Page 24 of Touched By Darkness

“I don’t know. Maybe she wants to get close to the throne.”

Amenadiel pushes off the doorway. “Enough!”

Every muscle in Dmitriy’s body stiffens, and he snaps his mouth shut.

“What our little angel told you is correct. Every single word. You’re going to treat her with respect. I won’t have you sneak into her bedroom and wake her up like this again. Am I making myself clear?”

When Dmitriy stays quiet, his father roars, “Am I clear?”

“Yes.”

I swallow thickly, hiding behind a curtain of hair. Amenadiel is scary when he shows his darker nature like this and the sheer violence in his voice clashes against every bone in my body.

“Good. I expect you to treat her well at school and help her settle in.”

“Why are you helping her, Dad?”

It’s an excellent question. And not one I expect to get an honest answer to anytime soon. Amenadiel has his own agenda, I’m sure of it.

“I made a promise.” He walks out, and we both stare after him, equally dumbfounded.

“That was weird,” Dmitriy mutters before gesturing in my general direction. “Get dressed. We’re setting off in five.”

Slipping out of bed, I rummage through the drawers for clean clothes as he disappears through the door. I put on a dress, longer than the one Amenadiel picked out for me yesterday, and a pair of heels. I miss walking barefoot, but I’m not in Eden anymore, so I’ll have to get used to it.

Dmitriy waits for me outside, looking bored and busy at the same time. It’s a specialty amongst the men here. His dark eyes scan over me with disinterest, unlike how he watched me the first time I ran into him. I was a weapon to be used back then to piss off Daemon. Now that he doesn’t know who I am, I’m of no use to Dmitriy. He can’t use me to get beneath Daemon’s skin.

That knowledge hurts. I’m no one to Daemon, Alaric, and Ronan. I’m just another fallen angel in a sea of other girls.

Not even an innocent one he can ruin.

I blink back tears as Dmitriy unfolds his wings.

“Ready to fly, new girl?”

My wings erupt in response, and Dmitriy’s eyes widen with surprise.

“They’re big,” he chokes out.

I shoot up into the sky, fed up with him and his shocked expression and piqued interest. If it were up to me, I would go back to bed and not move for the next ten years. Now I have to start over again.

We circle the academy once before landing on the soft, freshly cut grass outside the front steps. Lanterns line the path, and the trees are decorated with fairy lights. It’s effortlessly pretty. I love that about the night. It has an ethereal, haunting beauty that can’t be felt in the daytime. Not to mention the fresh scent of late night.

I inhale it deep into my lungs, and when I finally open my eyes, I feel more centered.

More like myself.

“So, what’s your plan?” Dmitriy asks as we enter the building. The hallway is crowded with students on their way to class, but since Dmitriy is Lucifer’s nephew, the crowd parts for him like he’s royalty. I guess he is.

It feels weird to walk to reception with Dmitriy close on my heels. He’s the enemy in this fairytale. Not my friend.

It feels even weirder to enroll for a second time. The lady behind the reception doesn’t recognize me either. She simply staples my paperwork together, slams it on the counter, and says, “You’ll find your class schedule and locker number in there. Any other relevant information is in there, too.” Then she shoos me away as though I’m an annoying mosquito.

I blink at her once, twice, and then Dmitriy guides me forward with his hand on my lower back.

“Walk, new girl. At least try to blend in and not look so weird.”

“I don’t feel like I blend in,” I counter.

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