Page 53 of Fallen Demon

“You’re nothing to me,” he said with a snarl.

He turned his back to me and pushed up, flying away.

I slumped against the tree, breathing hard.

Shit, what had I done?

* * *

As the nightbecame darker and colder, I did consider leaving. But to go where? I had no idea where I was, which direction I could go. I didn’t have my phone to reach anyone or look at the GPS, and I could hear animals prowling nearby.

I could fly up, try to see something in the distance, but in this darkness?

It was better if for now if I stayed with the dying fire. I did get up at some point, to use the “restroom” and find more firewood, but I never went far, afraid of getting lost or being taken by surprise by the animals.

It didn’t take long for me to get sleepy, even though I was freezing and starving. I lay down beside the small fire, as close as I could get without getting burned, hugged myself, and closed my eyes.

When I woke up, it was still dark, but I wasn’t shivering anymore. Levi lay beside me, his body an inch from mine, and his wings covering us both. It was like a cocoon of warmth, like a cozy blanket.

I glanced up at him, but in the near darkness, it was almost impossible to see anything. Still, I stared at his face, and I knew that underneath the demon, underneath this evilness that had overtaken him, he was still the same.

The one who cared for me, even though he shouldn’t. Even though he really didn’t want to.

And that gave me hope.

I stayed as quiet as I could, watching him as he slept. His chest moved up and down. I wondered, was this the first time he had truly slept since he disappeared with Ylena?

My heart squeezed—half pain for him, half the bond pulling me toward him.

I rolled to my right side, tucked my right arm underneath my head, and faced him fully. I let my left hand hover over his stonelike chest, not really touching, but close. My fingertips brushed against something on his waist and I paused. Gently touching my fingers to his side, I realized what it was.

I brought my fingers to my line of sight.

Blood.

I sat up, pushing his wings from above me.

Levi groaned, but besides stirring a little, he didn’t wake up. Frowning, I scooted closer to him and saw it.

A large wound on his right side, the blood dripping down his back and drenching the ground.

What?

I shook his shoulder. “Levi.” He groaned but kept on sleeping. I placed a hand on his forehead. He was burning up. “Shit,” I muttered as my heart squeezed.

I stared at the wound. Why wasn’t it healing? Or was it healing slowly? If it stayed open for long, it would get infected. But I had nothing with me. My bag was gone, and I didn’t even have my phone to call for help.

I leaned into him. “Levi,” I called again, but apparently, he was too far gone with the fever to realize what was going on. A demon this big, this powerful … this wound had to be deep and wreaked havoc on the inside to have him knocked him out like this.

I hovered a hand over the wound and lowered it again. There were angels who could use their magic to heal, but I had never mastered that when I could use my magic. Now that it was all messed up, I couldn’t risk doing more damage.

But I couldn’t let him stay like this either.

I shot to my feet and created a plan in my head. I would fly out and?—

An unnatural heap caught my sight and I did a double take. Was that a mound of mountain lions? My mouth opened as I realized they were dead, with blood smeared all over them. I followed the trail of blood, and found it actually started a few feet from where I was.

Wait.

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