Page 39 of Ashes to Ashes

Her breathing came in short gasps, and Leviathan struggled to hold still. His hand came around her neck, not squeezing, just holding.

“How.”

“An angel,” she let her eyes stare directly into his as if it could will him to believe her.

“Angels do not belong here.”

“No, and it was why the same angel who saved her the other night.”

Leviathan whirled, finding the same silver-winged creature from the ball just outside the door. He’d just assumed a demon had painted their wings, but up close, he could not mistake the feathering.

“Explain,” he snarled, some of his desire dissipating knowing a fucking angel was in his realm.

CHAPTER 20

Ashe stared at Lily, her heart pounding in her chest. She didn’t know whether to be thrilled that the angel-like creature had appeared, embarrassed that she had interrupted such a private moment again, or furious that she could enter and observe without permission.

“You could have saved me this entire time?” She pushed away from Leviathan, surprised when the demon’s hand let go. Her legs still trembled from her orgasm, but her anger at Lily mounted.

Lily’s silver wings shimmered as she hovered in the air, her eyes filled with understanding. “I apologize, my dear. I meant no intrusion, but it is time for this entire charade to find some truth.”

Ashe narrowed her eyes, her trust shattered. “You’ve been lying to me all these weeks?”

“You’ve been here with an angel?” Leviathan snarled as he stalked up beside Ashe.

“Obviously not,” Ashe’s bit of anger was impossible to control. That he even believed she knew Lily was here and would have stayed captive was ridiculous.

Lily’s expression softened, and she ignored the demon prince. “Your mother was a demoness who’d escaped this realm with another prince’s kiss long ago. She had enchanted the ring you wear to hide the fact that you were half demon, but when you were dragged back here, the enchantment started to weaken.”

Ashe grasped the ring against her neck, her knuckles white. “Why? Why would she leave me to fend for myself in the human realm if she knew I wasn’t human?”

Lily sighed, her wings drooping slightly. It was the first time Ashe had ever seen the angel sad. “I do not know the reasons behind her actions, but she must have had her own motivations. However, I believe it was for your own safety that she sent you away.”

Ashe’s anger dissipated, replaced confusion and hurt filled her. She had always felt like an outsider among humans, never truly belonging anywhere. And now she found out that she wasn’t even fully human to begin with.

“If I am part demon, why were you pulled down with me?”

“When Belial found out who and what you were when dealing with your stepmother, my tie to you was created. I did not lie to you about any of that.”

“Belial knew?” Leviathan snarled beside her. “He knew what a prize he had, and he threw her in the dungeons?”

Lily arched her brow. “Seems familiar.”

“I had no idea she was anything more than human!”

“Ahh, but you were attracted to her in either form, were you not?” Lily crossed her arms and stared at the demon now.

Ashe turned to the prince, surprised to see no anger on his face. She hadn’t misunderstood their connection at Belial’s then.

“Which is her true form?”

Ashe swallowed at the question, uncertain she wanted the answer.

“She is somewhere between. When I told you I enchanted your appearance previously, I did tell a small untruth. This form is what you would appear to be if you were fully demon. The version of you that killed Belial is your true form, a mix of the two. Other wordly beauty, but the coloring you wear when you believed yourself to be human.”

Annoyance flared hot and Ashe tugged at the ring in her hand, jerking the chain from her neck. As before, the similar sensation of a shift took over her. She dropped the ring, no longer caring for the comfort it brought her.

“Still stunning,” Lily said with a small smile. “Ashe, you are part of both realms, and able to stay in either thanks to his kiss.”

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