But more than that?—
“Caleb?” He shuddered. “Why such an awful thing?”
She dropped her hand to the center of his chest. “Because I sense in you a true heart. A faithful heart. And by your wounds and scars, I can tell that you are fearless. So I shall call you Caleb, the faithful, fearless warrior who defends what he believes with everything he has. That is what I see when I look upon you. Not a demon. An ever courageous, noble warrior. One day, I suspect, you shall look into a mirror and see the same noble man I do.”
And with that handful of words, she shattered the icy barrier that had caged his heart since the moment he’d been forsaken to this harsh bitter world without friend or family. “I can assure you that I will never look into a mirror and see a man there. At least not that I don’t scream. Then kill it.”
She laughed. “You know what I mean. Now let me see about collecting your sword before it’s found, and they begin looking for you. Then I’ll make sure you have supplies until you’re well enough to rejoin your army.”
His breath left him in a rush as he realized that he’d completely forgotten his weapon.
What the hell?
He’d never in his life set his sword aside. Never been disarmed by anyone.
Until now.
She had totally distracted him. He’d set it aside without a second a thought. What magick did this human wield so effortlessly that she could ensnare the most lethal demon commander in the entire Mavromino army?
For weeks now, he’d been pursued by their deadliest forces. Even wounded, he’d put down their best soldiers with minimal effort.
And she had done nothing more than smile and he’d laid aside his sword.
I’m an idiot.
Without another word, she headed for the entrance.
“Wait!”
A beautiful scowl drew her brows together. “Something wrong?”
“I don’t know your name, girl.”
An unbelievably beautiful smile melted away her frown. “Lilliana.”
It was as remarkable as she was.
And with that, she vanished into the daylight.
Malphas lay there in complete shock. This had been the oddest day of his life.
He was trusting someone.
No, he was trusting a human.
Are you out of your mind?
Why would he have faith in her? Surely, she was going for the others to tell them where he was.
That made sense. She’d gone for his sword because it had been forged by the gods. Mortal weapons were worthless against him. To kill him, they neededhissword or magick.
You fool! She’s probably leading them to you right now. With your sword in hand.
Get up!
Malphas had no doubt she was a spy. No human could stand one such as he. It’d all been a lie. No one was that kind.
His head spinning, he forced himself to stand. The cave tilted.
