33 A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN
A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN
W HEN THE HELLGATE DROPPED R AUM BACK IN THE living room of his apartment, Sunshine was waiting for him.
“How did it go?” she asked. “Did he accept the gift?”
Instead of responding, he gripped the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. She flattened her hands on his chest and made a soft humming sound against his lips.
He pulled back. “He took it.”
Sunshine fanned herself and smiled, and that was when Raum noticed the rest of the people in the room. Everyone was here. His brothers, Mist, Eva, the twins, and even Daniel. And they were all staring at him.
Eva was curled up with a blanket on the couch, Ash at her side, Dan across from her. Mist, Meph, and the twins were seated at the dining table, and Bel occupied the kitchen. Even Faust was there, sitting at Iris’s feet, tail thumping when Raum looked at him.
Someone—likely Bel—had finally cleaned up after his and Raum’s fight, though there were still scorch marks on the ceiling.
All the furniture was back in place and the broken items had been discarded, which meant the space looked pretty empty.
The only decor that had survived was the little row of plants on the shelf in the window.
“Have you met everyone?” Raum asked Sunshine. Later, he’d mumble a thank-you to Bel for cleaning up.
“Eva was kind enough to introduce me while you were gone.” Sunshine was wearing a white strappy blouse and leggings, and there wasn’t a trace of blood on her. She must have flashed back to her place to wash and change while he was gone.
He hadn’t had time for that luxury yet. “I need a shower,” he told her.
“Yes, you do.” The look in her eyes didn’t match her innocent smile, and he knew immediately what she was thinking.
He opened his mouth to suggest she accompany him, but Bel had to go and ruin the moment. “What did Murmur say?”
Raum filled him in on what had transpired in his meeting with the Necromancer.
Near the end of the explanation, he hesitated, glancing at Sunshine.
He didn’t even want to think about her going back to Hell to get her book, but he knew it would happen eventually.
And in order for her to plan her next steps safely, she needed to know what was at stake.
He took a breath. “If any of us go onto Murmur’s territory to steal from him, the deal’s off, and he’ll consider us at war.”
Strangely, Sunshine didn’t look concerned. She smiled reassuringly and nodded for him to continue.
“And you still owe him two favors, Bel,” Raum added, looking at his brother.
“I’m still not averse to killing the bastard,” Bel growled, echoing Raum’s own thoughts. “I’m sick of being manipulated.”
“I can’t believe you just handed the most famous archangel in history over to a half-mad demon,” Dan mumbled, dragging a hand through his hair. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
“It was the only way,” Sunshine reminded him. “He threatened all of us, and it was you who vetoed the idea of killing him.”
Dan stared at her. “I’ve known you longer than I can remember, yet I feel like I don’t know you at all.”
Raum bristled, taking a step forward and pinning Dan with a glare.
The Grigori held his hands up. “It’s not a bad thing. I just always thought you were a rigid rule follower, Sunshine. I never had a clue you were having a secret relationship with a demon, and you’d be the last person I’d expect to do … what you did at the warehouse.”
“Apparently, Shamsiel was a good liar,” Sunshine said with a shrug. “I don’t know how I did it because all my memories from then are altered. But I’m sorry if I gave you the impression I was the type of friend who would hurt your daughter because of mindless obedience.”
“No, that’s not it at all,” Dan rushed to say. “I just couldn’t take risks with her safety.”
“You don’t need to explain. Rest assured, there will be no more blind rule following from now on.” She pursed her lips. “In fact, I believe I have some difficult choices to make.”
Raum frowned at her in question, but she smiled and patted his arm. “You should have your shower first, darling, and then we can talk. There’s no rush.”
Darling? She may have been capable of chopping someone into tiny pieces, but he’d always find her sweet.
He leaned in. Without hesitation, she rose on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his lips.
“I think we’re soulmates,” she whispered when he pulled back, just loud enough for his ears only.
His lips curved. She was too cute. “I don’t have a soul, remember?”
“Well, whatever—”
“Actually, I believe you do.”
Sunshine jumped as the voice spoke behind them. Raum spun around and froze.
The most radiant, perfect fucking guy he’d ever seen was standing across the room by the windows. He was so perfect, light glowed from him.
His eyes were eerie—indigo blue with purple and white flecks that spiraled around his pupils like miniature galaxies.
His skin was bronze and his hair was pale, the long strands lifting away from his face as if blown by a perpetual breeze.
