SEVENTEEN
Lilith
I had just secured a towel around my wet body when the familiar flash of light invaded the room, but the voice I heard made me leap for joy instead of cringe.
“Lilith!” Emma’s squeal pierced my eardrums as she flung herself over me. “I’m so happy to see you!”
“Careful or you’ll knock my towel off,” I scolded her as I squeezed her back.
Emma meant so much to me. She was always there for me when I was a human. We became fast friends when we started working at the hospital together, and other than Jax, who was actually Aziel, she was the only person to listen to my crazy wants and dreams.
I blinked back tears as we pulled apart, and I noticed Hunter standing next to Gabriel with a frown on his face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Your bathtub and toilet aren’t enclosed.” He scrunched his nose before glaring at the angel beside him. “Who knew angels were such pervs.”
“Hunter!” Emma walked over to smack him on the shoulder.
“We’ve been alive for millennia, boy. Besides, we’ve seen each other naked before.” Gabriel flicked his hair off his shoulder.
I cringed inside before nodding to Hunter. “It’s kind of unorthodox, but thankfully, I’m not shy.”
He snorted. “Pretty sure your entire graduating class knew that.”
“And our colleagues,” Emma added with a cheeky grin.
I huffed before stomping toward the storage drawers under the bed and grabbing a change of clothes. “Do you all mind?” I moved my finger in a circle to get them to turn around.
Hunter and Emma waved me off as they turned to face the wall, while Gabriel smirked at me.
“Do you mind?” I snapped, and he blinked a few times before nodding and turning around as well.
“Sorry. It’s just interesting to watch you interact with these humans. You were never one for small talk or teasing before.”
“Humanity’s actually pretty great.” I slipped on the soft t-shirt and cotton shorts quickly. “You can turn around now.”
They each did, and my lips curved into a smile when I noticed Emma and Hunter holding hands before reality slammed into me.
My heart thumped wildly in my chest as my gaze bounced between the two souls. “Would you explain to me why Emma’s here?”
“You asked for me to—”
“No, Gabriel. Not here in the room, I mean in Heaven.”
Emma’s bright smile dimmed before she turned to Hunter. “He told me about Gabriel and how the family was going to kill themselves.”
Hunter nodded, expelling a long breath. “I didn’t want to die without telling her how much I loved her, so I told her everything.”
“You know how much I fell for your brother.” She turned back to me with a shrug. “So, I offered to join him.”
“How?” I rasped, my throat suddenly burning. “How did you leave the living realm?”
“Kill ourselves you mean?” Hunter raised a brow at me like I didn’t have to tiptoe around the big picture for their sake, but the blood drained from my face as I listened. “We poisoned the wine.”
My mouth fell open. There was once a time that I wouldn’t have bat an eyelash at mass suicide, much like Gabriel. Being an immortal of supernatural origin didn’t give you a very good grasp on humanity. But the years I’d lived as a human made me balk at the way they spoke of it.
Hunter and Emma grew up just as human as I did, more so. I couldn’t understand their lack of emotional response to their own deaths, but now wasn’t a time to get into it.