Since I have lived in Antaris, I have met many creatures that I never expected to exist. But never in my life could I have imagined meeting an angel. After Devas pointed his sword at the angel in Jade and Noah's house and then stormed out, we wanted to know what Lilly's visit meant. Were we in danger?
"I apologize for Devas. He can be weird sometimes," Avery said while Aidan laughed at his statement.
"Sometimes?" Aidan asked with a laugh, causing everyone to burst out laughing.
We sat down again. Although I wanted to know what Lilly's visit was all about, I still couldn't ignore the fact that she was still looking at the door through which Devas stormed away.
"Don't worry, Lilly. He's not doing anything bad to you. He's just trying to protect Avery and me," I assured her.
"I know he won't hurt me," she replied and smiled kindly at me.
Sitting in her presence seemed very calming. Her friendly and endearing nature made talking to her very easy.
"Well, Lilly, we are very honored to meet an angel, but there will definitely be a reason why you are here," Avery asked as he took my hand in his. Lilly's smile faded when she heard Avery's question, and her expression became serious.
"I am the last of my kind. There were many Nephilim a very long time ago. However, my kind was banned, and angels withdrew from the earth. One by one, the half angels died or were killed in one way or another. A traitor of his own kind figured out how to kill half-angels quickly and made a deal with Abbadon, the Prince of Darkness. Foolish of him to think he could make deals with Abbadon. The goal was to kill all the half-angels except for him, Traitor Berith, so that he could then dominate all living creatures on earth. He even found an angelic sword that made it easier for him to murder his kind. What he didn't think about, however, is that Abbadon and his brothers were fallen angels who had lived in the underworld ever since and became demons. Abbadon didn't care who ruled the earth because he now had a new plan that Berith made him understand. The angel sword now enabled him to destroy all good beings. Since this event, the princes of darkness have been looking for me to take the sword that Berith gave me shortly before his death when he realized how stupid he was acting... I tried to cope on my own, but as long as the sword was not safe, it's not safe for any of us," Lilly explained, looking from Avery to me.
"The sword can be safe in Antaris because evil cannot penetrate there. We will protect you and the sword. I give you my word on that," Avery said with a serious expression.
"We should head home, then. We're not safe here," Aidan added.
"As long as I have the sword, no one can harm us. Demons cannot defeat me, but Abbadon and his brothers would be equal to me because they are descended from angels. I would be very grateful if you would take me in," Lilly asked.
Avery looked at me and immediately understood that I would definitely take Lilly with me, so he was relieved when he promised to take her with us. Jade and Noah were immediately ready to come because even though they longed for a quieter life, they understood that this changed everything and that there was a lot at stake.
After we opened the portal, Avery called Devas over to us and briefly explained to him that Lilly was accompanying us. Devas's face didn't reveal much, but his posture showed how uncomfortable he felt. He still stared at Lilly strangely but only nodded as a sign of his agreement.
As we walked through the portal, I felt nauseous and had to compose myself for a moment. But when I thought I was going to throw up, Lilly surprised me when she spread her wings and threw the army in front of us to the ground.
"Lilly, no, wait!" I shouted, surprised by the strength that came from such a petite girl.
"The army is only there on Avery's orders. We didn't know what was going on with Jade and Noah. It's just a security measure," I explained, shocked.
"Everyone stay back! Everything is fine," Avery ordered as he sent Aidan to check on the people who were blown away by Lilly.
Lilly turned towards Devas and asked him something, to which he looked frozen, and his face turned red.
She had been the center of attention since her arrival, and although she was an exceptional creature, she seemed to have more enthusiasm for all the residents of Antaris. Her enthusiasm for the many different creatures who greeted her with respect and politeness was obvious. After we introduced Ava, Inna, and the others, Avery felt it was important to introduce Lilly to Antaris to show her that our home is safe.
"I think Devas and I really enjoy doing this. Don't we?" I asked Devas, smiling.
