Page 85 of Demons of Eden

I can’t contain the dark laugh from bubbling out of my throat, along with my blood, despite the sharp rise in pain it causes. The blood dribbles down my chin as Zenith’s eyes widen, realising who she’s stabbed. Realising that she’s fucking failed.

To think, the moment I laid eyes on Eden, my first thought was to kill the impossibly beautiful woman, and here I am now, dying for her.You’re not dying today, Eden,I promise her silently. My girl is safe.

“What the—” Zenith’s words are cut off by an earth-shattering scream which steals my thoughts.

The pain in her voice…the ache so clear in her soul. If there wasn’t a dagger practically splitting it in two already, the sound would break my heart.

“Mm…sorry…Hellfire.” The blood drips on my chest, the beat of my heart slowing almost to a stop, but I won’t let my eyes fall shut until she’s safe. It’s getting colder, though—harder to keep fighting.

“No!” Eden screams again as two massive wings burst from behind her back, tearing through her shirt. The black feathers look as if they have a soft white glow around them, only making them more striking. Eden’s eyes turn a terrifying shade of red as her wings propel her closer with a powerful beat as she lunges forward.

I’m imagining her as the Angel of Death. Does this mean I’m dead already?

“How fucking fitting,” I grumble. The tang of blood in my mouth makes me choke for a moment. No, that's wrong. My lungs are filling with fluid.

I’m drowning in my own blood…

I spit and cough as a strange energy surges, and the Angel of Death, who’s wearing Eden’s face, reaches me. She kneels at my side, tears streaming down her cheeks, her red eyes glowing.

“S-stop…” a weak voice begs behind me, but I can only see Eden.

“D-don’t do this. They’ll kill you for this!” a woman wails, her words turning to sharp screams as Eden pulls the dagger from my abdomen before gripping the handle of the one in my chest.

“Wait…is she safe? Is her…baby…” I choke, the blood filling my mouth, forcing me to spit, even as the Angel of Death tries to shush me. My mind conjured the perfect replica, sass and all. “Is her baby safe?” I finally manage, but the angel chokes as well, her sobs consuming her for a moment.

“Rio, stop talking, please…I can save you. I have to save you. You can’t leave me!” she demands, confusing me. My hands have been freed, so I struggle to reach for her. It takes a moment, but my shaking hand caresses her cheek with the last of my strength.

“I’m always with you in your heart, Hellfire. Don’t forget me…” My eyes fall shut, hand dropping back to my side.

“No! Rio, open your eyes. Look at me, Rio? Rio?!”

Smack!

I blink, realising my cheek stings. Dead people don’t get stinging cheeks, do they?

“You slapped me?” I ask the angel that looks like my Eden. “What the hell?”

“You do not get to fucking leave me here after you made me fall in love with you, Rio. I need you. I fucking need you. Staywith me, please. Don’t close your eyes…” Eden cries, swiping at her tears angrily as she looks around us. She settles on something behind me, but I don’t know what it is. She must make her mind up because she yanks the dagger from my chest, pressing her palm to my skin as blood gushes from the wound.

“So pretty when you yell,” I murmur, smiling as I watch her, even if she’s only in my mind.In my dying mind.“Fuck, I’ll miss you,” I confess, more tears falling from my eyes as the pain in my chest suddenly intensifies.

Searing lava rushes through my veins, and the scent of burning flesh fills the air around us.“Argh!”I cry out in a rough scream, back arching as my heart thumps like it’s being physically squeezed into the action, pounding against the agonising wound just below it.

“Fight for me, Rio. Come back to me, please. Don’t leave us…” Eden begs, forcing my eyes to meet hers.

“It hurts…too much.” I shake my head. This is worse than being stabbed.

Fuck, what is this hellish angel doing to me?

“Fight for me, Rio!” Eden demands this time, her tone becoming bossy even if the words are still choked up. There’s another surge of fire through my veins, passing through my stomach and chest with a blaze that jolts my entire body.

“Oh, fuck me!” I shout as my heart stumbles back into a steady, though accelerated rhythm once more, and I sit up like I’ve been electrified. “Fuck, woman. What was that?!” I demand, touching my fingers to my chest, still covered in blood, but the stab wound is sealed shut now. I barely noticed the wound in my abdomen compared to the one in my chest, but it’s healed too. Only a pair of tiny red scars remain to prove it had really happened. Well, the blood covering my body is pretty damning too.

“You fucking bastard!” My feathered hellfire launches into my arms, and I groan, the ache in my chest still intense. Despite the pain, I wrap my arms around Eden, burying my face in her neck as she sobs. “Don’t,” she cries, sucking in ragged breaths, “ever…fucking…do that…again!” Her entire body quakes in my arms, and I hold her tight as she cries for me.

I can’t hide the smile that stretches my lips. “You saved me,” I whisper.

“Me and the baby…I didn’t know what to do until I felt their vitav. It…” she trails off, leaning back and looking down at me, her hands resting on my shoulders. “I felt it, like it was on the surface of them, rather than deep inside, needing to be drawn out. I think their creepy power-stealing ritual actually made it easier for me to take it in the end.” Eden glances behind us, looking at the two human husks. The effect of stealing every last bit of their magical energy has left them almost mummified.

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