it before.
A delighted smile spread over the little girl's face, creating a dimple in one check. A powerful wave of love and joy spread through my dream-self, emotions that my watching self felt. I knew then—knew in a way I couldn't explain but knew with absolute certainty—that this girl was my daughter.
I woke up.
Just like last time, morning had arrived with almost no passage of time for me. Sunlight again poured through the windows, and beside me, Seth still slept. Also like last time, my energy was gone. I was drained.
But the ache of that missing energy was nothing compared to the ache I felt from being ripped out of the dream, of being stripped of the powerful emotions my dream-self had felt for that little girl. Her daughter. My daughter.
No, that was impossible, I scolded myself. Succubi could have no children. I'd left that path behind when I sold my soul.
It had felt so real, though. So intense. It was impossible for me to have a child, but in that dream, she had been mine. No doubts. Even now, I felt that maternal tug, and not having her here right now tore at my heart.
And again, I told myself that was stupid. Dreams weren't real. That's why they were…well, dreams. And I had bigger problems to deal with. Like the missing energy.
Beside me, Seth stirred and unconsciously pulled the covers around him, leaving me uncovered. I yanked them back, and he turned toward me, opening sleepy eyes.
'Hey,' he said. 'What gives?'
'Not you, apparently.'
'Not you either, apparently.'
'Hey, I'm the evil one, remember?'
We bantered a bit more and continued playing tug-of-war with the covers. I put on a smiling face so I wouldn't have to explain my problems to him. Finally, I slipped away, though part of me wished I could stay in bed for the rest of the day. Dreaming. But Seth had writing to do, and I had an afternoon shift to work.
Back home, I found Vincent up and around, making breakfast in the kitchen with Yasmine. They greeted me boisterously, giggling over some conversation that had occurred before my entrance.
'You want some eggs?' he asked me, catching a stick of butter tossed over by Yasmine. Presumably they'd gone grocery shopping since I hadn't had any butter in my kitchen before this. Or any food, really.
'No thanks,' I said, settling myself on a stool. 'I already ate.'
'You're missing out,' she said. 'Vincent makes eggs that are so decadent, they're totally sending him straight to Hell.'
Setting a skillet on the stove, he turned on the burner, listening to the clicking sound made while the gas took a moment to ignite. 'Oh, it's the eggs that are going to do it, huh? Last time you told me it was going to be my parking.'
The angel's eyes sparkled with mischief. She'd pulled her sleek black hair up into a ponytail, making her look very young. Ironic, considering her age was beyond human or succubus comprehension.
'Oh, geez. Yeah. I forgot about that. Huh. Now there's a toss-up. I'm not sure which is going to send you down below faster. Needing a stick of butter to cook two eggs or parallel parking three feet from the curb.'
He jabbed her arm with a wooden spoon. 'Three feet? You know, I've never even seen you drive a car. The only thing you drive is me—crazy.'
'Oh yeah, whatever. You were crazy before I ever came along.'
Glancing back and forth between them as they bickered further, I realized they'd forgotten my presence. Feeling intrusive, I discretely backed away, down the hall and to my bedroom. Closing the door, I glanced in astonishment at Aubrey. She sprawled on my bed, warmed by a patch of sunshine.
'Has that been going on all morning, Aub?'
Yawning, she blinked at me with green eyes and then curled into a perfect white ball—similar to the position I'd seen her in in the dream. She covered her face with one paw.
Um, okay. This was unexpected. I mean, was I crazy? Or had they…had Yasmine and Vincent been flirting? I mean, sure she was a friendly angel and everything, but that…yes, the more I thought about it, the more I believed they had been flirting. More than flirting. Weirder still, it hadn't been the kind of banter two people toss back and forth during the courtship phase either. It was the familiar teasing of two people who had been together for a long time, two people so utterly comfortable in each other's presence that they could almost finish each other's sentences. It was like the phenomenon Erik had described with Seth and me.
'They're in love,' I told Aubrey disbelievingly. She continued to ignore me.
How did that even work? They couldn't be sleeping together. I'd learned a while back that doing that would make an angel fall, and Yasmine was still clearly on the side of truth and justice. So what did that mean? Was it okay if an angel loved a human so long as they stayed physically apart? Something inside of me didn't think so. After seeing how prudish Joel had been, I felt pretty confident even a chaste love affair wouldn't fly with him or the others. So none of them probably knew, not even Carter. And honestly, I didn't know if I wanted to know. I was a sucker for star-crossed lovers, but those relationships never actually ended well.
Grabbing some clothes and heading for the shower, I realized I might be witnessing a romance even more fucked up than my own. Who'd have thought that could happen? I guessed with angels, miracles really were possible.
I finished showering and drying my hair, still pondering the puzzle of this love affair. I headed back out to the living room, wondering if I'd find more flirtatious behavior. Instead, what I found was a familiar and unwelcome immortal signature. Slimy and musky.
Niphon was sitting on my couch.
CHAPTER 7
'Get out,' I said immediately.
Yasmine and Vincent, finishing their breakfast at my table, looked up in surprise. Niphon gestured toward them.
'I was invited in. I didn't think it'd be a problem.'
Angel and human looked distinctly uncomfortable, and I could guess what had happened. Niphon had turned up, and they'd let him inside, not knowing about our animosity. They'd probably figured he was a partner in evil which, in the most technical of ways, he was.
Vincent hastily stood up and took his empty plate to the sink. Yasmine followed.
'Well,' said Vincent. 'We should probably get going.'
'Yeah,' agreed Yasmine, grabbing her coat. Fools rushed in where angels feared to tread, apparently. 'Great seeing you guys.'
They left so fast that they might as well have teleported out.
I fixed my attention back on Niphon. 'Get out,' I repeated.
He leaned back against my couch, draping his arms over the back of it. 'Letha, Letha—'
'And stop calling me that.'
'Whatever you like. And don't worry, I'll be out of your hair soon. I just wanted to give you a Tawny update.'
Oh God. Tawny. Please, please let her have scored last night, I silently begged. Her attitude at the bar hadn't really inspired confidence, but maybe me leaving with Jude had set a good example.
'She hasn't taken a victim yet.'
Damn.
'Alright, thanks,' I said, pointing at the door. 'You can leave now. And next time, it's really okay if you call to give me an update. Preferably when you're in the taxi that's taking you to the airport so I don't ever have to fucking see you again.'
He rose from the couch, giving me a wounded look. 'Fine, fine. But there is one other thing I wanted to talk to you about.'
