Page 16 of Touched By Darkness

Dropping the bloody knife and stepping over his body, I place my hand on the gate as a thunderclap cracks across the sky. It creaks open, much to my surprise, and I slip through before I can change my mind.

Not that I have a choice. No sooner have I exited Eden, the door slams shut behind me with such force that I jump.

“I have to say I’m proud of you, Angel. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

My head whips in Amenadiel’s direction.

He’s leaning against the wall with a smirk on his lips. The kind of smirk that makes my skin crawl and my heart thud violently in my chest.

“I didn’t think you’d come.”

With a shrug, he uncrosses his feet and pushes off the wall. “I think I’m growing soft in my old age. I can’t go breaking promises now, can I?”

I snort as I set off walking. “Drop the saint act. You could have gone straight back and killed Daemon the moment I freed you, but you didn’t.”

He follows behind. “Could I?”

Frowning, I side-eye him.

“You’re forgetting one very important detail. I can’t touch him, remember? There’s a watertight contract, forged in the laws of the Universe, which ties my hands.”

I come to a halt as we near the forest. “You’ll lose your title and right to the throne.”

He keeps walking, and I hurry after him, my blood-soaked hair sticking to my naked skin. “So why don’t you kill me now? Like you tried to do before I escaped through the door.”

“I made a promise.”

I come to a halt again, and a sudden burst of incredulous laughter bubbles up from my chest. “You’re full of shit, Amenadiel. This is Hell, and there are no morals here, remember?”

He keeps walking.

I take chase, and he holds a branch out of the way.

“Nice tits. I like them covered in angel blood.”

“Fuck off!” I step past him into the forest. And just like last time, I feel as if I’ve entered a new world. The temperature drops drastically, and the silence presses in from all sides. There’s a haunting eeriness that caresses the sheen of cold sweat on my skin.

My breath is visible in the air when I spin around to face Amenadiel. “Uphold your part of the bargain.”

“Don’t worry,” he chuckles, amused by the distrust in my eyes. “I’ll fly us back. We can’t let you get lost in these dangerous woods.”

The way he says “dangerous” sends shivers down my spine, and I suppress a shudder as I follow him deeper into the night.

“How did you know I would create a new tear in the veil by killing Oliver?”

His big steps disturb the white mist around his ankles. “Every time an angel disrupts the tapestry, it creates a tear. It hasn’t happened a lot, as you might have guessed.” He winks at me over his shoulder.

“Are you saying I disrupted the tapestry by walking out of Eden the first time?”

“Yes, but I’m yet to figure out why the gates opened for you the first time.”

“You’re powerful. Can’t you create a tear in the veil yourself? Since you’re powerful enough to enter through it.”

Amenadiel ignores my question. “What’s your plan when we return? Run straight back into Daemon’s arms?”

My heart smarts. “Is Dariana alive?”

“I killed her in your dream. While your dream state affected you directly in this reality, I couldn’t manipulate the rest of the world through it. If it were that simple, I’d manipulate your mind and makeyoukill Daemon.”

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