Chapter Six
Damian
I stepped out of the shower, water droplets racing down my arms like they were fleeing the scene of a crime. Grabbing a fresh towel from the cabinet by the locker-room sink, I tried to steady my breathing. My heart thundered, and not just from the post-workout high or the steamy shower—but from the emotional hurricane Lily had unleashed inside me.
Tonight had obliterated every boundary I'd so carefully constructed over centuries. Instead of merely feeding on Lily's delicious cocktail of emotions—the way any respectable demon should—I'd gone and done the unthinkable. I'd felt something. Not just lust, not mere hunger, but tenderness. Care. Protectiveness.
Love.
Ugh. Even thinking the word made my stomach do a humiliating little flip. Demons don't do love. We're ancient collectors of human emotions, duty-bound to manipulate, gather, and feed. Love, in my world, was about as real as unicorns farting rainbows.
And yet.
The tenderness that washed over me while holding Lily in my arms, the inexplicable comfort of simply lying beside her afterward—it had awakened something I hadn't experienced in centuries of dark existence. Something dangerously close to...happiness.
I tugged on clean black sweats, forcing my uneven breath into submission. Pull yourself together, idiot. You can't afford to be reckless. The mental pep talk fell embarrassingly flat. Lily had stirred a longing in me that defied every demonic handbook: a craving for honesty, for a future, for something stable and real—things no self-respecting demon had any business wanting.
Brushing water droplets from my chest, I caught my reflection in the locker room mirrors. My eyes glowed faintly—that telltale flicker of demonic energy I usually masked as effortlessly as humans hide their morning breath. Lately, it had been harder to control, like trying to stuff a wolverine into a sock. My powers had been fluctuating ever since Lily crashed into my life with her intoxicating blend of vulnerability and strength. But after tonight's... activities, the shift was undeniable.
Because this wasn't about stoking the flames of her insecurities anymore. It wasn't about cultivating her ambition until it bloomed into the kind of deliciously negative energy that demons like me typically feast upon. She'd touched me in ways no mortal had before—and not just physically, though there had been plenty of that too.
My chest tightened at the memory of her body against mine—warm, responsive, gloriously alive. I'd never let a human get this close, never wanted to. Demons don't do vulnerability. But Lily...she'd disarmed me completely, made me question a mission I'd carried out for centuries without a second thought.
Slipping into my training shoes, I raked fingers through my still-damp hair. Lily had left a few minutes ago—deliciously exhausted and wearing the kind of satisfied smile that would make angels blush. My mind replayed our encounter with embarrassing clarity: her flushed cheeks, the softness of her gasps, the way she'd whispered my name like it was a prayer instead of the label of a creature who'd spent millennia manipulating humans with evil intentions.
It had felt so real. And it left me feeling something as foreign to demon-kind as photosynthesis: hope . A sense of possibility I'd never dared consider before.
My realm wouldn't exactly throw a parade for this development. Marcellus had never explicitly banned getting physically involved with humans. Sex was just another tool in our arsenal, after all. But forming genuine emotional attachments? That was strictly forbidden. We existed to harvest humans' emotional energies, not to write them poetry or remember their birthdays.
If Marcellus discovered I not only had feelings for Lily but also had no intention of continuing to feed on her negative emotions, the consequences would make the Spanish Inquisition look like a day at the spa.
I exhaled slowly, watching my breath fog the mirror slightly. Would betraying my realm for her be worth it? I'd asked myself that question approximately eight thousand times in the last few days, but now it felt less hypothetical and more like a life-or-death matter. Which it technically was. Something inside me had cracked open, like a piece of my demonic essence fracturing under the weight of Lily's warmth.
My chest constricted again with that rush of unfamiliar emotion, and suddenly the overhead lights flickered. A low hum rattled through the building, making me jerk in alarm. The intensity of my energy must have surged beyond my control—something that rarely happened unless I was mid-battle or dangerously off-balance.
