“Oh my god,” he said, his words shaky. “Dad… Dad tried to kill me.”
My heart shattered all over again. I dropped to my knees in front of him, the frozen ground biting into me, but I didn’t care. I reached out, my hands hovering just above his as he clutched his head. “No,” I said, my voice breaking. “That wasn’t your father.”
He blinked at me, his expression twisting with confusion, desperation, and grief all at once. “What are you saying?” he asked, his voice cracking as he searched my face, looking for answers. “If it wasn’t Dad, then who? What was it?”
I swallowed hard, forcing the words past the tightness in my throat. “Luke was possessed, Liam. That wasn’t him. That was a demon.”
His breath hitched, his whole body tensing like I’d just thrown ice water over him. “Why?” he asked, his voice shaking. “What did Dad do to deserve that?”
I shook my head, my chest aching as I tried to control my emotions. “Nothing,” I said softly. “He didn’t do anything. It wasn’t about him. More and more demons have been escaping, going rogue. It’s the reason I agreed to help Carnell again. I never intended to move back to Ravenholde. I just wanted to help him with one bounty.”
My voice wavered as I looked into Liam’s wide, grief-stricken eyes. “But then… then I met my friends. I met Greyson. And everything changed.”
Liam stared at me, his lips parting slightly, his face pale as he processed my words. “So what you killed… it wasn’t Dad?” he asked, his voice trembling, but there was a subtle, fragile flicker of hope buried beneath the pain.
I shook my head, tears stinging my eyes. “No. What I killed wasn’t your father. I killed his body because it was the only way to free him. Luke lost his soul the moment the demon possessed him. It fed on him and drained him untilnothing remained of who he was. That wasn’t Luke anymore. That was a possessor demon wearing him like a skin suit.”
Liam’s hands dropped from his head as he stared at me, his chest rising and falling with uneven breaths. “So… he wasn’t in control?” he whispered. “He didn’t… he didn’t want to hurt us?”
“No,” I said firmly, my voice breaking as I leaned closer. “Your dad loved you more than anything. He would’ve done anything to protect you. But when the demon took him, he was gone. The man who held you when you were scared, taught you how to ride a bike, and loved us with everything he had wasn’t there anymore.”
Tears filled Liam’s eyes, and his whole body seemed to sag under the magnitude of it all. “So… you freed him,” he said, his voice barely audible.
I nodded, the tears I’d been holding back finally slipping free. “I freed him,” I said softly. “I let him go so that he could find peace.”
He stared at me for a long moment, the hope and grief warring in his eyes. I stayed there, kneeling in the snow, waiting for him to process it all. And as the silence stretched between us, I prayed that somehow, he could forgive me, not just for what I’d done, but for the years of secrets I’d kept.
I sat back on my heels, my heart heavy as I forced myself to explain the darkness that had invaded our lives. “Possessor demons are some of the worst, Liam,” I said quietly, my voice tinged with bitterness. “They don’t just take over a human body. They feed on the soul. Piece by piece, they drain the person from the inside, taking everything that makes them who they are until there’s nothing left but a husk.”
I paused, swallowing hard, the memories of Luke flashing through my mind like jagged shards of glass. “By the time the demon fully takes over, the person is gone. Their soul isconsumed and devoured to fuel the demon’s power. What’s left… isn’t them. It’s just the demon wearing their body.”
Liam stared at me, his face pale, his fists clenching at his sides. I could see the gears turning in his head, piecing together everything I was saying and wasn’t.
I hesitated, my voice breaking as I continued. “I’d been out of the supernatural world since I was a teenager, but… there’s a chance one of them tracked me down. If that’s what happened, then it’s on me. My heritage is to blame. Not your dad.”
The silence between us stretched, heavy and suffocating. Liam stared at me, his jaw tight, his eyes boring into mine with a mix of disbelief, anger, and something else I couldn’t quite place. My heart climbed into my throat, each beat hammering against my ribs as I waited for him to respond.
Finally, he stood up, his movements stiff but deliberate. I scrambled to my feet, watching him carefully, unsure of what he was going to do. His expression softened just slightly, and then he spoke, his voice controlled but filled with a quiet intensity that made my chest ache.
“This isn’t on you,” he said firmly, his gaze unwavering. “It’s not your fault who you’re related to. And I won’t let them take you, too.”
My heart leaped, a flicker of hope blooming in the pit of my stomach. But before I could say anything, he added, “I want those demons dead.”
I blinked, his words settling over me like a shockwave. For a moment, I felt a strange mixture of pride and dread. He was stepping into this world. A world I’d fought so hard to keep him out of and I didn’t know how to feel about it.
“Liam,” I said softly, reaching for him, “you have to understand something. I’m part demon. So are you.”
He froze, his jaw clenching as the words sank in. I could see the flicker of hesitation in his eyes, but he didn’t backdown. “What does that mean?” he asked, his voice careful, measured.
I took a deep breath, meeting his gaze. “It means not all demons are evil. Some are good, like Cal and Carnell. There are many benign species that live peacefully, never harming anyone. But the bad ones…” I shook my head, my voice hardening. “The bad ones are banned from the human realm for a reason. They’re dangerous, Liam. And they’ll do anything to destroy what they can’t control.”
Liam nodded slowly, the tension in his posture easing just a little. “So the ones we’re dealing with, the bad ones, they don’t belong here.”
“No, they don’t,” I said firmly. “And it’s our job to make sure they don’t stay. We return them to Scorchwood, our supernatural prison, and Greyson arranges to return the banned species to the Underworld.”
His expression shifted then, a flicker of determination crossing his face. For the first time, I saw a glimpse of the man I’d raised, the fighter he’d become. Since this nightmare started, I felt like maybe, just maybe, we could face it together.
Liam stood there, his eyes locked on mine, and the anger and pain had faded briefly. His voice was steady, quiet, but certain. “So… they escape from the Underworld?” he asked.
