Page 103 of Touched By Darkness

She starts to walk off again, so I throw my head back and blow out a frustrated breath. This bitch is so fucking stubborn.

“I’m still not letting you walk back alone.”

“Why do you care?” she asks when I catch up.

I duck beneath a branch. “Maybe I don’t. If you’ve known us before, you’ll also know that Daemon won’t hesitate to kill me if I let something happen to you out here.”

She snorts a laugh. “He won’t. He’s hot-headed, abrupt, and impulsive, but he’s loyal to his friends. If you’re ever in danger, he’ll protect you with his life.”

I slow to a halt, and she stops, too. It’s dark out here. The moon filters through the canopy of leaves overhead, allowing me enough light to see the shimmer of tears on her wispy lashes.

“How did we happen?”

She frowns, and I rush out, “In the other reality?”

As she tucks her hair behind her ear, a small smile lifts her lips. “I was an innocent angel with no previous sexual experience. Daemon had an obsession with me, which made you curious to find out what it was about me that had caught his attention.”

“Did I find it?”

A soft nod. “I think so. If nothing else, you enjoyed asserting dominance over me. It was a game you and Daemon played.”

Now I’m smiling, too. “That sounds like me.”

She chews on her lip, seemingly uncertain. “We should go before the robed man returns.”

“Yeah,” I agree.

Neither of us moves.

But then her wings erupt, dwarfing mine in size and power, and she shoots up into the air.

I watch her circle the trees, silhouetted by the ethereal moonlight. There’s a grace about her, the way her wings part the air. Despite the raven feathers and the darkness bleeding from her soul, her existence is a conundrum. She’s void of the holy light, yet it’s there... somehow.

Blanketing the darkness and smoothing out its rough edges.

I take flight too, soaring through the branches and erupting into the night with the intensity of a resurrected phoenix.

The little witch is in front of me, close enough to touch if I reach out my hand. We study each other with equal wariness. Her, because she claims to be in love with me. And me, because it scares me how drawn I feel to her despite my own reservations.

Unlike what she claims, it has little to do with Daemon’s newfound obsession. I don’t think any one of us understands why we’re so affected. Why her? Why like this?

When she reaches out, I hold my breath. Anticipation swirls in my belly. I’ll soon feel the brush of soft fingers on my skin. My lips tingle and goosebumps erupt on my bare arms, but her touch never comes. Instead, it retreats, and she sets off in the direction of Daemon’s house.

It’s still dark when we arrive at the property. None of the others are back yet.

The little witch walks up the stone steps, but I move in front of her before she can open the door. I place my hand on the handle. “I should check if it’s safe first. Your stalker knows you’ve been staying here.”

Her lips twitch with a smile. “You think you can handle an armed stalker better than me?”

“I know so,” I tell her, opening the door.

As we walk inside, the sconces flicker to life, casting dancing shadows on the walls. The likelihood of her stalker being here is slim, but my heart still thuds heavily, and a chill crawls down my neck.

While I poke my head into the dark living room, she makes a beeline for the stairs.

“It’s clear down here.” I follow after her, eyeing up her butt and long legs in that short dress as she ascends the steps.

“The stalker isn’t here. It wouldn’t make any sense to fly straight here.”

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