Page 132 of Touched By Darkness

The kind that tells me not to go anywhere or I’ll be in deep trouble. I don’t heed his warning, intent on protecting the damaged, bleeding organ in my chest.

I’ve desperately tried to gain their love again, but it turns out it was never mine to own.

I look back at Dariana, and for the first time, I see what she is. She’s a royal in waiting.

She’s the woman chosen for Daemon. The one deemed worthy. She’s the one who’ll get every damaged and imperfect part of him.

The one who’ll get to feel his child kick inside her.

Not me.

It’ll never be me. I’m a placeholder. The heartache I’ve endured to get them back has been for nothing.

Everything was for nothing…

A sob escapes me—a pained, haunted sound that cuts through the silence like a sharp knife. It slices my heart, tearing the organ into tiny pieces that float through the air like confetti.

In the midst of my heartbreak, I hear the creak of an old door behind me.

The door no one else can see but me.

More tears fall, but I don’t fear the pale hand covered in rotting flesh and maggots. Not anymore.

Dark smoke seeps through the stone walls and glides down the damp surface to pool on the floor. Closer and closer it crawls, tendrils of smoke creeping toward my feet.

My eyes snag on the wide-open door and the gaping darkness inside. It calls to my bleeding heart. Whispering promises that claw beneath my skin and pull me closer.

I step through the thick fog at my feet, disturbing it with every step.

“What is she staring at?” Dariana asks, looking to Daemon for help, who is inching closer.

Screams of terror emanate from the darkness. I pause, barely daring to breathe. The air is cold, and my breath puffs out in front of me. I take another hesitant step closer.

“Daemon?” Dariana’s voice is growing urgent. The others are on their feet, too.

Lucifer is watching me with a crease between his brows.

Their concern can’t save me now.

I look down and pause. My dress is torn, and my chest is covered in stab wounds, too many to count. Touching my fingers to the bloody lacerations, I stumble back, only to be pulled forward again as the voice inside the doorway screams.

What’s happening?

The walls crumble to dust around me, and the flames inside the fireplace spread out over the floor, setting furniture alight and burning everything in its path.

In the midst of the chaos, Lucifer watches me closely with narrowed eyes.

“It must be a vision, right?” Dariana asks the others. “She’s seeing things?”

I’m close now. The door is right in front of me, demanding my full attention. Inside lurks the birth of evil—the very essence of fear, pain, and betrayal. I can sense it with every fiber of my being. I’m drawn to it like the tide is drawn to the moon. It calls me closer, whispering sweet nothings to the monster inside me.

Just as I’m about to cross the threshold, I’m pulled back against a hard chest.

“No.” A simple command.

My eyes fall shut as Amenadiel wraps his fingers around my throat from behind. “That is one door I can’t let you enter, Angel.”

“You promised the veil was mended.”

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