"You're not my brother." Ryan stepped forward his voice a low growl.
"Come on now Raim, you know I never liked that name, you could have chosen something better. Do you mind if I call you Thronnes, its more natural for me."
"Call me whatever the fuck you want just leave, now!"
"Ryan what's going on?" Lily spoke.
"Get back inside." He didn't look at her, never taking his eyes off the man stood before him.
"Not without a proper introduction, I've waited long enough don't you think little brother?" Ryan snarled. "My name is Sammael and it's lovely to finally meet you Lilith."
"How do you know my name?"
"Me and Thronnes have known who you are since the day you were born, we've been watching you. Knowing what you are, have Eariea half Saier why wouldn't we watch you?"
"No Ryan only found out about that when I did. He didn't know," she looked back to her mate. "You didn't know."
"Why do you think you felt that way to me?" Sammael asked quietly. "You were never meant to meet Thronnes, Raim, whatever he's calling himself now. You were meant to be raised an Angel and you were meant to be mine, you were never meant to be on the Demon side of the divide just as he," he jerked his head towards his brother. "Was never meant to fight alongside them."
Her mouth moved but no words came out, her eyes slowly filled with tears and she shook her head. "You are the second person to tell me that you should be my mate instead of Ryan. I didn't feel it with the first and you're now telling me that my Ryan is an Angel. You've been watching me since I was born and I was never meant to be raised a Demon?"
"You were never meant to know you were Fallen."
"That's enough. Lily go inside." Ryan stepped forward but she held up a hand.
"Ryan if what he's saying is true I want to hear it, its more than you've ever told me and from what I'm hearing now you know everything about my life, things I don't even know and you've kept it from me. What else haven't you told me Ryan? What are you?"
He looked at her before taking a deep breath. "Maybe we should go inside." She still looked wary and he held his hand out to her. "Lily please, I'll tell you, I'll tell you everything just there's a lot to tell. Please."
She finally nodded and walked past him into the house, he watched after her before turning back to his brother. "Why now Sam? After everything that's happened why come back now. You know what Abdiel did to her, what he did to me. What her mother did. We were happy, finally properly happy."
"She deserves to know the truth little brother." Sammael placed his hand on Ryan's shoulder. "You should have told her long ago."
"What do you think is going to happen?" Ryan looked into his brothers eyes identical to his own. "That she'll leave with you, take our baby?" Sammael's eyes widened. "Yes Sam we have a baby, not part of your plan was she? You thought she would just up and leave after you told her and she felt whatever it is that's between you, she's mine and I wont let anyone take her from me again."
"We'll see brother, when she's heard everything you might not be able to make that choice."
They followed her inside, as they walked through the door Lucy stepped out of the living room and her eyes flashed.
"What the fuck is an Angel doing here?"
"An Elf?" Sammael turned to Ryan. "Very impressive little brother."
Her eyes widened and she looked to Ryan. "What's he talking about."
"Sit down princess, I'll explain everything."
Lily sat on the sofa, Aaron stood behind her and he watched the Angel warily. Sammael settled himself in the armchair and watched her, Ryan sat beside her and took a cigarette from the packet, lighting it he watched her but she refused to meet his eyes.
"I was born 500 years before the war, my parents were Angels and for a long time I didn't question what happened to Demons. It wasn't my place. Until I heard about Lily, I didn't know who you were or when you would be born but I knew, we both knew, that an Eariea and a Saier would mate and have a child and she would help to stop what happens to the Demons. After that I started to learn about the Fallen, learn about their lives and what happens to them, what Angels do to them and I didn't think it was right. When I tried to speak to my parents they thought I was stupid, thought I was going soft. They wanted me to blindly follow like every other Angel, Demons weren't our concern." He looked back to Lily. "Even before you were born you were all I thought about I didn't want you to grow up in the world we had created for you. When talk of a revolution started I learnt all I could and when the war came I stood beside the Demons, I went against my family and everything I'd been brought up to believe to try and make your life better. When they fell I was taken before the Holy Guard, they took my wings and made me one of you, I'm Fallen in the truest sense of the word and I would do it all again for you. You were raised Demon because of your father, he stood with the Demons to help his mate and they forced him out the same as me, if he hadn't you would have been with them and we would have never met."
"How do you know that?" Her voice was small and she still refused to look at him.
"Because I knew your father, he was a good man and he loved you."
"Do you know that she had killed him? Did you keep that from me as well?"
