over.
“It’s hard to explain, but I promise I’ll tell you everything the next time I see you.” She turned away.
“Are you kidding me?” he shouted into the phone so loudly that Lilliah had to hold it away from her ear. “You’ve been away for a few weeks and already you’ve got a boyfriend? This isn’t right, Lilliah. This isn’t you!”
“Jeremy, I told you that I’ll tell you everything, but I’ve had a tough night. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” She needed to put the phone down before her anger got the better of her and she said something she would regret.
“No, Lilliah. Just dump this guy and come home! This is crazy. You don’t even know him!”
“Jeremy, I’m not having this conversation! You can meet him when I get home, but I have to go.” She put the phone down and turned it off before he could protest anymore. She took a deep breath, trying to get her feelings under control. “That was a really childish thing to do,” she finally said.
“Did you mean what you said? I am now your ex?” he asked calmly, but his eyes were intense.
“I said that to hurt you. But you keeping this from me, well, that hurt me.”
“I know, and I'm sorry. And for answering your phone too. I just hate that he calls you.”
“Jeremy is just a friend! And the spell? It should be up to me. I want to go through with it.” She had made up her mind. “If you won’t help me, I’ll just ask Benedict.”
“He won't help you,” he shot back.
“Maybe, maybe not.” She turned and walked out of the room.
”Where are you going?”
“To bed,” she said, resting her head on the open door, suddenly drained. “Night.”
She went straight to her room and fell on the bed, completely exhausted. He hadn’t been going to tell her. He hadn’t even been going to give her the option. How could he do this to her? What bothered her most, she realised, was that he had taken the decision out of her hands. He was trying to make decisions for her. And then he had answered her phone! He had done that purely to annoy her. He knew it had been Jeremy. She didn’t want to think of all the messages she was getting from him right now. She’d just have to deal with him later. She stayed in her clothes, too drained to change.
Azrael getting into bed woke her up. She glanced at her clock. Four in the morning, way too early. His strong arm snaked around her waist and pulled her close to him.
“Why are you wearing your clothes?” he asked, the words slightly muffled by her hair.
“I was too tired.” She yawned, trying to move away from him, but his strong grip kept her in place.
“No angel was innocent. No angel was truly pure, apart from you.” She turned so she was facing him in the dark.
“What?” she asked.
“We were all tainted by the war. Ruined. But you weren’t. You’re still untouched by all of this. You’re pure and untouched.”
“I'm hardly pure.” She frowned a little in the dark.
“You still are in a lot of ways. Magic isn't something you can go into with your eyes closed. But if it’s what you want, I’ll take you to New York. You can go for the spell.”
At first, she didn’t say anything.
“Isn’t that what you want?”
“I really want to do it,” she admitted. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied.
“I want to remember who I am. I want to be able to defend myself when we're attacked again,” she explained.
“I know.” He exhaled.
She smiled at the feel of his breath on her face.
“But I want you to look into this. I'll call Ada tomorrow. You can speak to her and ask all your questions. Don't go into this blind.”
“Oh, I won’t,” she agreed quickly.
“Good.” He breathed again.
“So, what did you do with Jonathan?” she asked.
“Benedict's questioning him now. Then we'll let him go. He can spread the word, show everyone how serious we are. Now, go to sleep.”
She snuggled against his chest, pulling the quilt up around her.
“Good night, my angel,” she heard him whisper, but before she could reply, she was asleep.
Chapter 19
“You really have nothing to worry about, dear.” Ada laughed cheerfully over the phone. “You'll be in safe hands,” she assured. Lilliah, Azrael, and Benedict were talking to her on the phone in his office.
“So what other research have you done?” Azrael asked, sitting behind his desk. He had been grilling her on every tiny detail about the spell for the past two hours, but Ada took it all in stride, answering every question confidently.
“As you know, Azrael, the spell has never been done in this capacity.” Her voice rang out from the loudspeaker. “But I will make sure every precaution is taken.”
“And I will be there too. Just as a safeguard,” Benedict cut in. “It'll be much easier with that amount of magic if it were split between two.”
“Makes sense,” Lilliah agreed, nodding.
“When will you be arriving?” Ada asked.
Lilliah looked at Azrael for the answer.
“We'll fly tonight.” His eyes were fixed solely on her.
> “Oh, good. Well, I have a lot of preparing to do, so I will leave you to it. Lilliah, do not worry. Everything will be fine.”
They said their goodbyes and hung up.
“I’ll get the plane ready then,” Benedict announced, walking out of the room.
“The plane?” Lilliah questioned. “You have a private plane?”
“Of course.” He laughed at her shocked expression. “How else is there to fly?”
“Oh. My. Gosh.” Rebecca dropped her bag as she looked up at the massive plane in front of them. “You said he had a private jet. This isn’t a jet! This is a massive-ass plane!”
“He said it was . . .” She paused, trying to remember. “A Boeing 747.” She smiled triumphantly.
“It's amazing!”
They made their way to the steps, taking a glass of champagne from the waiting stewardess.
“Dude.” Sebastian sighed, looking around the cabin. “This is how we now travel. No more waiting at the airport crap and being delayed. This is how we travel.”
She laughed when he sat in the recliner, putting his feet up.
“This is amazing,” Rebecca agreed. “Are you nervous at all?”
“More excited.” Lilliah shrugged, watching Azrael as he entered the cabin. “I'm going to be so kick ass, you won’t even believe it.”
“You already are kick ass.” Rebecca giggled. Lilliah had told her friend and brother about the spell, but she'd left out the pain part. It was best they didn't know about that part.
“Right.” Azrael groaned, taking the seat next to her and taking her hand in his.
She watched as Benedict entered. “You really shouldn’t worry, Lilliah,” Benedict assured her, taking a seat. “Nothing will go wrong. Not while I'm there, anyway.” He smiled.
“It better not,” Azrael warned, turning his attention to the stewardess. “Okay, let’s do this.”
Lilliah stared around the hotel room, trying to take in all the golds and creams. They were in the presidential suite at the Madison. It was amazing. According to Azrael, it was the best in the city, and she didn’t doubt it, but he could say that seeing as how he owned the hotel.
Ruined (The Seraphim Series Book 1) Page 22