Page 12 of Touched By Sin
“That’s because she's a true angel,” Alaric points out, walking ahead toward the castle.
Dariana’s dark eyes snap to me. “You stole an angel?”
Daemon shoves me forward with his hand on my neck. “What do you do when you find a shiny coin on the ground? You pick it up.”
Stumbling forward, I try hard not to fall on my face. It’s humiliating to be paraded around like this. I stand out with my white wings in a sea of black feathers and dark eyes. Next to Daemon’s olive skin, mine looks translucent and pale as snow.
“What are you going to do with her?” Dariana asks. Her instant dislike for me is palpable in the cool air. She had these boys to herself before they snatched me, and she dislikes the competition now that they have a new and more exciting toy.
“What we do with any other girl. Fuck her every hole and leave her ruined.” Daemon’s grip on my neck turns painful. He leans close and breathes me in. “But we’ll take our time with this one. Toy with her a bit before we discard her in the forest to fend for herself.”
“In the forest,” laughs Dariana. “They won’t let her back into Eden when you’re through with her. She’ll have no home.”
Daemon’s eyes are on me as he replies, “Well, then she better convince me to keep her. Isn’t that right, sweet angel?”
“Fuck you!” I hiss, tearing free from his grip. Dariana’s trill laughter turns heads, and curious eyes follow me as I storm inside the building with no clue where I’m going or why I’m here. More girls, wearing black dresses with thin shoulder straps that fall mid-thigh, join their little clique. They eye me with disdain as if I’m an insect they want to squash beneath their feet.
“Where are you going?” Alaric asks, slinging his arm over my shoulders. His smile is infuriating.
Another boy joins their group, eyeing me curiously before an easy smile finds his lips. “I’ve never seen a girl turn you down before.”
“That’s because girls don’t turn us down,” Ronan replies behind me. We’re in a large open hallway with a grand staircase leading up to the second and third floors. Students lean on the railing upstairs, looking down at us and whispering. I’m the fresh gossip, the splash of color in an otherwise bland existence.
An older man with a neatly trimmed beard descends the stairs. He does a double-take when he sees me. “Are my eyes deceiving me?”
Alaric’s smile is easy, but Daemon is tense as he takes up position in front of me.
“My, my, I haven’t seen an angel from Eden in a very long time,” the man says, walking up to us. “Care to explain why she’s here?”
“We found her in the forest.”
“Interesting,” the man says, drawing the word out. He drags his eyes down my body and then back up again. “Pray tell, why were you outside the gates?”
Is he talking to me? I look to the others for help, but they’re intent on the man in front of us. “Err? I was curious.”
His eyebrows shoot up. “Curious?”
“Who are you?” I ask.
Dariana sniggers behind me.
“Who am I?” the man asks me, giving Daemon a long sideways glance before clasping his shoulder. He smiles at me. “Daemon is my nephew.” The boy in question is stiff as a rod, and I get the sense he doesn’t care much for his uncle.
“What are you doing here?” Daemon questions the man, who chuckles and lets go of Daemon’s shoulder. “I came to see my son and nephew. I’ve been away for a few days.”
Daemon says nothing.
“Well, I better be going. It was lovely to meet you,” the man says to me, his smile too wide and sugary to be genuine. Daemon and Alaric watch him leave while Ronan scrolls on his phone.
“I don’t trust him,” Daemon growls, and Alaric nods in agreement. “I didn’t like how he looked at her.” They exchange a glance, communicating silently. I wish I knew what was going on inside their heads. Something tells me I’ll need to figure them out if I want a chance at escaping this place. Freya will be beside herself with worry by now.
Dariana shoots me a disgusted look as she walks past me with her friends. To the boys, she says, “See you in class.”
I watch them leave, secretly admiring their black feathers. The girls’ wings aren’t as big as the boys’, but the black feathers shine beneath the glow from the flickering torches on the walls.
A warm hand slides around the back of my neck, shoving me forward.
“I can walk without you pushing me everywhere,” I growl at Daemon, but he ignores me. His grip hurts and his jaw is tense as we walk up the stairs, then down a hallway lined with doors. Some are propped open, revealing classrooms. In Eden, we do all our lessons out on the soft grass. It’s warm back home, not chilly like here. Maybe that’s why our teachers don’t crowd us into cramped classrooms.
