The grief in his face would have undone me at any other moment.
Not now.
"Stand back," I warned.
"Di-Diablos?" he stammered, clearly shaken.
My voice was colder and harsher than I'd ever heard it. "Stand back. If you try to hurt Dagon, I won't hesitate."
The voice that came out of me wasn't mine or maybe it was. It was a voice I hadn't heard before – colder, lower, threaded with something I could only describe as Hell. It belonged to whatever I had become in that field with the bow in my hands and Lucifer's red eyes on me.
Part of me was afraid of it.
Most of me wasn't.
The room fell deadly silent. King and I stared at each other, the tension nearly unbearable. Time felt suspended, but I refused to look away. I'd made my choice long before coming home – I would protect the person I love, no matter the cost.
“Di?” Dagon said my name in a whisper. His voice broke, and my heart followed. “Please put it down. You could hurt him.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“No. I’ll put it down when I hear he won’t try anything.” I told Dagon before addressing King, “Change back into your human form and put away your knife.”
The pain in King's eyes nearly undid me, but I stood my ground. Finally, he shifted back to human form, putting the knife aside. I exhaled but remained cautious. I'd seen how quickly demons could move, and I was certain angels could do the same.
King could strike faster than I could react if I lowered my guard.
And the sad truth was that I don't trust our father.
“Summon Blue,”I told Dagon through our bond.
“What?” Dagon asked out loud, obviously shocked by my request.
“Do it or the bow stays.”
My eyes stayed locked on King as Blue materialized beside me. King's eyes widened again, while Blue shook himself off and settled protectively at my feet, gaze trained on our father.
I relaxed but warned, “Don’t even think about trying anything. This is your one and only warning.”
The bow and arrow dissolved into black smoke before returning to my wrist as a tattoo. Stepping back, I stood next to Dagon and took his hand firmly in mine.
And then, only then, my hands started to shake.
Not all of me. Just the hands. The same hands that had been steady on the bowstring thirty seconds ago were now trembling against Dagon's palm hard enough that he closed his fingers around them and pulled them tight against his side.
I felt the shimmer leave my eyes. The cold voice retreated. Somewhere underneath the Archer, the bookworm with OCDwas still standing, and the bookworm had just pointed a weapon at his father.
I didn't cry.
The crying would come later. In some other room. With Dagon, or alone, I didn't know yet which.
For now I just stood there with my shaking hands inside Dagon's, watching King watch me, and waited for whatever came next.
Facing King now, I knew nothing would ever be the same. The moment I'd pointed that arrow at our father had irrevocably changed everything.
Yet, even if I could turn back time, I would make the same choice again. No matter the cost, I would keep Dagon safe. I would keep our brothers safe, even if it meant losing the father I loved with all my heart.