"Stay calm," I muttered to myself, feeling ridiculous. "Just a power flare." I closed my eyes, attempting to steady the swirl of confusing feelings. The overhead lights settled momentarily, but a sharp crack yanked my attention toward the far wall. A nearby mirror developed a fissure running diagonally across its surface.
My stomach dropped. I didn't even touch it. My powers had never been this unstable, not in centuries of existence. I'd known my control was slipping since Lily entered my life, but this was different. If I couldn't keep my demonic strength in check, I risked revealing myself in ways no amount of charm or misdirection could explain away.
Suddenly, a soft gasp echoed from the hallway.
I froze, every muscle tensing. Turning slowly, I spotted a figure standing at the entrance to the weight room. Slivers of residual light bathed her face, highlighting wide, startled eyes. Maya. Lily's friend and assistant. The woman who'd come in for a training session with Tasha tonight. She stared at me, then at the cracked mirror, connecting dots I desperately needed to remain disconnected.
Panic surged through me. If Maya had witnessed me accidentally shatter glass without touching it, what else might she suspect? That I wasn't just Lily's suspiciously attractive trainer? That demons walk among humans, infiltrating their gyms and dating their friends?
"Maya," I said, keeping my voice low and measured, like I was talking to a spooked animal. "What are you still doing here? The gym closed thirty minutes ago." I'd locked the door after Lily left. Hadn't I?
She fidgeted, obviously frightened but attempting to hide it. "I—I left my phone. Realized halfway to my car." Her voice trembled slightly. "The front door was open."
I cursed inwardly. My attention had been so thoroughly consumed by Lily that I'd forgotten basic security protocols.
I forced my expression into something approximating normal human concern, stepping forward carefully. "You...you shouldn't be here right now."
Her gaze flicked between me and the freshly cracked mirror, then down to the floor where her phone lay. She swallowed hard. "Yeah," she murmured. "I just...saw a light flicker. And that mirror...it—"
I scrambled for an explanation, but my mind was embarrassingly blank. Lying felt pointless anyway; the damage was done.
She bent swiftly, snatching up her phone from the floor as if it might protect her. "Guess I found it," she said weakly. Without another word, she spun on her heel and hurried out before I could protest or insist she stay.
"Maya—" I started, but she was already gone, footsteps echoing down the corridor. A heartbeat later, the front door opened and closed, leaving a hush that felt suffocating.
Damn it . I pressed a hand to my temple. Of all the times to slip up. Maya might pretend ignorance, but from the wide-eyed look she wore, she'd absolutely seen the mirror crack under the force of my power. And once she told Lily...
I swallowed, fear gnawing at me with razor-sharp teeth. Lily would demand an explanation. Could I keep lying to her—especially after what we'd shared? The taste of her lips still lingered on mine, the echo of her pleasure still reverberating through my body.
" No ," I whispered under my breath. Lying was no longer an option. Lily deserved to know the truth, no matter how impossible it might sound. The thought of losing her—seeing revulsion in those eyes that had looked at me with such trust—twisted my gut, but the alternative felt worse: continuing to deceive her while claiming I cared.
I locked up properly this time, then killed the overhead lights. The place transformed into a maze of shadows, the faint glow of exit signs casting eerie red light over the rows of equipment. My footsteps echoed ominously as I made a final circuit, ensuring all was secure.
As I double-checked the back doors, my mind spun with the potential fallout of revealing myself to Lily. My realm would never permit this transgression. Demons like me existed to manipulate humans for our own gain, to feed on their misery and fear. If Marcellus discovered my plans, I'd be lucky to escape with mere banishment to the lowest circles of hell.
Yet beneath the anxiety, I felt strangely... peaceful? The endless cycle of seduction, feeding, and discarding had worn on me for longer than I cared to admit. Now, a new path beckoned, illuminated by Lily's white light, though it was riddled with uncertainty.
