“I hate you!” She lashes out. “I hate you! I hate you!”
Pain erupts at her words, but so do anger and conviction. Cupping her cheeks, I make her look at me. Fury clouds her features… yet there are no tears. “Youare nota murderer. Adrial is. You defended yourself, and if you cannot accept that, if you must find a way to repent, then yes, you are right to blame me.”
“You admit it then, you…monster,”she spits. “It’s your fault. You are just as terrible asheis.” Summer’s eyes flare an icy blue, piercing with calm rage.
My hands clench. “I am nothing like that demon.”
“You are.” She clasps my hands, digging her nails into the backs of them. “You’re worse—you’re a failure. You claim to be created by angels, but there’s nothing holy about you. Your uselessness makes you horrible.”
I barely remember the angels who made me, so quickly was I cast into this world. Their commands were direct: destroy the demon. The first punishment is stone. The second means self-destruction. As an anchor, entombed in stillness, my success lay in my commitment to the darkness, my obedience to their commands. It used to be enough, the isolation and loneliness, all of it for the sake of this realm. I had resigned my mind to purgatory until she bled on me…
“Admit it,” she presses. “Say your name and confess your sins! You’re just another fucking monster in disguise!”
My lips twist, urged to speak whatever she needs. Whatever will help her recover from the pain I’ve forced upon her. Her happiness—is all I have ever wanted.
Summer is right, I am a monster.
And she is wrong. I did not fail, not quite. I have not done as the angels charged me, destroying their escaped demon, and they have cursed me with their failsafe of solidification in return. Despite these failings, my solidarity has had its success—Adrial has remained weakened under my watch.
Her lips twist. “Confess, invoke your name. Confess to me, who you say you love.”
“I have failed you, Summer, done wrong to the one I love beyond all others, and I wish to have loved you from a distance, never waking, never giving you my name. But this, this confession you ask of me? Claiming my worthlessness?” Hardening, I straighten. “It is not true.”
“Coward!” She scrambles to her feet, disgust wrenching her features as she points to the bloody mass and neighboring worms. “If you loved me, you would claim this death and take this burden from me! I am not the murderer, you are!”
Her eyes flash yellow.
I go still, stopping the horror from showing.
Pressing a palm to my chest, I realize why our bond is no more than a whisper…Adrial has possessed her.Except not all hope is lost. Thereisa whisper, a weak thread. A part of her remains, still guarding my name. How he must be torturing her within her own mind, coercing my name from her weakening spirit.
She’s fighting, not entirely lost.
Summer launches at me, her fists railing my chest. “It is the least you could do! I never wanted any of this! Who would want a disgusting creature like you? One who manipulates my thoughts and emotions, tricking me into thinking you are something you’re not. I do not want to be bonded to the likes of you—I never wanted that. I was supposed to leave this shitty town and do so much more with my life!”
I grab her wrists and tug her off of me. “Stop.”
Her lips purse as she spits in my face. Releasing one of her wrists, I wipe her saliva off as her railing continues. “You deserve that and more, beast.”
I face her again. “Will you forgive me if I confess?”
She stills, her head cocking, her eyes slitting. “Yes.” She yanks her wrist, trying to slip my grip.
I hold firm.
She stiffens further as I cup her cheek and lean down to her ear. I brush my lips against it, tasting Adrial. “I confess, I am a monster. I am everything you accuse me of.”
Summer leans against me. “If you truly mean it, you’ll say your name. How else am I able to believe you?” Her fingers thread through my hair as she shoves her breasts into my chest. Shimmying against me, her taut nipples stab me. “Say it,” she moans.
“The name is—” My lips caress her ear. “Adrial.”
Chapter26
Hard Truths
Zuriel
Adrial pushes off me,launching back. My clutch holds, forcing his body—Summer’s body—to mine, pinning his arms against my chest. Struggling, he kicks and punches. When that doesn’t work, he draws the shadows closer, trying to free himself.
