“Stay away from me.”
He went still, his gaze steady on my face. I turned and shakily made my way out of the room with my figurative tail tucked firmly between my legs.
* * *
Samael
I gazed at Vas, wrestling with the urge to remove his wings for leaving Danica alone and vulnerable. A few months of using the elevator every day while his wings grew back would be a good punishment. But a demon without wings would be less able to protect the little witch.
I lost control. I lost control and terrified her, hurting the demon she considered a friend. The demon she’d stood in front of, protecting with her body.
The urge to kill him almost overtook me once more, and I forced it away.
One mistake. Vas had made one mistake. A mistake his uncle would never have made. But he was young, and this was his first assignment as a bodyguard.
“I owe you an apology,” I managed to get out. The words tasted bitter in my mouth, but even I could admit when I was wrong.
And yet… Danica had finally created a ward that could protect her.
“You really don’t,” Vas said, shuffling on his feet. A dull flush crept up his neck. “I agreed to put on this little show because I knew she needed to be pushed into using her power but also because I deserved to be punished for leaving her. I knew better and I did it anyway.”
“Well. It’s difficult to punish you when you’re doing it for me.”
Vas was silent and the worst of my rage finally disappeared. “You’re young. You made a mistake. You were lucky Danica was able to handle the demon herself, but more importantly, you learned a lesson that you’ll now carry for the rest of your life.”
He nodded, expression miserable. I couldn’t help but let out a laugh as I slapped him on the back.
He eyed me. “I didn’t give Danica my feather.”
“I know. Botis returned her car and noticed it, bringing it to my attention.”
“I’m not interested in Danica that way. She’s a… friend.”
“I know. I apologize. It has been… difficult. The murders, the witch… I haven’t been myself.”
“I understand.”
I sighed. “Try to convince her to see a healer. I expect she’ll be too stubborn, but perhaps you can make her see reason.”
Vas gave me the look that thought deserved, and I couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped me at the thought of her reply to that suggestion.
I turned away as he left the room, staring at the wreckage around me. My calf throbbed, and I glanced down, finding one of Danica’s throwing knives still buried in the muscle. I’d already begun healing around it and I gritted my teeth as I pulled it out, ignoring the flow of blood as I reopened the wound.
I held the knife up to the light. Tiny, sharp, and deadly. Just like the woman who wielded it. Whoever was trying to kill her would answer to me, and I would make them regret even thinking about harming the little witch.
* * *
Danica
Vas caught up with me by the time I was exiting the tower, landing next to me in a crouch. He straightened, and our eyes met.
“You should see the healer.”
I shook my head. Every inch of my body still seemed to ache from the fight with Ramiel, but other than that and a wicked headache, I was fine.
Physically, that is.
My head spun, and I could see my ward every time I closed my eyes. It had been beautiful. My power hadn’t destroyed me. It had protected me.
