Page 23 of Touched By Death

What about the stalker? Dari said there had been no sighting, but why would the stalker give up? Unless they’re biding their time, watching her silently from the shadows.

Anger quickens my blood. I toss the soap at the wall, watching it bounce to the shower floor and settle near the drain. The thought of a stalker that’s obsessed with the angel, my angel, pisses me the fuck off. Does he imagine himself touching her? Hurting her? What the fuck does he want with her?

“You think she wants a male angel as weak and pathetic as you? Look at you, son. Strung up like a weakling with your wings tied behind your back.”

The memory slams into me with such vicious intensity that I stumble back and grab my head.

“You think she wants a male angel as weak and pathetic as you?”

“Fuck you,” I snarl, breathing harshly. “Get out of my fucking head.”

As my heart rate begins to settle back into a healthy rhythm, I shut the water off. I step out of the shower and reach for one of the towels on the towel rack. After scrubbing my hair and body, I exit the bathroom and get dressed. Ronan is where I left him, seated at the end of my bed with his phone in his hand. Dari stops her pacing when the door clicks shut behind me.

Alaric toys with a yoyo—a red one this time. Up and down, it slides. “Dari has a point.”

“About what?” I feign confusion, walking over to the mirror that’s mounted to my door. My hair stands in all directions. While I attempt to wrangle it into submission by running my fingers through it, Alaric pockets his yoyo and says, “We’re all in love with her.”

I scoff, not even sparing him a glance as I straighten up.

“I mean it, Daemon.” His voice drops, becoming more serious. “I’m not letting her go.”

“Neither am I,” Ronan mutters, typing out a text on his phone before looking up at me. “I don’t care that you’re the one in charge. Aurelia is ours, not Dmitriy’s.”

At his admission, my shoulders slump. My father’s words come back to taunt me, but I force them back down. “She knows about the betrothal. Did you not see the look in her eyes? Because I sure as fuck did. She won’t take us back.”

Releasing a disgusted sound, Dari opens her mouth to retort, but Ronan shoots her a look, then rises to his feet. His tall build rivals mine, but his eyes are softer. “What happened down there, Daemon?”

Steeling my jaw, I block the memories that threaten to bubble to the surface.

“This isn’t you, man. The Daemon I know doesn’t take no for an answer.” His hand comes down on my shoulder. I try to shrug him off, but he tightens his grip and jostles me. “The Daemon I know—my friend—would make her submit. What is it you always say? This is Hell. We take what we want, remember?”

“Well, I don’t want her.”

His fingers twitch on my shoulder, and he releases a surprised laugh, which soon deepens until it grates on my damn nerves. “You can lie to yourself all you fucking want, but I see right through you.” Dropping his hand, he gestures to the others. “We see right through you.” His eyes soften, forcing me to avert my gaze. “Beneath that hard exterior hides the real you, Daemon. You’re crazy about this girl. Maybe you don’t like it, but it doesn’t change the fact that she’s got you by your balls.”

“Maybe it’s not about me.” Meeting his gaze, I shrug. “My father proved one thing this week.”

“Yeah? What’s that? Besides the fact that he’s a psychopath.”

I wet my lips and shove my hands in my pockets to stop myself from fidgeting. “I can’t protect her. I’m weak.” With another shrug of my shoulders, I try to sidestep him, but he’s faster, his brows furrowing.

“What are you saying, Daemon?”

A headache is forming. “How long did my father keep me locked down there, stealing my powers and ordering his guard to torture me?”

When Ronan stays silent, I continue, “Aurelia could have been attacked in that time. The stalker could have gotten to her. Where was I to protect her? To keep her safe?”

“We’re a team,” he says, the confusion in his eyes clearing. “You can’t keep her safe by yourself. Fuck that! She’s ours, and we protect her together.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say.” I’m over this conversation. “My future is not in my hands. I have no fucking control over it.” Gesturing to Dariana, I say to Ronan, “It won’t be long until I marry Dari, and what then? What happens to the little angel when I have a wife? Is she going to stand on the sidelines and watch us get married?”

“Ronan and I will look after her,” Alaric speaks up, his lips twitching, but I can’t see the funny side of it. Not now.

With a shake of my head, I leave the room. “It’s over.”

They follow me into the hallway, and Dari’s voice stops me in my tracks. “I never took you for a scaredy-cat, Daemon. I must say I’m disappointed.”

Without looking back, I continue down the hallway, shoulders tense. My slumped wings drag over the floor, collecting dust and debris, but I barely notice. I know my friends want me to fight for the little witch. I was going to tell her about my father’s plans. But every time I had her to myself, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I’m not marrying Dari. I refuse to let my father dictate my future like that. But sometimes, like today, I don’t see another way out.

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