“I’m not worried about him. I’m worried that Blue scrambled to your fingertips, turned into smoke, and disappearedinsideyou.”
Wrinkling my nose, I said, “He isn’t inside me.”
“Where is he then?”
“Well, he merged with my soul. Saying he’s inside me is weird as fuck.”
“Oh, so saying he merged with your soul is not weird at all?”
“No?”
Diablos groaned before storming to the driver’s seat. “Let’s leave this damn place, and then you, mister, are going to tell me everything.”
I shifted back quickly, the process taking me less than a second. Di was stunned and speechless again. I was still hesitant about touching him. It was written all over my face but he kissed my cheek reassuringly once we were in the car.
I was worried that once I let my powers free, I wouldn’t be able to control them. I feared I would succumb to the darkness and the urge to destroy everything around me. Quickly, I realized Diablos was my anchor, bringing me back from the edge, into his orbit. Of course, the demon inside me was stilleager to unleash Hell, but the same demon was content with just being close to Diablos. That was enough for me.
Di gave me clothes to change. I tried to remove the blood from my face and hands with wet tissues. I didn’t know where we were going, but I was too tired to ask. He held my hand in a death grip and drove with the other. My eyes grew heavy, and I closed them for a bit.
When I woke up, we were in the parking lot of a hotel in the mountains. Di looked at me with the same concern as before. I unbuckled my seatbelt and leaned over to kiss him.
“Let’s get a room and get you cleaned up. Wait for me here. I’ll get us a room and come back for you,” he said.
“Okay.”
I was exhausted and didn’t argue. I followed Di with my eyes, not letting him out of sight. Luckily, the reception desk was visible through the glass doors. It didn’t take long before he came back, grabbing our luggage from the back seat, and we headed to the second floor.
The room was nice, but I didn’t care about the decor. All I needed was Di. He ushered me into the bathroom, and I removed my clothes. There was blood on my shoulders, my stomach, and even my feet.
“I’ll take care of this. There is no need for you to-”
“Stop.” He glared at me and started undressing. “Get under the shower.”
I did as I was told. Diablos washed his hands first. He poured a generous amount of shower gel and washed my whole body. Goosebumps erupted on every part his hands touched. Now that I had my powers back, my senses were heightened. His hands danced like flames over my skin, marking me, claiming me,showingme who exactly Diablos was.
After Di finished with me, I reached out for the shower gel and did the same for him. We stood under the water for longerthan necessary, both needing this moment to reassure each other that we were alive.
When we got out of the shower, we put on some sweatpants, didn’t bother with shirts, and sat on the bed. Di reached for my stomach and traced the place where the wound used to be. Now, there was nothing. He looked both concerned and relieved.
“I guess it’s time for me to tell you everything.”
I knew I should, but I couldn’t help fearing the possibility of everything changing after he heard my story.
“It’s okay. I want to hear everything, but I’ll understand if you’re not ready to talk.”
“No, I need to tell you everything. I’ll start from the beginning.”
He nodded and settled closer to me.
With his hand in mine, I started my story. “I was born a demon. As King said, there are five demon clans. I was born into the Starborn clan, and I used to…” My words trailed off as my breathing quickened. My throat dried, and my body shook, but I had to say it out loud. I had to. “I used to have a brother.”
Diablos’s sharp inhale was the only indication he heard me. My ears rang, and my mind was flooded with memories – precious ones and ones that had haunted me for years.
Di gave me space. I stared at our joined hands and let his touch be the pillar I needed while I traveled back to the darkest night of my life.
“I used to live in the underworld. It’s kind of funny now that I think about it. People imagine the underworld as a bad place. And it is. But it was also my home for thirteen years. When I was thirteen, my parents were killed. Rogue Starborns attacked us. I didn’t know why. I still don’t know.”
I rubbed my chest, trying to ease the pain.