He didn't answer, just nodded and followed me as I wanted to show Lilly the beauty and, above all, safety of Antaris.
We walked through Antaris, and I showed her everything that particularly impressed me when I first got here. For her, it wasn't just the local residents and the beautiful landscape, but also the amicus that thrilled her.
"Look, there is a huge blue bird!" she shouted excitedly and pointed to Noah's amicus.
Pluma was thrilled to see his Noah again, and the two flew into the air to celebrate the reunion. Lilly giggled excitedly, and her pretty face seemed even more beautiful as she seemed happy. I turned to Devas, who was behind us, to tell him that she liked Antaris, but this seemed unnecessary because Devas didn't seem to lose sight of her face one bit. I'm sure I saw him smiling as he watched Lilly excitedly discover new things.
Just as I was about to confront him about it, I felt the same nausea again, as when I got out of the portal, and asked to take a break.
"I think I'm getting sick... I've been feeling very tired for some time, and today after the portal, it was really bad," I said as I sat down on the meadow in front of us.
"Oh, you're not sick, Iris, don't worry," Lilly replied as she sat next to me and laughed.
"What do you mean?" I asked, surprised.
"Well... you don't have an illness. But soon you'll know what's wrong with you," Lilly said, looking at the animals playing in front of us.
"Do you know what I have? Is it contagious?" I asked, a little confused.
Lilly looked at me, and then her gaze dropped from my eyes to my stomach and back to my eyes. What does she want to tell me?! Is it possible?
"You're pregnant, Iris. As soon as I met you, I felt that not one heart was beating inside you, but I heard a total of three hearts!" Lilly explained to me.
I think the message she gave me was the answer to all the symptoms I was having. The nausea, fatigue, and emotions I was feeling. The crying and irritability all now had an explanation. Even the overeating I had been feeling for weeks is now logical.
"Oh my! I have to go to the doctor... What? I have to go to... Avery! I have to go to Avery right away!" I shouted, standing up ready to run.
"It's ok, Iris, just go. I think Devas can show me the rest," Lilly replied as she hugged me and congratulated me.
The look on Avery's face when he found out about the babies was heartwarming. He took me in his arms and kissed my face. His voice trembled as he said, "Finally, some good news." We were happy to give our love this culmination and have two little babies.
"We will announce it to our family and friends this evening. And we also have to plan the wedding. You know that the pregnancy for us elves only lasts 6 months. I will tell the servants of the mansion that we are having a small celebration today so that it can be prepared... and you tell everyone they're coming... I'm going to throw up!" I said excitedly as I ran to the bathroom because this time it's actually happening.
I heard Avery laugh and cheer loudly as I closed the bathroom door behind me.
Everything was ready for tonight, and I went looking for Lilly and Devas, but as I walked to the front of the mansion, the two of them were sitting on the stairs talking. Every time Lilly laughed, I saw the corners of Devas' mouth curl into a smile, and I had to admit that it all seemed too familiar.
Could it be that Devas fell in love? Was Lilly his soulmate?!
I will address this tonight, but first, I had to get our guest to her room. I interrupted their conversation and accompanied Lilly to the most beautiful room I could find for her. We had to get ready for tonight, so I left her alone in her room to get ready myself.
The evening came faster than expected, and soon we were all sitting at dinner. Avery gave a short speech in which he told everyone that we would soon be parents. Our friends and family were overjoyed and congratulated us excitedly. Most of all Ava, who was thrilled to become an aunt.
The celebration soon got really loud as we started dancing. And since the first time after King Elior's death I saw Avery, happy and celebrating.
Lilly and Devas didn't seem to let go of each other and danced all night long. This didn't seem to go unnoticed, and soon Bael and Avery started talking about it.
"It's different with us demons than with the rest of you. He doesn't know it immediately when he sees her, but at the latest after the first touch, he will have known it," explained Bael.
"The only question is whether she knows that too?" Avery asked.
And in fact, none of us knew much about angels. Did she even know what a soulmate was?