Page 106 of Demon Monster's Little Human

“You can’t escape this.”

The laughter is slow, deep, filled with centuries of amusement and hatred.

“And she will betray you again.”

I barely register the words before Dain moves.

One second, he is stone, frozen in the realization of the past. The next, he is fire.

His roar tears through the shrine, his wings snapping open as his power surges in a violent wave. His body trembles, his golden eyes flickering between rage and devastation.

He turns on me.

His hand slams against my chest, shoving me backward.

I stumble, gasping, the impact sending a sharp pain through my ribs.

He looks at me like I am a disease. A curse.

Like I have destroyed him.

Again.

“You did this to me.” His voice is hoarse, broken.

I wildly deny it, stepping forward. “Dain, no. I didn’t?—”

His wings snap open, his entire body taut with barely restrained fury.

“Stay away from me.”

The words lash across my skin worse than any wound.

I reach for him again, pleading. “You saw what happened. It wasn’t?—”

He snarls, flinching away from my touch.

“I don’t care what I saw.” His eyes blaze with torment, his claws curling into his palms. “I don’t care what the truth is.”

His voice drops, dark and merciless.

“You are still her.”

The air is sucked from my lungs.

My throat constricts as I say, “I’m not. I’m Liora.”

He steps closer, looming over me, his breath ragged, his chest moves, up and down, with barely contained fury.

“No.” His voice is nothing more than a whisper, but it is lethal.

“You were never Liora.”

I choke back a sob. “That’s not true.”

He leans in, his eyes burning into mine, something unhinged clawing through his expression.

“Then prove it.”

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