His robe wavered with the same movement, and that was when Raum realized he wasn’t even standing on the ground. He floated several inches above it.
Sunshine gasped. “Adriel!” Her grip tightened on Raum’s arm, but she made no move to step away from him, which was the only reason he didn’t do something stupid.
Tension spiked through the room. Anyone sitting lurched to their feet. Belial immediately shot to the razor’s edge of a rage. Faust cowered under Iris and Lily’s chairs.
“Greetings, Sunshine,” the angel said. He smiled like he wasn’t receiving simultaneous death stares from five different demons.
“G-Greetings, sir.”
He turned his head. “Daniel. A pleasure to see you.”
Dan couldn’t seem to form words, his mouth opening and closing silently.
“And Belial.” The angel turned to greet the seething demon in the kitchen. “It is an honor.”
And he actually bowed at the waist.
Everyone stared. In any other situation, the look on Bel’s face—a mix of shock and revulsion—would have been comical, but Raum figured his own expression was probably similar.
The angel straightened and addressed the rest of the room. “I am called Adriel.”
This was Sunshine’s mentor? The guy who’d rearranged her mind and neglected to tell her about it? But also … the guy who’d fought to keep her from being kicked out of Heaven.
And he was seriously powerful too. The apartment wards had all ruptured the second he arrived, a faint bloodstain on the wall their only remainder.
While everyone stared, Adriel turned and bent to look closely at the row of plants on the shelf. He poked one of the cacti, drawing his hand back to look at the droplet of blood welling on his finger.
“It protects itself.” He leaned in closer. “What a tiny miracle.”
Sunshine cleared her throat. “Sir … ?”
He turned back around, seeming just to notice everyone staring at him. He was still giving that creepy serene smile. “Shall we sit? I would offer tea, but—”
“We don’t need fucking tea,” Belial growled.
Adriel moved gracefully over to the sofa beside a rigid Ash and Eva—walking on his feet now, apparently. He started to sit and then straightened again abruptly, staring down at the cushion. “Is that made of … flesh?”
“It’s leather,” Sunshine explained. “It’s a common material humans use. Very sturdy and long-lasting.”
His brows climbed his forehead. “It is flesh?”
“Well, yes. Usually from a cow, sheep, or pig, I believe.”
Adriel looked at the sofa again and blinked. And then he went back over to stand by the plants.
“Look,” Bel drawled, “if you’re here to administer heavenly justice for our transgressions, can we get on with it?”
“There will be no dispensing of heavenly justice,” Adriel replied. His demeanor was pleasant but also uncannily emotionless. “In fact, I came here to inform you”—he looked suddenly at Raum—“that you have passed your test.”
He frowned. “What test?”
“I’ve been watching you for some time.”
“You knew where we were this whole time?” Ash asked, moving protectively in front of Eva.
“If I wish, I can know where anyone is on Earth at any time. I knew where you were the moment I wanted to.”
“But … why not come after us ages ago?”
“Angels of my Sphere create and maintain the heavens, and affairs of Earth are not our concern. I’ve never bothered much with anything happening here.
But it was because of my friendship with Sunshine that I finally took my first look at this planet.
” He looked around. “The air is quite polluted, but I suppose there’s beauty to be found if one looks. ”
“Beats Hell,” Meph muttered.
Adriel nodded, gazing out the window. He seemed to stare at nothing, his starry eyes unfocused. The silence stretched on. Faust whined softly, so Lily bent to pet him.
Sunshine cleared her throat lightly.
Adriel blinked. “After I argued against Sunshine falling from Heaven and rearranged her memories, I expected to put the incident from my mind and never think of it again. At the time, I thought that while it was unfortunate for her to forget someone she loved, a price had to be paid, and this seemed fitting.”
“That’s a little cold,” Meph said, ever the tactful one.
But Adriel peered at him, considering his words. “I’ve spent my entire existence free of all attachments. Perhaps I am cold.”
He looked back at Sunshine. “I’ve learned many things since then, and my biggest regret is that I didn’t give you a choice. Perhaps you would have chosen to fall rather than forget.”
Sunshine swallowed, glancing at Raum.
“I was wrong in assuming I would never think of the incident again. Rearranging Sunshine’s memories meant reliving every one of them in my own mind, and what I saw stuck with me in a way I didn’t understand.
Still, I did nothing until recently when I heard about the demons who’d escaped Hell to wreak havoc upon the Earth.
Again, such things aren’t my concern, and I was only told because Belial was among them. ”