Chapter 3
Lilith felt like she was floating. Her body felt weightless and her senses were dulled, her vision hazy as if a gauze hood had been placed over her head. Even with her limited vision, she knew he was behind her. He was the one who had been at the beach that day, in the water with her.
She tried to turn to look at him, but she couldn't. Instead of panicking, she found herself detached from her emotions, as if she was wrapped in a blanket of calm that nothing could get through. She felt his hands slip around her waist and she was pulled back into him, leaving not a millimetre of space free between them. Her back was plastered to his chest, a wall of muscle against her.
Lilith didn't care. Her mind was fogged, and all she could think about was about how his subtle scent enveloping her felt like home. She leaned her head back against him, the back of her head just about reaching his sternum. His hands moved up from her waist, skimming along her sides and knuckles brushing against the curve of her breasts, up the tan column of her throat and along the side of her face.
Lilith shivered as she felt a twinge in her lower abdomen and goose bumps ran down her arms. "We don't have time for this right now." She found the words falling from her mouth without her having thought them.
Before she could pull away, his hands tangled in her suddenly short hair, pulling her head back. "They can wait," he almost growled, his lips at her throat.
"Lilith!" a voice called to her impatiently. She groaned, clinging to the strange dream vehemently, but it slipped from her and she resurfaced back into reality.
"If you're not going to get the door, I'm going to come in," the voice came again.
Before she could properly wake up, she heard the door swing open. Her back was to the door, but she could feel Adam's eyes all on her.
Becoming more alert every second, she felt a light breeze on her thighs and realised that her shift had crawled up her legs while she'd been sleeping. She pulled it down, annoyed.
"What do you think you're doing in here?" she huffed, not bothering to turn around. She would have to ask Gabriel to put a lock on her door when he got back if Adam was going to keep coming into her room uninvited.
Adam murmured something under his breath, and the rushing noise that accompanied his mortal magik sounded from the other side of the room. Lilith sat up in her bed, alarmed, and looked over blearily.
The bastard had sealed her door shut.
~
Gabriel came in to land, feet skipping across the frost-slicked ground before he finally came to a halt in the centre of the Edonian war-camp, Altyr. The Seraphim legionaries who happened to be in his immediate vicinity bowed their heads respectfully before continuing in their tasks.
He ignored them all and focused on the figure emerging from the High Command tent in front of him.
He had last seen Mīkāl just over four decades ago now, at the Battle of Pherysdel when he had last served. After over two millennia of fighting a war they could never win, Gabriel had wanted to step away from the limelight of heading the Legions of Eden. Mīkāl had been his leading warrior and strategist, with a brutal yet clear-cut logic behind all his military decisions. He'd proven himself time and time again on the battlefield and had been the obvious choice for Gabriel to pass the heavy mantle of General Primo on to.
Mīkāl strode through the snow towards Gabriel. He was dressed head to toe in beige leather and a heavy, fur-lined cloak that shielded him from the harsh winds that were customary so far into Proxima's North. His signature Ekkarian axe was strapped to a leather-clad thigh, and twin Nyx-glazed katanas were sheathed diagonally on his back, cackling with a stores of raw electrical energy.
After training with Mīkāl for centuries, Gabriel knew how fond he was of the assortment of weapons he'd forged. And how lethally he yielded them both in training and on the battlefield. He was definitely a force to be reckoned with.
"Greetings, brother," Mīkāl said warmly, clasping Gabriel's hand and bringing it in towards his chest. "It's been too long."
"It really has been," Gabriel nodded and threw a heavy arm around his friend's shoulders.
"I trust your passage through Nyx was tolerable?" Mīkāl walked with him into the tent, and they sat at a circular table to the side.
"Just about."
The two sat in silence, silently assessing each other. Mīkāl broke the silence first. "So I take it this isn't a visit just to see an old friend?"
Gabriel took a deep breath in. "Unfortunately not. I need to ask you about your time at Glenthé House." Mīkāl sat back and crossed his arms, waiting. "You had a posting there a few centuries ago. Other than Adonai, who else lived there?" Gabriel asked in a low voice.
