Page 16 of Demon's Dark Love

She reaches out, her fingers brushing mine. “Enoch, that’s...”

“I know,” I interrupt, a bitter laugh escaping. “A demon without power is as good as dead.”

“But you’re not dead,” she counters, her touch sending a shiver through me. “You’re changing. Maybe it’s not a loss, but a transformation.”

“A transformation?” I scoff, though her words ignite a spark of hope. “Into what?”

She smiles. “Into something better.”

I shake my head, disbelief warring with a flicker of belief. “It’s not just that. When you touch me, it’s like...”

“Like what?” she prompts, her hand absently caressing a nearby rose.

“Like a new kind of magic,” I admit, my voice barely above a whisper. “Something I’ve never felt before.”

Her eyes widen. “Magic?”

I nod, feeling a strange surge of energy when our eyes connect. “Yes. It’s... it’s different. Not demonic, but powerful.”

She looks away. “Maybe it’s love.”

“Love?” The word feels both foreign and right. “Love is weakness."

"No," Lily objects, her finger finding a thorn. She doesn't wince as it draws blood. She raises her hand and looks at it, then smiles at me. "It's the most powerful force in the human arsenal."

The scent of roses and earth mingles with the tension between us.

“I mean,” she says, her eyes meeting mine, “look at what it’s doing to us.”

The sound of footsteps approaching makes us both tense. But we aren't doing anything against the rules.

I put on my best scornful face and look at Griselda who is approaching.

"Enoch." Griselda’s voice grates on my nerves. "Your mother is looking for you."

"I swear I just left her."

"Something about table decorations."

I groan as I know I'm expected to go. "Like I care."

She narrows her eyes, suspicion gleaming. "You’d better hurry. She’s not in a forgiving mood."

"Is she ever in a forgiving mood?" I retort, a smirk playing on my lips.

Griselda huffs and stalks away, her presence like a dark cloud dissipating.

“I can’t relate to them anymore,” I confess, the weight of the realization hitting me as I watch Griselda stalk away. “The other demons. It’s like I’m a stranger in my own home.”

“Then make a new home,” Lily says softly. “With me.”

I look at her, truly look at her, and see the possibility of a future I never dared to dream. “How?”

Lily's smile returns as she goes back to gardening."No idea. But it's another thing we humans are good at. We find solutions to impossible problems."

I stand abruptly. Our eyes meet again before I turn and stride away, her words ringing in my ears.

7

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