I huff to myself, relieved I sent my brothers away before they could hear that.
Stupid girl.
I’m a demon. Of course, I’m dangerous.
“He’s a demon,” the human mutters, and I’m relieved one of them has sense. “I don’t think they’re capable of not being dangerous.”
It’s true.
“He doesn’t feel dangerous,” she insists, and I frown at the reckless comment.
It’s only because I have made a promise and have not fully completed it that she can say that. I have not shown her my true self. Only the remnants of my shadow and only a sliver. Afraid that I would terrify her. Her human mind would be incapable of accepting my natural form.
My frown deepens into a scowl as I latch on to that logic.
Of course, I don’t want to scare her, and it has nothing to do with feelings. Scaring her could cause her to die. I have made a promise. Once I have held up my end of the bargain, I will happily kill her and consume her.
“Fallen for her.” I bark a laugh. “What is there to fall for?”
The human brushes his fingers across the rosy arch of her cheek and she peers up into his eyes with an ocean of trust and … love.
So vast.
So open.
Disgusting.
This will not do.
She is mine and she clearly needs to be reminded of that.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Marcus
Myweaknessisimpossibleto ignore.
I am aware of it with every stride, every tug of Lenora’s hand clasped around mine. A man, a strong man, would toss her over his shoulder and march her straight back to the car. He’d put her over his damn knee and spank this insane notion from her pretty head.
My solution is to obey.
To follow at her side like a compliant guard as she moves with hurried practice to the room with the altar.
She summoned a demon.
The knowledge stirs a part of my brain too numb to think beyond the thought of anything happening to her. God himself could walk up to me, and it would not faze me, and that is a realization that scares me.
It could be grief. An unconscious hook latching me to the only thing left in my life — Lenora. It could be my mind’s way of protecting me from properly accepting the much bigger picture. There are many logical explanations why I can’t let her go. It’s not only love. It’s desperation. It’s the knowledge that — without her — I am truly alone. It’s knowing that I need her to maintain my own sanity.
I hold her fingers tight as we pass through the curtains and grimace at the stench. The foul brew of copper, rust and mold. Shadows move and congeal in the corners. They drift along the rotted chunk of wood mounted on the platform.
My thoughts slip to the images of Lenora splayed, pale and beautiful, across the filthy slab while I took her innocence. She had opened for me. So wide. So eager.
I cut myself off before I forget why we’re here.
My gaze shifts to the empty void collecting at the top of the incline. I search for the mirror she keeps talking about, but there are only shadows and the stench of decay.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Lenora says as if reading my thoughts.