Mīkāl ran a hand through his white hair, casting his mind back. "Well, there was Senoi, acting as Sentry. And Lilith."
Gabriel's brow furrowed. "What do you mean? Lilith couldn't have been there that long ago - I watched her come out of the ground just a few weeks ago. And Raphael told me she and Adam were new to Eden."
"Adonai hasn't told you yet then? Adam is new to Eden, yes, but Lilith has been in Eden for centuries now. Adonai constantly spectres her to forget her past lives, and it takes its toll." Mīkāl said matter of factly.
Gabriel winced, remembering the sound of Lilith's scream the most recent time Adonai had invaded her mind.
Mīkāl leaned forward in his chair. "After a few decades, before her mind can shatter from all that daekai interwoven into it, he kills her." Seeing the disgusted look on Gabriel's face, he quickly continued. "Oh, it's fine - she can't actually be killed. She naturally regenerates into a new body, but with her mind censored and restored so that she doesn't go mad. And it works for Adonai because he can continue to spectre her."
"Why? Why go to all that effort of keeping her constantly subdued? She's just a Proximayan, she doesn't have any daekai."
"You don't know who she really is, do you?" Mīkāl raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Gabriel glared at the male opposite him. Mīkāl lowered his voice as though the cloth of the tent was listening. "She's Rhexin."
~
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Lilith asked, alarm ripping through her. In a second, all drowsiness disappeared and she sat up, alert and wary.
Adam ran his hand down the bedroom door, ensuring it was fully sealed before turning towards her. "Come on, Lilith, don't act surprised," he smirked.
Lilith said nothing, at a loss for words. Her eyes widened in fear as he began to walk towards her, intention clear in every step. She sat up, elbows propped up on the plush cushions behind her, momentarily frozen in place. Every ounce of her being screamed at her to get up, to run, but she couldn't move.
He came to a halt at the end of her bed, standing over her, his otherwise handsome features overshadowed by a look of base lust that flashed across his face. "Do you know how hard it's been to control myself all these weeks with you prancing about in those god-damned tailored dresses?" His voice was smooth and collected, yet sharp. "You've been asking for it, haven't you, thinking I wouldn't notice you dressing up for me."
Lilith knew he was bullshitting her. Other than the changes she'd made to one of her many dresses on the day of her first day in Eden, she'd only removed the sleeves of her clothes given the perfect weather of the Garden and shortened the floor-length dresses to just below her knees so that she could walk without tripping every five seconds.
A loud silence ran through her mind as she calculated her options. "Adam, you need to leave. I think there's been a misunderstanding." she said, allowing a pleading tone to enter her voice in an attempt to pacify him.
But it didn't work. In a split second, he'd leant down to toss the sheets aside. Lilith desperately scrambled across the bed away from him, her sights set on the door. But he grabbed her ankle and dragged her back towards him.
Pinning her down to the bed, he lowered his heavy form onto her, completely impervious to her struggles. Just as she was about to scream for someone, anyone, he smashed his lips against hers, muting her cry. He bit down on her lip and she winced as it started bleeding.
"For the record love," he nuzzled his nose against her face. "You can go ahead and scream if you want. No one's here. Your little boyfriend Gabriel has fucked off to gods only know where and Adonai's gone to town. So it's just you and me," he said with a sick smile, grinding himself on her.
Lilith ignored him, staring up at the ceiling. The imprint whorls of paint swirling across it, encompassing it wall to -
There was a sharp pain in her scalp as Adam dug his fingers into her roots and used her hair to pull her head back, exposing her throat. "You don't get out of this so easily," he breathed. "Fucking look at me."
She glared at him, hatred simmering in her eyes and spat right in his stupid face.
Adam blinked in disgust and slowly wiped his face with the back of his palm. Lilith allowed herself an ounce of satisfaction, but it didn't last long. Her head shot to the side with the force of the blow as Adam slapped her hard across the face, and a loud ringing filled her ears. Her face didn't even hurt besides a faint warmth coming from her cheek, but the ringing...
