Page 79 of The Demigod

Then there was the bed itself.

It was massive—bigger, even, than a king—and featured a black velvet headboard and all-black bedding.

Daemon was set on the bed, all of his clothes stripped away, save for a small hand towel someone had draped over his privates.

“When Red was unable to heal,” Jo said, reading my mind, “she had a hidden cross etched into her skin. We wanted to be thorough.”

“Does he have a cross?”

“No,” Jo told me, shaking her head sadly.

My gaze slid to the woman with the long black hair who was standing over Daemon, her fine-boned hand held over his face, her eyes closed.

“Please tell me he’s going to be okay,” I demanded when her eyes opened and landed on me.

“I think he has a… fractured essence.”

“What? What is a fractured essence?”

“It’s sort of like… like a crack in the soul,” Jo translated for me.

Lenore nodded. “It’s preventing him from regenerating.”

“Okay. How do we fix it? Do you have some sort of magical caulking?”

I didn’t mean to be funny. And there was nothing humorous about this situation. But several people gathered let out little awkward chuckles, including Daemon’s brother.

On the bed, Daemon let out a howling sound—something animalistic and pained.

My heart cracked at the sound.

“This is better,” I told them.

“Better than what?” Bael asked, dubious.

“Until we got here, he was just… practically dead. No movement. No sounds. No nothing.”

“He Claimed you,” Lenore said, watching me.

“With his wings?” I asked.

“It’s… more than that. But, yes.”

“What are you thinking?” Jo asked her.

“That maybe… maybe the Claiming—and his connection to Nox—could help. When he thought she was being threatened in some way—“

“No one threatened her,” Bael interrupted.

“You kind of snarled,” I told him. “Out of shock, I’m sure. But you did.”

“You did,” Jo confirmed.

“And since he’s so out of it, he might have thought it was worse than it was,” Lenore said. “Which helped him surface enough to try to protect you. I think your love could help heal him. In time.”

“You do love him, don’t you?” Jo asked, watching me.

“I… yes.” It was not the time for lying. Not with Daemon’s life on the line.

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