Could the demonic realm simply release me? Let me go with a stern warning and a "don't call us, we'll call you"? Or would I have to fight for my freedom—possibly against beings who'd taught me everything I knew about combat?
I tugged on the back door, verifying it was locked. A slight tremor ran through my fingers, the residual effect of my powers flaring. Typically, feeding on a mortal's negative emotions stabilized my energy. But I'd ceased drawing from Lily's insecurities. Instead, I'd nourished myself on something else: mutual caring and affection.
And it changed me. I no longer felt the hunger for the old manipulations, the twisted pursuit of despair or fear. It was like a void had opened in me and been filled with Lily's warmth, leaving no room for my realm's shadows. I felt stronger, more alive—and infinitely more vulnerable.
"All done," I muttered, flipping the corridor light off. My footsteps carried me back toward the main entrance, keys clutched in my hand, mind wrestling with questions I couldn’t answer. What if Lily rejects me once she knows the truth? I wouldn't blame her.
But every fiber of my being needed to do this—no more lies, no more half-truths. If there was a chance in hell that we could forge a future together, honesty was the only path forward.
The memory of Lily's body pressed against mine earlier that night sent a fresh wave of longing through me. The softness of her skin under my fingertips, the way she'd arched against me, demanding more. The sweet sound of her gasps as I'd taken her to the edge and beyond, again and again. The unexpected tenderness in her eyes afterward as she'd traced patterns on my chest, unknowingly touching runes that had been carved into my soul eons ago.
I stepped out into the cool night air, locking the door of the fitness center behind me. The parking lot was empty save for my sleek black Audi. The night was silent as I walked to my car, the only sound my keys jingling in my hand and my steps across the pavement.
Tomorrow , I decided. Tomorrow I would tell Lily everything. About my true nature, about my original mission to feed on her ambition and insecurity, about how something had gone catastrophically, wonderfully wrong and I'd fallen for her instead. I'd tell her about Maya witnessing my powers, about the danger my realm posed to both of us if they discovered my betrayal.
And then I'd let her decide. If she thought I was nuts, if she wanted me gone—if the truth was too much—I'd disappear from her life as completely as if I'd never existed. The thought sent a lance of pain through me so sharp I nearly doubled over in the parking lot.
But if she somehow accepted me...if she was willing to face the risks together...then perhaps there was hope for a creature like me after all.
I slid into my car, the leather seat cool against my back. Starting the engine, I allowed myself a moment to imagine a future with Lily—mornings waking up beside her, evenings spent in comfortable silence, a lifetime of moments both extraordinary and mundane. It was a dangerous fantasy for a demon to indulge in, but I couldn't help myself. She'd become as essential to me in a flash of blinding light as the darkness once was.
As I pulled out of the parking lot, the gym fading in my rearview mirror, I felt a strange sense of anticipation mingled with dread. The entire night felt like standing on a threshold—and beyond it lay either ruin or redemption.
For the first time in centuries, I was willing to risk everything for something that mattered more than power or obligation or the insatiable hunger of my kind. Even if it meant burning bridges I could never rebuild. Even if it meant facing Marcellus and the full wrath of the demonic council.
Some things, I was discovering, were worth the flames.
The traffic light ahead turned red, and I stopped, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel. My phone buzzed in the cup holder—a text from Lily: Made it home safe. Still thinking about tonight. See you tomorrow?
A smile tugged at my lips despite the storm clouds gathering in my mind. I typed back a quick response: Wouldn't miss it. Sleep well.
What I didn't add was: Because tomorrow I tell you I'm a demon, and it might be our last day together.
The light turned green, and I accelerated into the night, toward whatever fate awaited a demon foolish enough to fall in love with a human. Toward Lily, toward truth, toward the terrifying possibility of rejection—or the even more terrifying possibility of acceptance.
Either way, nothing would ever be the same again. And for once in my immortal existence, that didn't seem like such a bad thing.