It was so loud that she didn't hear the sudden scratching and hissing on the other side of the door.
Adam briefly looked over to the door before smirking down at her; his fingers were back in the roots of her hair, forcing her gaze to him. "You're a stubborn little bitch, you know that?" he hissed vehemently.
~
"Lilith is Rhexin?" Gabriel asked in disbelief.
Mīkāl's answering silence was confirmation enough. But Gabriel just couldn't put the two people together. Lilith was a girl who liked to read books and wander the Garden to collect plants. She was a civilian, whereas Rhexin... Rhexin was the Terror of the Neverworld, Eden's adversary. He had seen her decimate entire armies and slaughter countless Seraphim. He shuddered at the very thought of her. "But Rhexin was killed... I oversaw her capture and brought her to Adonai myself."
"Oh, he definitely tried to kill her. In nearly every way possible actually, until eventually he realised she just wouldn't die, no matter the method or spell. People forget that she's not just a Fallen or a half-breed Daelini like her husband - she's Fae royalty, daughter of Meave. She is just as resilient to death as Adonai is. But anywhere Adonai might imprison her, Samael could simply sweep in and find her. If she didn't get free first. The Fae seem to be incredibly resourceful. So Adonai killed two birds with one stone so to speak. He transferred her consciousness into a different body with no memory of her past life and trapped her with him in Glenthé House where he could keep an eye on her. Keep your enemies close and all that bollocks."
Gabriel shook his head. "Why the fuck would you keep this from me for so long?" he asked irritably.
"Why do you think? Orders from Adonai not to breathe a word of her to a soul" Mīkāl shifted in his seat uncomfortably, but Gabriel was too busy trying to process the news to notice the awkwardness in his friend's voice. "Look," he put a hand on Gabriel's shoulder, trying to reassure him. "You don't have to worry about Lilith – last I saw, Adonai was constantly checking upon her, spectreing her so that nothing can trigger her to remember the last few centuries in Eden. As for before she was captured, her life with Samael, the battles, everything - she will never remember it or regain her powers."
Gabriel shrugged off Mīkāl's hand. "What do you mean?"
"Her memories, the neural patterns that code for them, are still ingrained in her original immortal body, which is kept far out of the Neverworld's reach. And well – as I'm sure you've noticed, Lilith has a..." Mīkāl waved his hand, trying to find the word – "Proximayan body," he said with distaste. "She might have a small amount of mortal magik but other than that, the frail shell she's in was not built to handle the drȳcræft she had access to before. Quite clever on Adonai's part actually."
"Mīkāl." Gabriel said, his voice low. "Lilith has a lot more than just mortal magik. She used drȳcræft to gain access to the Vault and the Portals. Most Seraphim wouldn't be able to do that, even if they used all their daekai on it." He closed his eyes briefly, trying to block out the roaring in his head. "And Adonai's spectre isn't working on her anymore. If what you're saying is the case and she's been under his influence for nearly six hundred years, she's now becoming immune."
There was a moment of silence, the tension in the air so sharp it could whet a knife's edge. Mīkāl opened his mouth to speak, but before he could reply, the flames lit on candle wicks around the tent were puffed out of existence all at once, giving way to small plumes of rolling grey smoke. There were confused shouts outside, Gabriel could only assume from Seraphim across the camp, followed by some sort of commotion. Mīkāl swore, shoving to his feet before stalking out of the tent. Gabriel quickly rose to follow him and nearly tore apart the fabric of the entrance with impatience.
Mīkāl and Gabriel stormed out of the Command Tent into the clearing, flaming swords in hand and their wings extended. They scanned through the chaos before them with practised efficiency.
Seraphim soldiers were running down the main path leading into the camp, towards whatever was causing the disturbance. Gabriel reached out with his senses and flicked through the minds of legionaries further down the path to see if he could get a gauge of the intruder.
They all saw the same thing - a large, opaque cloud of black smoke barrelling its way through the camp, heading straight for them. It didn't seem to be attacking any of the soldiers, instead it completely ignored the onslaught of daekai they hurled towards it.
