Page 40 of Semi-Fallen

He snorted. “Please. She’s just a human girl. There’s no human in this dimension who can destroy a heavenly cleric.”

The smile Lucien gave him was bone-chilling. “Look again, Mathias. Look past the protection spell.”

Mathias frowned at him, but did as he was told, eyeing Lane up and down in a way that made her feel like a virgin on an auction block. Or maybe she only felt that way because she’d read too many mafia billionaire romances lately.

But regardless, upon further reflection, Mathias must’ve seen what she truly was, because his chair squealed against the floor as he shoved himself away from the desk almost violently. He pointed a finger at Lane, his eyes comically wide behind his glasses. “Nephilim.”

“Good guess,” Lucien said with a sneer. “Now, tell us what we need to know and we’ll get out of your way. Deny us and…” he trailed off, letting Mathias imagine the worst.

Lucien would be an amazing poker player, because he was totally bluffing. Even if Lane did want to hurt Mathias, she had no idea how. Obviously, her voice wouldn’t harm him since it didn’t hurt Lucien. If she hit him with an energy beam, would that even work on an angel? She had no idea. And yet Lucien was here making it sound like she knew how to peel the man’s skin from his bones with nothing more than a bored glance.

Mathias must’ve thought the threat was credible, because he held up one hand, chanted something she assumed was Enochian because she sure as hell didn’t understand the words on his lips, and a thick, emerald-green book with gold script lettering on the cover suddenly appeared in his hand. He tossed the book at Lucien, who caught it by the spine one-handed.

“That book can’t leave this space,” Mathias warned. “It will cease to exist if you try to take it. Read what you want and leave.”

Lane couldn’t help but channel Haven a little by signing, I’ll bet you’re a lot of fun at parties.

Lucien shook his head as he cracked the book open and started reading, but Mathias merely narrowed his eyes on her. “Why are you signing?”

Was this a trick question? I’m deaf, genius.

Mathias turned his eyes to Lucien. “Why is she deaf?”

Lucien shrugged one shoulder, still reading. “My theory is that it happened when she was just a baby. She had no one to teach her how to modulate her voice for safety. The human part of her anatomy couldn’t take it. I’m just guessing, though.”

Mathias’s lips thinned. “No, you fool. I’m asking why you didn’t heal it?”

Lane glanced up at him. He could heal people? How had that not come up in any of their conversations so far?

Lucien met her gaze for a moment. He smiled down at her and brushed the knuckles of his free hand over her cheek. “She doesn’t need anyone to heal her. She’s perfect just the way she is.”

Up until that point, Lane had assumed the connection, the closeness, she felt to Lucien was because of their fated bond. It wasn’t until that moment, when he demonstrated just how well he knew her, that she tripped and fell ass-over-elbow in love with him.

Without ever having been told, without her asking anything, he’d known, somehow, that even if she could regain her hearing, she wouldn’t want to. She was a proud member of the deaf community, and Lucien was right. There was nothing wrong with her.

Heavenly library be damned. She pushed up on her toes and kissed the crap out of him.

Lucien returned the kiss with equal intensity until Mathias cleared his throat. “I would appreciate it if you would refrain from defiling the sanctity of this space,” he said, enunciating very clearly.

The look Lucien aimed down at her as he rested his forehead against hers said he intended to defile the fuck out of her when they got out of this place, and for that she was super grateful.

She would’ve told him so, too. But whatever she might’ve said was lost forever when the ground starting quaking so hard she had to cling to Lucien to remain upright. Lights so bright she could feel their heat flashed all around them. And that’s when she saw something in his eyes she’d never seen before.

Fear.

Something was coming, and he wasn’t sure he could protect her from it.

And other than God Himself, so far, there had only been one being Lucien seemed to fear.

Michael.

Mathias must’ve alerted the archangel of Lane’s presence when they’d been distracted. Or perhaps Michael had sensed the presence of uninvited guests in his library.

But that didn’t matter now. It was too late.

Obviously, Lucien didn’t think he could get her through a rift and close it behind them fast enough to escape an archangel. Which meant they were sitting ducks. If he wanted to, Michael could destroy both of them where they stood.

Lucien tightened his grip on her. She could see the panic in his eyes. Not panic for himself, but panic for her. He thought he’d failed her.

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