Demon Fire (Angel Fire #3) - Marie Johnston Page 0,3

that would be tricky. If he was human—which was likely—he would have her committed if she told him the truth. Or if he believed her at all, then he’d despise her as much as she despised herself. If he wasn’t human and had saved her, then he was probably Numen and she’d risk his standing in Numen society if she told him she was fallen. If he wasn’t human, then he was from Daemon and she had bigger problems than how to explain herself.

Her heart rate kicked up as her mind whirled over how she could defend herself. Her breath eked out of her. Would she defend herself? For what? She had nothing but her body and she couldn’t summon enough energy to care about it. Those weeks spent imprisoned in her realm, when she hadn’t talked to anyone, had given her time to think. Time to reflect on what little she’d contributed in her forty-eight years. Young for an angel, but she’d been a warrior.

And now she wasn’t.

Curiosity propelled her next question. Winger would’ve ensured she’d been put nowhere anyone could help her. “Does this ‘just a guy’ have a name?”

“Boone.”

“Boone,” she rasped, testing the name out. It told her nothing about the type of male he was. “First or last name?”

“Does it matter?”

She chuffed out a breath and fire laced down her spine, seizing the air in her throat.

“You’re in pain.” Not a question. He must’ve seen the damage.

“Stings a bit.”

She got the impression he nodded, but he was sitting out of her line of sight, likely on purpose. Maybe he thought it gave him an advantage. Maybe he feared her, though from his steady voice, she doubted it. Maybe he didn’t want to scare her.

He could’ve left her, but he hadn’t. He might be some sadistic asshole who wanted to use her in terrible ways. She tried to summon some fear.

She was unsuccessful. Did she even care what happened to her?

“Your name?” he asked.

Her lips twitched, but she paused. He didn’t know who she was, and she doubted he had any idea what she was. She was no longer Numen. No longer a warrior. She was fallen. Fallen didn’t last long on Earth. Except for Jameson, though he was dead now too.

The thought of Jameson was the shiny cherry topping her mountain of shame. How could she have done what she had with him?

Duh. Because she was no better than him.

Maybe a little better. He’d fallen and turned more thoughtless and awful than he’d been in Numen. She wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t do anything. That way, she couldn’t hurt anyone else.

This could be a new start.

She shoved that traitorous thought away. She was who she was and she wouldn’t forget what she’d done, or who she’d done when she was at her lowest point in life.

“Sierra. My name is Sierra.” Would he want her last name? He wouldn’t find any information on her if he searched.

But all he said was “Your memory’s intact, then. How’d you get out here?”

“Where is here?”

He swore softly.

“I didn’t lose my memory,” she clarified, her voice getting stronger. The part of her that enjoyed some conversation, no matter the subject, was embarrassing. This was her punishment. She wasn’t on Earth to make friends. “I just don’t know where I am.”

“How could you not know?” His tone remained even. They could be talking about how the sun rose and set every day.

Chewing over what she was going to say, she squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t sense malice. If he’d rescued her, he should get some answers. Starting her new life on a pile of lies wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t like she’d thought about what was going to happen once she was dumped on Earth. She’d done everything not to think about it. It’d been her problem.

It wasn’t just her right now. It was Boone. “I don’t recall the attack or how I got here, wherever here is.”

Guilt churned in her stomach until nausea threatened to make her gag. When was the last time she’d eaten? She’d been fed regularly in her cell, awaiting her punishment, but the stress had made it hard to eat.

“The attack,” he murmured as if testing her lie for himself. Perhaps he wasn’t human if he doubted her story when she was in a mutilated heap. “But you know you were attacked.”

“Wasn’t I?” She wanted to tell him she’d been punished and he could take her back to wherever he’d found her. I betrayed my realm,