Gabriel returned to his body with a jolt to find a squadron of heavily armed Seraphim swarming around him and Mīkāl. They wore red fighting leathers, marking them out as the Elitos - a unit of elite warriors whose sole task it was to protect the General Primo. Their commander barked orders at them as they formed a protective shield around them.
The intruder was now in their line of sight and was still heading directly towards them with great speed. Gabriel glanced at Mīkāl, who suspiciously didn't look nearly as concerned as he should have been. Before he could ask what was going on, the Elitos' Commander yelled for his warriors to close ranks around the pair of them.
A moment later, the black smoke shrouding the intruder stopped just beyond their protective circle, shifting and swirling side to side until it morphed into a humanoid figure. Its features sharpened as the smoke cleared off.
Samael stood just a few metres away, staring hard at Gabriel, fury and agony rippling off him in waves that would have sent any lesser Seraphim crawling on the ground in sheer terror. As it was, the Elitos stiffened, adjusting as what felt like a heavy weight settled on their shoulders and despair prickling at their skin.
Gabriel's expression remained one of boredom, but internally he was apprehensive. It was completely irregular for Samael to even be on Proxima, let alone enter Camp Altyr so directly. In all the time Gabriel had spent fighting the Fallen, Samael had never done anything like this before. It would have threatened direct conflict with Adonai which would leave the planet a barren, scorched mark in Regnum with both individuals still standing.
Samael breathed in and out hard. The black tattoos on his muscled chest rose and fell with each breath, and his jaw and fists were clenched. "You," he growled, jabbing a razor-sharp mekl-plated talon at Gabriel. He completely ignored Mīkāl who discreetly nodded at the Elitos commander. The guards folded back, making room for the Daelini-Fallen king to pass, his height and bulk making the Elitos look like small children.
Samael took quick heavy strides forward, completely ignoring the blades all drawn in his direction, until he was face to face with Gabriel. "You fucking..." he snarled, getting right up in Gabriel's stone-cold face. He inhaled deeply in an attempt to calm himself. It didn't do much. "You need to get back to Eden right now," he said in a dangerously low voice.
Gabriel turned to Mīkāl, who still had yet to say anything. What the fuck is this, he asked Mīkāl mentally.
The moment the thought left his mind, Samael grabbed him by the front of his shirt and yanked him forward. The guards shouted, but stayed back as Gabriel lifted a hand.
"Listen to me and listen to me carefully you bastard," Samael whispered hotly in Gabriel's ear. "You left her. You left Lilith with that piece of shit. With Adam." He spat his name out with vehemence, like he could barely stand to speak it, then released Gabriel as understanding dawned on the archangels' face. He paled and backed away, realising what Samael wanted from him and why he was so out of breath. The protective wards around Glenthé House were specifically designed to keep Lilith inside and Samael out. And if Samael had rushed straight here from the Neverworld to ask him of all people to intervene, it could only mean one thing. Adam clearly hadn't learnt his lesson from the last time.
"What the fuck are you waiting for?" Samael shouted, shoving him back a few steps. "Go!"
Gabriel rolled his shoulders before quickly crouching to the floor and launching off for Eden.
He knew he was too late by the time he arrived. A silence hung about the House. Even the birds outside had fallen quiet, stopping their near constant song. He bolted up the stairs before bursting into Lilith's room.
The first thing he noticed was that it was freezing. The balcony windows had been thrown wide open, and the cool night air flooded in. A mop of long brown hair spilled from beneath the blanket under which Lilith was curled up, her back to the door. Gabriel paused, checking to listen for her heartbeat, before ascertaining that she was at least alive.
Her thoughts rushed through his head, raging and recounting all the horrible things that had been done to her, analysing if she could have done anything differently, fought harder, anything.
"Lilith?" he winced as his voice shot through the silence.
Nothing.
He slowly approached her, then gently sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to touch her. "Lilith, I need to check that you're okay." He cringed hard at his poor choice of wording. Of course she wasn't.
