I sipped my coffee as I looked at the two babies lying on a mat in front of me. There was only a month between them, but while Brandy's son Isaac was content to sit on his butt and survey the world from the cushions that propped him in place, Aurora already seemed desperate to move and get going, rolling to things that interested her and attempting to inch across our hardwood floors like a worm. Occasionally, she got close enough to Isaac to take one of his toys, and that was the most animated he became—his voice loud until Brandy soothed his little hurt feelings with a replacement block.
We had baby playdates like this every week, and it was fun seeing our kids grow up together. As a first-time mom, Brandy was happy to have someone she could ask about all the new challenges she was facing. I just loved living so close to her, since it reminded me of when we were roommates and would hang out all the time. It was also nice to be around someone who was human, who treated me as an equal and not a queen, who reminded me of what it was like to be mortal.
Brandy handed her son another block to gnaw on and gazed at him with adoration lighting her eyes. "Six months and all he wants to do is chew on things."
"That's what babies do," I said with a laugh. "I'm pretty sure Aurora is getting her first tooth. She's been so fussy lately."
Aurora reached into the air like she could see something besides dust motes in the sunlight filtering through the open windows. The smell of the Pacific drifted in off a gentle breeze, and palm trees rustled and rattled together in our gardens. I leaned back against a cushion and curled my legs under me, content with this new calm, normal existence.
“How’s Lucifer doing, being so far away from his empire?” Brandy’s lips formed a mischievous smile.
"He doesn't seem to mind. Besides, he can run pretty much everything from his office here, and Samael takes care of the rest." Brandy didn’t need to know too much about demon business, no matter how much I loved my friend. Her life was much more simple, even though she was married to a former incubus. Besides, she was safer if she didn't know everything. "How's Asmodeus?"
"He's good, although he's super bored now that he doesn't have a job running Lucifer's strip clubs for all the Lilim. He's been joking he's going to open up a male version of Hooters called Peckers and fill it with incubus servers."
I nearly spit out my coffee as I laughed. "That would be hilarious."
"Yep. I think he might be serious too. He says succubi get all the attention, and he wants to provide more opportunities for incubi to get fed without hurting humans."
It was just like Asmodeus to still be watching over his fellow demons even though he was now mortal and removed from our world. "Then he should do it. I'm sure Lucifer would support it."
"Maybe. I told him he should just open some little cafes along the coast, but he said that wasn't sexy enough." She laughed and shook her head. "Once a sex demon, always a sex demon, I suppose."
I shrugged. "We can't change our true nature, even if we're made mortal."
Brandy was about to reply when her eyes widened. My head jerked back to Aurora, who wasn't on the floor beside Isaac anymore, but in the air, making unsteady progress as she chased a seed that had blown in on the breeze. Two wings had emerged from her back, one pure black and trailing darkness from it, the other as white as fresh snow and glowing brightly. They fluttered uncertainly, barely keeping her airborne as she made her way clumsily toward the window that held her fascination.
I launched myself to my feet, my breath stuck in my chest, my mug clattering to the floor and spilling coffee everywhere. "Aurora! No!"
I caught her in my arms before she fell out of the air and held her close to my chest, my heart pounding fast. Brandy jumped up and closed the open window, and I gave her a grateful nod. Aurora immediately started crying, unhappy that I'd stopped her from doing what she wanted, and oblivious to the danger of it all. Fucking hell. How was she flying already?
Lucifer rushed into the room, a sword already forming in his hand, darkness swirling to create the blade. "What's wrong? Is there an attack?"
"We're fine." I glanced down at the baby in my arms who giggled up at me as she moved her wings. "I think."
"Shit." His eyes raked over her and he ran a hand through his hair, blowing out a breath. "Wings? Already?"
"Is that not normal?" Brandy asked, glancing between us.
"No, not at all," I said. "Angels don't get wings 'til they're twenty-one."
"Oh shit," she said.
"Indeed." Lucifer took Aurora from me and held her up, examining her. She quieted down now that her dad held her. “I’ve never heard of anyone developing wings this young. Sometimes angels do get them early, either at seven or fourteen, but that is extremely rare."
"She's only seven months!" I said, my voice rising with my panic. "How can she have wings already?"
“They’re beautiful, though.” Lucifer lifted a couple of the black and white feathers and stroked them with care, and Aurora giggled.
A montage of all the ways Aurora could now hurt herself flickered through my mind, and I sank onto the sofa with a groan. Everything needed to remain closed from now on. And locked away. Nothing was safe from her now. "All the childproofing we’ve done… What use is it now?”
Lucifer lightly tapped Aurora's back between the feathers, and her wings vanished. "We
