A maid and a butler.
So, two traitors.
On the bright side, it's not three.
"Master, please!" Oh, look at those crocodile tears. They're almost as good as Miria's—almost is the key word here. "We haven't done anything wrong!"
'There must be a mistake! Believe us!"
"Someone's trying to frame us!"
"Think about it! Haven't we been serving you faithfully for decades?! How could we ever entertain the foolish idea of hurting your guest?!"
But you did, both of you.
Their brazenness is impressive, really. If the children hadn't felt something was off, James would have most likely accepted a cup of tea from one of these two, clueless about its real content. At this point, it's even a certainty that this event should have happened, had it not been thwarted by a strange twist of fate.
Unlike their father, the kids have no control whatsoever over their abilities. They can barely differentiate between the past, the present, and the future. That means that fate had decided on its own to show them a peek of a not-so-distant future.
It was a stroke of luck, but we might not be as lucky next time. Fate, that disloyal mistress, won't always be on our side.
"Are you done with the measly excuses?"
Todd's voice is icy-cold. Even the room temperature seems to have dropped. Well, he's a snow demon. Makes sense, I guess.
The woman hiccups, and I snort.
You've got the gall to plot against your masters' guest, but you don't dare to face the consequences? How ridiculous, and how infuriating.
They might not be able to go against Jordan and his immediate family, thanks to the blood pact, but they can still go after his entourage.
Damn, I thought these guys'd know better. Seriously, something must be wrong with their brains. Don't they know what they've been serving all this time? What kind of idiots would—wait a second… Do they actually know? Or are they under the misconception that their masters are from a somewhat lower species?
Not all noble demons are the same, and some have a lower status than others, while some are more worthy to serve than others. So, what if they don't know what they're currently angering half to death?
I feel my bowels twist.
You must be kidding me.
This is so absurd that I almost cannot resist laughing out loud. It's so obvious. It's so frigging obvious, and I'm just now realizing how secretive my husband and his ex-bed partner are, even though it doesn't appear as such at first. Being married off truly has fried some of my brain cells, hasn't it?
Bryan might be the smarter twin, but I'm not dumb either. Sometimes, though, I forget people don't see what I see.
Yes, the kids have been parading around in their true forms from time to time, but here's the catch: there are plenty of other noble species with eyes slapped onto their foreheads. Arachnoid demons, for example, have dozens, if not hundreds, of eyes of various sizes littering their faces. But these eyes pop up over the years as they grow up, one by one.
Sure, the shimmer in the kids' third eyes is a good hint, but that's not enough, especially when there are so few of Jordan's species around that all the hunters know about them is a nickname, Fallen Angels, and their adult forms. We know nothing of their youngsters' appearances.
Right, that's unknown for us, and it might as well be the same for the vast majority of supernatural beings.
We're all clueless.
But in the end, what's truly misleading is the kids' wings. For the time being, they're featherless, completely naked to the point where they look more like bat wings than bird wings, except maybe for a little fuzz.
The thing is, black feathered wings are one of the main characteristics of their species, alongside the third shiny eye.
In my case, I can tell they're their parents' kids because I see the similarities between the childrens' and the adults' appearances. Even then, their true forms are a far cry from their parents', whose wings and horns are a majestic sight. Eve's and Jordan's third eyes are also a sight to behold, so piercing it's hard to face sometimes.
"—We're telling you, Todd is mistaken!"
"Mistaken about what?"
Jordan's gentleness from earlier is completely gone, and I lift my eyes toward him, still thinking about my hypothesis.
Didn't this man say that parading his title as a patriarch would be a pain in the butt? It's only a way to invite trouble, according to him. So, what about his species? What would happen if people were made aware of it? How much annoyance would that cause? Not like I would know, as Fallen Angels are kinda shrouded in mystery.
Now that I think about it, even I don't know the real name of their species. I only know the nickname, Fallen Angels.
Putting that aside, I wouldn't be surprised if he and Eve had let a misunderstanding emerged in the staff members and didn't bother to correct it, only telling the few who were close to them about what they truly are.
Yeah, but even that had been done half-heartedly. I mean, Todd, their closest aide, didn't even know he was serving a matriarch and a patriarch.
Yet, his reaction at the time spoke volumes.
Fallen Angels seem highly regarded in the demon world. For what reason? Hard to say. Well, I do have some ideas, but I'd rather not think about them. I know I'll have to one of these days. Just not today.
To be fair, both Eve and Jordan acted like it was no big deal when they learned I could see their true forms. Neither seemed to give a shit! And neither were offended when I let their status slip! Of course, I've made some assumptions!
Just how partial are they to me?!
"Dude," James nudges me, "is the moon pretty up there? I don't know what you're thinking about, but stop daydreaming and start focusing."
"Sorry, I let my thoughts wander a bit." Ok, maybe more than a bit. "Where are we?"
"They're still pleading their cases."
The vampire shrugs, visibly annoyed. But then again, I can only tell because I see the color of his eyes whirling into a deeper red.
Well, I'm as annoyed as him, anyway.
The proof Todd has laid before them is irrefutable, yet they're hellbound on denying everything. Again, they're wailing that they're being framed. That's pretty much the only thing they know how to say right now.
Strangely enough, the first one to lose patience is actually Jordan. He grabs the man's jaw and lifts his face, staring down into his eyes.
"You've been serving me for so long, and yet, you don't seem to know my personality very well."
There's no second chance.
For some reason, I'm reminded of these words he had said over a month ago, when talking of the blood pacts.
"Either you speak now and die a painless death, or you speak later and die a horrible death. Your choice."
"Either way," Eve giggles, leaning against Jordan's shoulder, "you're not getting out of here alive. The question is: how will you meet your demise? I have a friend upstairs who's very good at keeping people alive, even when they're on death's door. She's been building up a bit of stress lately, so I'm sure she wouldn't mind blowing off some steam."
…Hopefully, these two will remain partial to me. They're scary as hell when they snap. Even James has taken a step back.