A heavy moment later and she turned over to face him. Blotches of bright red graced her right cheekbone and her face was puffy, bar the sunken skin encircling her eyes, which seemed empty, lifeless. Bruises were already beginning to form around her neck and her pillow was damp with tears. Remnants of a satin nightgown were hanging off her in tatters from where it had been ripped away from her body. Gabriel set his face, blankness spreading across his features as he suppressed the emotions that rose within him at the sight of her like this. Chief among them was worry for her, anger at himself for ever leaving, and a need to exert his wrath on Adam.
At least the latter would already have been taken care of.
"Where were you?" she whispered hoarsely, searching his face for any answers.
He had none. What was he meant to say, that he'd gone because he'd figured out she wasn't just a Proximayan and wanted answers? That he had discovered that she was one of the most powerful beings in the known worlds? Now was not the time. He couldn't tell her - he wouldn't.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."
It wasn't an answer and they both knew it. Lilith turned back over, pulling the weighted duvet over her head in a silent demand for him to leave.
Gabriel stood heavily. "I'll be right outside if you need anything. I'm not going anywhere. I promise."
Lilith knew Seraphim couldn't break a promise, but it did little to reassure her. "Go away," her muffled voice came from under the blanket, accompanied by a broken sob tearing its way out of her.
Gabriel reluctantly made his way out and stepped into the corridor before sliding down the door to crouch against it, hundreds of thoughts warring through his mind.
~
Adam tore through the undergrowth, away from Glenthé House. He'd heard Gabriel's wings beating loudly through the air and made a run for it. This wasn't how it was meant to happen. Adonai was meant to be back before Gabriel. He had promised to wipe the little bitch's memories so that neither she nor Gabriel would know what Adam had done. He shuddered. Adonai was due back tonight from wherever he'd gone to give them space. He didn't know why their host had given him the opportunity to have his way with Lilith, going so far as to show him how to use his magik to seal her bedroom door shut and subdue her in case she managed to get away. But now Gabriel was back early. He knew the archangel wouldn't hesitate to tear him to shreds if Adonai wasn't there to reign his dog in. He just had to get away from Glenthe House, hide in the forest maybe, until tonight when Adonai returned.
Then it would all be worth it.
Memories of Lilith fighting beneath him had him hard again. He stopped trawling through the forest and lowered his hand beneath his trousers, basely rubbing himself at the thought of her so powerless and completely under his control. Not long after, he spilled himself over the forest floor, onto the previously vibrant bluebells and daisies that littered the grass. Adam tucked himself away and continued to the shore.
Vines seemed to cling to his ankles, determined to trip him up and nettles went out of their way to brush against his arms and legs, leaving burning red sting-marks across his body. Splinters of wood stabbed painfully into his bare feet. He huffed, annoyance fuelling his determination to get to the shore. He would bathe in the sea and get his thoughts straight.
He was nearly there, and passed through the protective barrier as he had done many times previously. His toes squished down into the sand and soil mix of the beach, and he strode forward, eager to enter the clear blue ocean before him.
Suddenly, there was a bright pain in his lower leg and he let out an agonised scream. Looking down at his feet, he saw a ring of orange flames wrapped tight around his right ankle, the flames extending back away from him. The skin there was charring, turning black, and the smell of cooked flesh wafted up towards him, causing him to gag.
The pressure around his ankle increased until it pulled him clean off his feet. He was dragged back the way he'd come by his ankle. He dug his fingers into the soil but it made no difference. He flipped from his belly onto his back as he struggled, and looked up.
A male towered over him, a whip of fire held in his grip. Dark smoke rolled off his immense obsidian wings in plumes, and he was covered in tattoos that only made him look more terrifying. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat, lips pulled back to reveal elongated canines coated in onyx mekl. But his eyes were black with wrath.
Adam felt white-hot fear roll down his spine, and his teeth chattered together uncontrollably in fear. Warm liquid trickled down his thighs, and that was when he realised he'd lost control of his bladder.
