A Guide To Seduction

Ariel blinked. Her vision was blurry, her body weightless as if she were floating between dreams and reality.

The last thing she remembered was standing in the garden, staring at Damiel, trying to understand why an angel—pure, glowing, otherworldly—was in Hell.

She had been thinking.

Thinking too much.

And then—

Nothing.

A sharp ache pulsed at the back of her head. Her limbs felt heavy, but strangely… there was no real pain.

That didn't make sense.

She should be in agony.

Instead, she was lying on something soft. Not stone, not dirt. Something… warm.

A bed of light.

Wait. What?

A voice—smooth, calm, dangerously gentle—broke through her thoughts.

"You're awake."

Her pulse spiked.

Ariel turned her head, eyes locking onto a figure beside her.

Damiel.