Chapter 12
Chapter
Twelve
"Stay in the car." Daniel's voice held a firmness that only fueled Caelen's anger. Why was this human giving him orders? "I need to talk to Jamie first."
Caelen said nothing, too busy keeping himself from lashing out. The dark god writhed inside him like a nest of serpents, still furious at Daniel's presumption. At how close the human had come to touching that buried, pitiful shard of his soul that even Caelen himself preferred to forget.
Punish him , the voice whispered. Make him bleed for his insolence .
The suggestion hit Caelen like ice water, shocking him from his anger. His fury drained away, replaced by a visceral rejection of the very thought. "Never," he snarled, too loud in the quiet car.
Daniel, already halfway to the bookstore, glanced back at the sound. Caelen forced his face to stillness, but his hands were trembling. Not with rage now, but with the effort of pushing back against the darkness coiled inside him.
He would not harm Daniel. Could not. The mere suggestion cleared his mind like sunlight burning through fog. His god could demand all he wanted, but on this, Caelen would not yield.
Then he will destroy everything we've built , the voice warned. It was so loud now, fueled by all the energy Caelen had drawn from Daniel before Daniel had jumped away from him. He nearly grasped it today. That weakness that festers in you .
Caelen watched Daniel disappear into the bookstore. Yes, Daniel had come dangerously close to something Caelen kept buried. But what did it matter?
"He won't try again," he said to the voice inside of himself. "You've made sure of that."
The memory of Daniel's face after touching that darkness twisted something in Caelen's chest. The way those warm brown eyes had widened in horror, the way Daniel's entire body shook—not with the usual desire Caelen inspired, but with genuine fear.
And he should be scared.
Any sane creature would be.
Good, the darkness whispered. We can rule by fear. Isn't that what you wanted? Why you came to me? So you could rule.
Caelen didn't need the reminder. He knew exactly why he'd made his bargain with the dark god, and he'd never looked back.
Not until Daniel.
Daniel was something else. So determined. The way he'd seized control of their kiss, thrown their connection wide open without fear. Foolish, beautiful creature. So convinced he could find good in a monster.
He will destroy us , the dark god said, if you don't bring him to heel.
Perhaps that was so. But as Caelen watched Daniel through the bookstore's window, he couldn't contemplate hurting him.
You must let him go. It wasn't the dark god's voice this time, but one that Caelen barely recognized as his own, one that he didn't want to recognize as his own. It was the voice of all the abominable weakness that still remained in him.
He hadn't heard it in years and years.
If you care about him at all, you have to let him go.
Silence , the dark god commanded, and pain exploded behind Caelen's eyes as that inner voice was crushed. His fingers dug into his thighs as shadow magic turned inward, punishing him for his moment of weakness. Each breath felt like swallowing glass as the darkness flooded his lungs, drowning that pathetic creature who would give up what was rightfully his.
The agony was shocking; he hadn't felt punishment like this in years. Not since he'd learned to keep that part of himself buried so deep even he forgot it existed. But Daniel had reached for it, had almost touched it, and now that voice dared to speak again.
The pain was a reminder of what happened when he let his guard down. When he allowed that remnant of his former self to surface.
You should thank me , the dark god whispered as the agony began to ebb. Every time I burn this weakness from you, you grow stronger. Remember how you came to me, that pitiful half-fae princeling shunned by his own subjects? Look what I've made of you.
Caelen's hands unclenched slowly. The dark god wasn't wrong. This pain was necessary. A gift, even. He'd learned that lesson long ago, hadn't he? Yet Daniel made him forget, made him doubt…
He shook his head.
Almost, he'd thought to give up his own mate.
Preposterous.
The boy is yours , the dark god soothed. But only if you remain firm enough to keep him.
Yes, he had to. He could never give up such a delicious energy source.
Do it right , the dark god said. And he'll make us stronger than we've ever been.
They would have their revenge, finally, on Knox, the Night Court, and everyone who'd wronged them.