"No, I didn't know that until she told you. I don't think anyone thought she was capable of doing that."
She nodded and lit a cigarette. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me you were an Angel?"
"I'm not, I gave it up for you. I knew what I was doing and I did it for you."
"Does Abi know?"
Ryan nodded. "For years after the war I was fought in the Pits, his family ran them. He's known me for a very long time."
"He wasn't alive during the war. He's only a year older than me."
"The three of us are much older than we look," he took another drag on his cigarette his hand shaking. "All three of us claimed you as our mate, that had never happened before and because of who you are we were kept from ageing so we could grow up with you. Then one you chose would determine your fate, you chose me."
"What are the pits?" Lucy spoke up from the doorway.
"Angels use Demons for entertainment." Sammael answered, he hadn't taken his eyes of Lily since walking through the door. "The Pits is a gladiatorial event, Demons are faced against each other and fight to the death, if you win you move up and fight the winner of another fight. The Demon who comes out winner is then forced to fight the Angels champion. Only one Demon has ever won against them." He looked to Ryan.
"Careful brother, people might think you're proud of me." Ryan stood and walked to the drinks cabinet, taking a bottle of whisky from inside he sat back beside Lily and drank deeply. "Its something that should never have happened, fighting people for sport. I came out of there, came to America and then I met you." Lily finally looked at him. "That's everything."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't know how to."
She swallowed. "I don't even know what to call you any more, Raim, Thronnes?"
"That's not my name, I haven't had that name since they threw me out."
"And you," she turned to Sammael. "Why are you here? Why now?"
He looked at her and pulled a cigarette from the metal case in his inside pocket and lit it with a match, sitting back he watched her intently. "I came to warn you. The Angels have spoken and they will not allow you two to be mated, they've claimed you as one of their own and wont have you with a Fallen Angel. They will send someone soon to make a deal with you, you will both be allowed to live if you renounce your bond and Lily goes back to Limbo, if you refuse the offer they will send people to take you by force. They don't know about the baby, or if they do they're not speaking about her but they wont spare her, she is everything they are trying to stop. If you go Lily they might let her live, but that is her only chance."
"I'm not leaving."
"Lily," Sammael started to speak but Lily held up her hand.
"I'm not leaving, not once in my life have I had the opportunity choose for myself. You three were picked out for me before I was even born, I was raised Demon because of choices my parents made, I was born to stop whatever war is coming and now my only choice is leave my mate and baby or we'll be killed." She took a deep breath and looked to Ryan. "Well now I'm choosing, I'm staying here with you. I don't care about any of this, anything you've done, you gave up being an Angel for me before you even knew me. You gave up your family for me, I just wish you would have told me before."
"I didn't know how to," he reached out and she took hold of his hand.
"When are they coming?" She turned her attention back to Sammael, he watched their joined hands with a pained expression and took a drag off his cigarette.
"I don't know, I just know they're coming. You should be ready for when they do."
She nodded and stood. "I need to be alone for moment, I've got a lot to think about." She walked from the room and with a backwards glance at Ryan, Aaron and Lucy followed leaving the brothers alone.
"Well that went better than expected." Sammael smiled and leant back in the chair.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing? What gives you the right to do any of that, put her through any of that?"
"She deserved to know brother just as I deserved to see her, you worked so hard to keep us away from her. It could've have been me, it might still be me. We should give her Lucifers Sleep."
"Don't you fucking dare!" Ryan stood and took hold of his brothers throat, pulling him to his feet he spoke through gritted teeth. "You lay one hand on her and I will kill you. I can still kill an Angel, we learnt that when you watched me fight in those fucking Pits and did nothing to help me."
"Then why didn't you kill Abdiel when you had the chance?" Ryan's eyes faltered before regaining their anger. "That's right brother I know about that, you could have taken him out but you didn't why was that?"
"Because of her, because deep down I know she will always love him and the friendship they had. Everything I do, I do for her and I am not going to let you take her away from me."
Sammael looked sad for a moment before smiling. "I know you do," quicker than Ryan could see he brought his elbow up smashing it into the Demons temple and catching him as he fell to the ground unconscious, he lay his brother on the sofa guilt welling up inside him. "But I'm doing this for her as well."
Standing he straightened his suit and smoothed his hair back, looking up the stairs he walked silently up and through the hall, stopping outside one door he looked in. The baby slept peacefully in the crib and he walked over, reaching out he touched the soft cheek and smiled as the infant turned her head into him.
"Beautiful as your mother."