To the male's left prowled a large cat, its body like that of a panther. Its black fur rippled with dark daekai in the bright light of the midday sun. Its teeth were bared, and it snarled at him savagely.
Adam struggled weakly as he was pulled closer towards the pair, still not finding any purchase in the grains of sand his fingers dug at. Before he could say anything, make pleas or offers to whoever his attacker was, he was pulled roughly to his feet by sharp talons and enveloped in darkness.
~
Gabriel sat outside Lilith's door, bringing her food and water whenever she had a thought of hunger (and subsequently ignored it). He dared not pressure her into any interaction beyond what she felt capable, but he non-verbally encouraged her to eat at least, transferring his thoughts to her when she didn't have an appetite to eat the carefully prepared meals he left in her room.
She eventually started eating, but she already felt full all the time, and several nights he found her in the bathroom with her head down the toilet. He'd asked for permission to help, and once she'd finally given it, he entered the bathroom and gently swept her ash brown hair back. She shuddered, and Gabriel saw her thoughts of a flashback to Adam's fingers tearing through her hair. He'd immediately let go, but between retches she'd mumbled a "go on," and he quickly produced a hair band to keep it back.
As the days went by, she began to move around more, speak more, although her mind was constantly plagued with hopeless thoughts. At one point they got so bad that Gabriel had to enchant the balcony with a force field.
Lilith felt dead inside. Detached. As though those horrible things had happened to someone else, not her. There was a heavy silence in her mind, muting her thoughts, those wretched memories. She gingerly touched the yellowing bruise on her cheek and winced. At least she could still feel physical pain.
She rested her head on the pillow and let the sweet oblivion of sleep take her again.
~
The next morning, Lilith actively projected her thoughts to Gabriel sat outside her door. 'Where is he?' She couldn't bring herself to think his name.
There was a pause, before Gabriel answered in the same fashion. 'Somewhere he can't hurt you.'
'Does Adonai have him? And I need to know where he is exactly. He's not in Glenthé House still is he?'
'He's not in Glenthé House, in fact he's not in Eden at all anymore. He's pissed off some very powerful people with what he did to you. You're safe now.'
'Okay, but does Adonai have him? I haven't seen him since...'
'I don't know where Adonai is. But I know he doesn't have him.' Gabriel thought before standing up and knocking on Lilith's door to bring in a freshly conjured tray of baked goods.
She devoured the sweet pastries, licking her fingers clean before picking up the glass of water.
"Do you have anything stronger?" she asked, sipping at it distastefully.
Gabriel crossed his arms. "What do you want?"
"Something that will make it all go away."
A tall glass of fizzing, bright-green liquid materialised on the bedside table next to her, and she raised an eyebrow at him.
Before he could warn her about its effects, she'd sat up in bed and was quickly gulping it down.
"You weren't meant to drink all of it at once! You have no idea how strong that was," Gabriel frowned, taking the empty glass from her quickly.
"Of course I have no idea how strong it was, you hadn't told me yet," she replied, snuggling back under the duvet. "I'm tired, I think I'll try get some sleep."
"Yeah, we'll see how long that lasts," Gabriel muttered under his breath, leaving the room.
A few minutes later Lilith was up and banging on her bedroom door. "GABRIEL! Move, I'm coming out!"
Gabriel stood up and leant on the wall opposite. The door shot open and Lilith stepped out into the corridor for the first time in over a week. The robe she wore over her pyjamas trailed along the floor behind her as she staggered past him towards the staircase.
"For fucks sake." Gabriel sprinted after her, his daekai ready to catch her should she fall, which was looking highly likely.
Just then, the front door opened, and in stepped an unspectred Adonai. He surveyed them, Lilith trying her hardest to stop swaying side to side on the staircase, a carefree look on her face. Adonai whipped his head towards Gabriel at the top of the staircase. "What the fuck have you given her?" he asked irately, talking about Lilith as if she weren't there.
"Just some tahail. Why?"
