"I'm a demon too. Unlike Dagon, I wasn't born this way, I chose it. I chose it when I accepted our mate bond, and again when I took the bow and arrow. I pledged my loyalty and my soul to Lucifer. I had to make that choice, and I made it without an ounce of regret."
Meeting their gazes, I let my vulnerable side show, but stayed ready to protect Dagon and myself.
"Don't ever for a second question my choice, or whether either of us is a threat to any of you."
Wild staggered backward, and I couldn’t even look at him. I knew he didn’t see the brother he used to know in me, but to stand between Dagon and the others? Did he seriously know so little about Dagon? What had Dagon ever done to him?
"This was my choice, and I won't let anyone question me," I repeated firmly. "If it comes down to bonding with your own objects one day, you'll have to make a choice too. Lucifer created these objects before he fell. When we wield them, we're forced to choose a side. We can't have both. You either pledge your loyalty and soul to Heaven or Hell.”
For some reason I focused my attention on Bren. Immediately, I knew something was wrong. Bren stood frozen, glass halfway to his lips. His eyes blazed, and then all at once, anger and pain erupted across his features. He screamed, throwing his glass into the wall.
Dagon moved instantly, placing himself protectively in front of me, but I pushed him aside and hurried to Bren.
"Bren?"
"What else?" His face was red, eyes glassy with unshed tears. "What else did he lie about?"
"Bren?" I asked again, feeling lost.
He began laughing hysterically, making my heart clench. I looked desperately at Dagon, but he seemed just as confused and worried as I felt. This wasn't Bren. Our sunshine was never like this. And suddenly, I realized Bren and I had both been masking parts of ourselves all along.
"You know what? At this point, I should've known better. I shouldn't even be shocked or surprised anymore."
"Hey, it's okay-"
"No, it's not."
He stormed to the bar, roughly shoving Wild aside when he tried to intervene. Pouring another drink, he swallowed a big gulp before returning to me.
"Just for the record, I'm not angry at you or Dagon. I don't give a fuck if you're both demons, you're still my brothers, my family."
Tears blurred my vision as I pulled him into a fierce hug. Luc joined us too. We stood there in silence for a long moment before I felt it. Fuck. Panic surged through me as my gaze flew to Dagon's, confirming he felt it too.
"King is here," I announced just as the door burst open.
King stood in his angel form, knife drawn at his side. Horror and shock flashed in his eyes when he saw two demons in his home… his sons.
Dagon froze completely, and I moved before I realized what I was doing.
Eight years.
The number was in my head before the bow was in my hand. Eight years of King saying I'm trying to protect you both. Eight years of infatuation and hormonal curiosity. Eight years of Dagon walking out of rooms because the angel-father of this house had told him his love wasn't real. Eight years of Dagon and I living in our own personal Hell. Eight years of Dagon distancing himself from the others too because he couldn't bear the pain of being near me.
Not today.
Not in this house. Not with a knife in King's hand pointed at the man who is my mate.
Standing protectively before Dagon, I summoned my bow and arrow. Drawing the arrow taut, I aimed it directly at our father's chest. King's eyes widened, but I couldn't afford to think about his feelings or all that he was to me. Not now.
The bond between me and Dagon went steady. The shaking I should have felt didn't come. My hand on the bowstring was rock-still. The Archer didn't shake. The Archer aimed. The Archer waited.
I saw the moment King saw my eyes.
The shimmer surfaced. His face did something I will remember for the rest of my life. He didn't flinch. He didn't reach for his blade. He went still in a way only an angel can go still. The way a centuries-old being goes still when it realizes a child it has loved has been remade into something Hell could now negotiate with directly.
He saw the gold and the red. He saw who had claimed them.
He saw what I had done.
