Page 63 of Touched By Death

“Can you speak English?” I snarl. “We’re running out of time.”

Another spark shoots from the fireplace. The left side of Amenadiel’s mouth pulls up. “Aurelia is still an angel deprived of the light. This battle, if you want to call it that, is a battle of the soul. In order to survive, she must leash the darkness inside her and bring it to heel. Genesis, on the other hand, pats it like a tame tiger.”

“Why’s that?” Alaric asks, uncrossing his arms. “How can she be so powerful when Lucifer killed her that day?”

“Because she is of the shadows. Lucifer killed the light inside of Genesis. Without light, only darkness remains. Come on, it’s not rocket science. Adjusting to the darkness takes time.”

“This is your fault,” I mutter, and he cuts his eyes to me. “If you hadn’t tried to lure her darkness to the surface to find Genesis, none of this would have happened.”

“Is that so?” He rises to his feet, the chair scraping across the floor. Rounding the desk, he homes in on me like a predator zeroes in on their prey. “Are you telling me you never toyed with her darkness?”

My gaze flits to Daemon, but soon returns to Amenadiel when he continues in that taunting drawl of his that’s edged with smoke and danger. “Never tried to lure it to the surface? Never tossed her a bone to see if she bites?”

“Shut up,” I hiss, squeezing my eyes shut on the images flashing through my mind of Daemon fingering Aurelia while she was tied to the bed.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” He’s too close; I can sense the shift in the air right before the soft brush of his calloused fingers graze my cheekbone as he tucks my hair away. “You’re a creature of Hell, sweetheart. We’re hardwired to feel drawn to the darkness. It seduces us and lures us deeper into its clutches.”

I open my eyes and reach up to swipe his hand away. “Let’s just get her back.”

Scanning his cold, brown eyes over my face, he inches closer. The urge to step back seizes me in its iron grip. It takes everything in me to stay rooted to the spot in the light of his domineering presence.

“You can’t let your emotions rule you, Dari. Not anymore. Genesis is cunning. She has taken her time studying you all in turn and finding your weaknesses.” He leans in and lowers his voice. “Do you know what that means, Dari?”

My throat jumps, and I shake my head softly.

“It means that she’ll weaponize your emotions and use them against you.”

“I think we need to worry about not getting slaughtered,” Alaric says, perusing the bookshelf. He looks over his shoulder and adds, “She did kill Daemon’s guard, after all. What’s stopping her from killing us when we find her?”

“Nothing,” Amenadiel admits, and I look up at his side profile as he peers over his shoulder at Alaric. “But she would have already done it.”

Dmitriy throws himself down onto the leather couch, stretching his arm across the back. “What does she want?”

Chuckling, Amenadiel drags a hand across his mouth. His scent invades my nostrils, warm and heady as he shifts to the side. “She wants to kill my brother and me; there’s zero doubt about that. But unless you’ve noticed, the darkness feeds on chaos and destruction. What does that tell us?”

“That it’s a bad idea to fuck your brother’s female behind his back?” Alaric quips, lighting up a cigarette and tossing the lighter to Ronan across the desk.

I scrunch up my nose. “You fucked Aurelia behind Daemon’s back, remember? Or have you conveniently forgotten?”

“That’s not the same thing.” Alaric takes a drag, holds it in his lungs while watching me, then blows it out to the side. “Daemon knew.”

“How could I not? You reeked of her, and you didn’t even try to hide it. You’re fucking lucky I didn’t cut your dick from your body,” Daemon mutters, walking over to the window behind me. He shifts the curtain aside to peer outside.

“I figured we don’t keep secrets from each other.”

“It’s never too late to castrate you,” Daemon warns, letting the curtain fall back into place before turning around and pinning his impatient gaze on Amenadiel. “What are we waiting for?”

Spinning back around, Amenadiel looks at me pointedly. “Don’t fall for Genesis’s tricks. Even when you think Aurelia is back, be careful. Don’t try to lure her shadows to the surface until she’s regained her strength. We don’t know what the hell she’s been subjected to while locked away in the dark.”

“The stalker?” I ask, a lump forming in my throat. “You think he got to her?”

“For fuck’s sake,” Daemon growls, striding past us. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Amenadiel watches him pace like a caged circus animal, and then he looks back at me and clasps my shoulder. “Keep your wits about you.”

His touch burns me in the most curious way possible. The man in front of me has always been an enemy, yet now, I see something flicker to life in his cold eyes—a glimmer of light. I frown, leaning in closer for a better look, but he drops his hand, steps back, and motions for the rest of us to leave the room. “Go find Genesis.” With a shake of his head and a soft chuckle, he scratches behind his ear. “I never thought I’d say this, but make sure my brother is safe.”

DAEMON

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