Free Ruined (The Seraphim Series Book 1) by Sophia Stafford

spell has got to be just as desperate as online dating.” Lilliah shuddered; she didn’t feel like she was there just yet. Maybe in a few more years, but not now.
    “Online dating isn’t creepy anymore. Did you know that one in three couples now meet online?” Rebecca said seriously.
    Lilliah couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “I can’t believe you just said that! That sounded like it came straight from an eHarmony advert.”
    “I think I actually got it from the eHarmony advert!” Rebecca replied.
    Both girls giggled.
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    “What were my other lives like?” Lilliah asked out loud, running her fingers over the words of the book sprawled out in front of her.
    Had she been the same in her other lives? Same personality? Same likes and dislikes? She didn’t know and was finding it almost impossible to find out. She sat on the floor of the library, going through every book she could find on reincarnation, with the laptop opened beside her, trying to make sense of her new world and her past one.
    Benedict had done his best to help, telling her everything he knew about her past lives and about reincarnation in general. Sadly, he didn’t know much. And Azrael? Well, she could probably count on one hand how many times she had seen or spoken to him in the week she’d been at his house. Even when Benedict would join them all for dinner, Azrael would always stay away, and apart from the odd times they crossed paths in the hallways, Azrael had pretty much stayed out of sight. Wasn’t that rude? They were his guests, after all. But after stewing on it for a few nights, she’d decided it was probably for the best. She still didn’t understand her own feelings when it came to Azrael. She knew she shouldn’t trust him, and she knew he was dangerous (well, her head knew that). There was something else in her, deep inside, making her want to trust him, making her want to be near him. It wasn’t just her heart; it was her gut, her bones, her soul. It was a feeling she couldn’t understand.
    “You know talking to yourself is the first sign of madness?” Lilliah’s head shot up to see an amused Azrael standing in the doorway.
    “Going crazy is the last of my worries right now.” The butterflies in her stomach were going crazy. How could he do that do her by just walking in a room?
    “Why do you spend so much time in here?” he questioned while walking into the room. He sat on the sofa opposite Lilliah.
    “I want to try and learn as much as I can. There’s not exactly a book on all of this,” she told him, noting that he was wearing all black again. Did he only own black clothes?
    “Well, you can ask me anything you want.” A small smile tugged the corner of his mouth.
    “Really?” Lilliah watched him nod his head once.
    “I have a lot of questions,” she said, grabbing her book as she moved to sit on the seat beside him. She tucked her leg under her as she sat in the corner.  “So,” she broached, finally picking one question, “how did I die? You know, before.”
    “Lots of ways.” He shared the information as if she had just asked him any old question. “The plague, you got trampled on by a horse and cart, drowned, fell out of a tree, the common cold. Once even in childbirth.”
    “Childbirth?” she repeated, horrified, quickly regretting her first question.
    “Both you and the child died,” he confirmed without remorse. “Don't forget you've lived through some really dark times.” His tone softened. He stopped speaking for a moment, as if contemplating his next words. “You've never lived past your twenty-first birthday.”
    “Never?” she asked, choking on a lump that had formed in her throat.
    “No.” He shook his head. “You’ve died every time I’ve gotten close to you. It’s almost as if you could sense it, someone like me getting close, so your