Before Adonai could respond, Lilith made her way down to the bottom of the stairs and walked up to him. "Where have you been?" she asked, tears pooling in her eyes. "Do you know what -"
Adonai gritted his teeth, interrupting her and directing his words at Gabriel. "Get her back to bed now."
"What?" she asked, confused as Gabriel pulled her away from Adonai and helped her up the stairs.
"Gabriel, come down after, I need to speak with you."
Gabriel nodded, half carrying Lilith up the stairs, before putting her down in bed. "Am I in trouble?" she asked him tearfully, her words slightly slurred.
"Of course not, Lilith. Just get some rest and I'll be back before you know it."
Gabriel headed back downstairs, bare feet padding against the marble of the front room where Adonai was waiting for him. He sat down across from the Daelini and waited for him to begin.
"I know what happened with Adam and Lilith." Adonai began, the air thick with tension. "And I want to thank you for helping her begin the healing process. But she is now pregnant, and we can't risk-"
"Pregnant? As in with child?" Gabriel's mind went blank. Seraphim were mostly sterile, so the only beings in the known Realms who could procreate were Samael and Rhexin, and occasionally the odd Fallen couple. Up until now that was. It looked like there would be more of these Proximayans running around Glenthé soon.
"Yes," Adonai confirmed impatiently. "With child. So you can't be giving her tahail. Or anything else for that matter. It could disrupt the child's development. And I need it to be in optimal health. Understand?"
Gabriel nodded, concealing his distaste.
Adonai blinked at the Seraphim before him. "I know you have questions. Go on."
"Alright." Gabriel shifted in his seat. "Where did you go? When I left for Ekkariveria," the lie rolled fluently off this tongue, "I left the Proximayans with you. What happened?"
Adonai stared at him hard before responding. "I had to go to the Forest of Worlds. Had I known Adam had such malicious intentions with the girl, I would have never left her unprotected from him."
Gabriel knew not to push him by prodding further.
"Actually, speaking of Adam, I'm sure you will have noticed he hasn't been on the estate since the incident," Adonai sat back in his great chair, steepling his long fingers together. "He has been taken by the Fallen and is currently a hostage in the Neverworld."
Gabriel kept silent and his expression unwavering, not wanting to let on that he'd already been aware of this.
"While he has made this one mistake, I hear he has repented for his transgression against Lilith. As such, he is still under my protection. I won't have a Son of Eden held in that infernal cesspit of creation." Adonai's grip on the armrest tightened until the reinforced wood creaked under the immense pressure.
He rolled his shoulders, seemingly relaxing. "Since his kidnapping a few days ago, I have sat through several meetings with their Terror trying to get Adam back." He rolled his eyes at the title. "I want to bring Lilith to the next meeting. That might motivate him to compromise."
Gabriel's eyes widened in trepidation.
Adonai chuckled darkly. "Yes, I'd gathered that by now you would have discovered her true identity. No doubt from the drȳcræft she's been haphazardly throwing about the place."
"She's becoming resistant to your daekai, isn't she?"
"Yes, she is," Adonai drawled. "But that's irrelevant now that she's going to have a lovely baby. Isn't it a miracle?" His eyes lit up with glee. "Why would I need to spectre her when there's a tiny mortal infant running about the house? They're so vulnerable, especially at that age, and there's nothing like a mother's love, or so I've been told..."
Gabriel ran a hand through his hair. "So you mean to keep her under your control through this child." He struggled to keep the disdain out of his voice. "What about when her memories of the past few centuries come back in full? And her powers? Rhexin Kex in Glenthé House," he said in a mixture of awe and fear. "Child or not, she won't stand for it, and it'll become impossible to contain her here."
"Indeed. But she still won't be Fae. And think of the power her offspring would grow to have, ones brought up in Eden without Samael there to stop me taking that power." Adonai smiled wistfully. "I've only ever had daekai, never drȳcræft before. As of yet, that's a power that's been reserved only for Meave and her daughters. Once Lilith's given Adam a suitable number of bastards, I'll take their drȳcræft and bury them and their mother all so deep below Mount Ignis, Meave won't ever find what's left of them."