Page 84 of Demons of Eden

A dagger? Oh, I really don’t like the fucking sound of that…

I may not be afraid of Lorcan, but a dagger? Of dying? Of them killing my baby? Those things make me feel both furious and terrified.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

The sprite suddenly screeches, but I don’t have time to do more than spin around and see Lorcan with his hand on Eden’s wrist before they disappear.Fuck.

Of course, it’s this exact moment that everyone starts fucking attacking, but the one person I don’t see? Zenith.Double fuck.I search the area frantically, Ash catching my eye.

“Track her!” he yells. “Go! We’ll hold the others off.”

I glance between my brothers and the chaos around us. Leaving them to fight this battle alone feels wrong, but Eden needs me.

“Go!” Torrin shouts. “We’ll keep them back. Save our girl!”

Not needing to be told twice, I turn to run after her but find myself pausing for just a moment. Ash is seemingly struggling to fight against the magic of a few witches, but as a demon, he should be so much stronger. It shouldn’t be a difficult task to fight against a witch or two, especially when they’re not trained in dealing with demons. He’s almost a little sluggish.

Possibly drugged or poisoned somehow?

Well,it seems like he’s holding up enough to not get himself killed, so it’s something we’ll have to figure out. Once Eden is safe. Torrin and Daion can watch his back for now.

I activate the tracking through her bracelet’s counterpart, a plain silver chain tightly attached to my own wrist. There’s a tugging sensation as it resonates with hers, both at my wrist and in my mind. I head off in the direction the bracelet is leading me, feet pounding over the grass and dirt. They can’t have taken her far, and I find myself scanning my eyes around constantly as I run, even with the bracelet leading me forwards. There’s no sign of any activity on this part of the land. No witches, no signs of struggle, no Eden. I keep moving forward.

As I get closer to the point it’s tugging me towards, something happens that has my blood turning cold. It pushes me to run faster, ignoring everything else around me. I have to get to her.Now.My heart is pounding hard in my chest, and I know it isn’t just the physical exertion causing it. I never told her the real purpose of the bracelet or of all the things it can do. Other than it being a useful tracking device, that is.

If her life is close to ending, the bracelets heat up, the silver metal turning red as itburns. The sensation of it heating against my skin is unmistakable, and I refuse to accept what that means. I won’t let it happen. I have to get to her first. The bracelet’s pull leading me just ahead. She’s so close. I vault over the wooden fencing, landing in a big open field. No crops or plants, just some large rocks scattered across the green area.

Where the hell is—there.

When I finally lay eyes on my Hellfire, the bracelet's red glow makes sense. In the worst fucking way possible.

She’s been strapped down onto one of the large rocks for some kind of dark ritual. I can guess at its purpose, given why they’ve targeted her. I keep moving, but she’s right across the large field, and they’ve encased her and themselves inside of a protective barrier. It’s been quickly thrown up, so I’m sure I could take it down, but the seconds—minutes it would take, it would delay me for too long. I quickly realise there’s no chance Ican reach them in time to save her and her baby. Not with Zenith and Lorcan hovering over Eden, chanting as they slowly raise their daggers in perfect synchronisation, ready to end her life.

I stop running as the reality of the situation suddenly hits. There’s only one option left, because even if I somehow get there in time to tear through the barrier, it won’t be enough. There’s a chance I could stop the bleeding and save her life, but if her baby doesn’t make it…if Eden loses her child, the one she’s fought so hard to keep safe, she’ll never forgive me. I would never forgive myself, either. That baby, her baby, deserves to live, and they deserve to grow up knowing what it feels like to be loved by Eden. Shewillget the opportunity to be an incredible mother. I’m making sure of it. My only regret is that I won’t get to witness it for myself.

Decision made, I close my eyes, whisper the activation incantation, and brace myself. Strangely, activating the bracelet’s kill switch is the easiest decision I’ve made since the moment that raven-haired witch stepped into my life and blew it up.

I smile when I feel the surge of energy passing through both bracelets. Though I clench my teeth, biting back a hiss of pain as my back then slams against the rough slab of rock a second later.

Above me, the power-hungry morons with their daggers raised, now over my body instead of hers, are both staring up at the sky as they reach the final verse of their chant. A traditional appeal to deities above to grant them success in their spell. I can’t help the satisfaction I feel at knowing they’ll be disappointed when they see it’s all for nothing. When they fail to get their hands on the unfathomable power supposedly inside of Eden’s unborn child.

I turn my head to the side, spotting a very confused Eden standing where I was a moment before, grasping her empty wrist in the opposite hand. The bracelets have melted off, destroyed inthe overload caused by the process of switching the two of us. I hope she’s not too mad about my ruining her birthday present. I’m sure the others will give her a replacement once this is all over.

As the daggers are turned downward, I finally lock eyes with the woman I love. Her lips part, tears filling her eyes as she realises what I’ve done. She takes a step forward, towards me, and I only have enough time to shake my head, silently pleading with her to run. There’s nothing she can do now. She shouldn’t waste her chance to escape feeling guilty over me.

I chose this, and I would die for Eden and her baby a thousand times over if I had to. I’ve accepted now that if I didn’t owe her for my mistakes, for letting her down, Istillwould have switched our places. I’ve never felt this way about another person, finding them so profoundly infuriating but captivating at the same time.

My feelings for her, even when it was still only grudging attraction, felt like a complete contradiction, but Eden is a contradiction given life. Spiteful, sassy, and maddening, but also fiercely protective, funny, and surprisingly kind. I may not have deserved her, but she was mine, even if it was just for a little while.

“I love you,” I whisper, despite knowing she can’t hear me. I also hope she might actually love me too, that she felt the strange connection between us I had initially resented from the very beginning as?—

The first dagger plunges into my abdomen, cutting off my train of thought as my world explodes into pain. Within less than a second from the first, the second dagger plunges into my chest, narrowly missing my heart only by the virtue of my torso being longer than Eden’s.

Despite the overwhelming agony caused by the daggers now impaled into my flesh, I smile when I realise I’m crying not because of that pain, but becauseI’ll miss her.

I’ll miss her, and I’ll miss my brothers, along with the rest of our family, who always cared despite me making it difficult. I also regret not getting to meet Eden’s child, but I know they’ll still be loved without me, and it’s enough to know they’ll get that chance because of me.

A face above mine flickers between utter surprise and growing fury.

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