Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Daemon
DON’T SHUT ME OUT
The way Vhaena was looking at me as I lifted the hem of my shirt was something I would never forget. Her cheeks flushed a gorgeous red that rivaled her hair. And her eyes… The hues of green and gold brightened against the light as they widened.
I slowed my movements, taking my time to remove the shirt. Just because I could.
“I can see that. But why are you taking off your shirt?” she asked.
She wouldn’t even look at my face, too enamored with the slow exposure of my torso.
“Oh, yes. What a shame,” my demon drolled.
I smirked, hiding a chuckle bubbling up my throat.
“To clean it,” I clarified, nixing any thoughts I could only imagine were spinning through her mind. “It’s covered in blood.”
“Right,” she whispered softly.
I finished pulling the shirt over my head in one swift motion, removed my boots, and then walked over to the stream.
I didn’t miss the slight parting of her lips and the quiet gasp that slipped between them as I passed by.
The water was cool against my skin as I submerged my feet and sat on the mossy bank.
Vhaena hadn’t moved from her spot. Subtly watching from my periphery.
She was rooted in place while her eyes tracked my movements.
Come to think of it, the astonished look on her face might not have been from gawking at my body so much as the gouges that covered it.
Eli had done some serious damage. His claws had torn through my skin, marring my back and chest with deep jagged lines.
I hadn’t even noticed at the time; the pain had been muted by instinct, urgency, and fear.
My only thoughts were her. But now that I had her safe, the pain finally set in.
I welcomed it. It meant I was still alive, and so was she.
Because if it came down to it, I’d bleed and break for her.
I’d trade my life before I let her lose hers.
I had promised I would.
“We both know the vow has very little to do with it,” my demon whispered from the back of my mind.
The shirt clouded the water, turning it into a murky pink the moment I started soaking it.
Eli’s blood—and mine—had dried and crusted on the fabric, and it took a good amount of effort to get it out.
I scrubbed the material against itself between my hands.
It was one of those tasks that didn’t require any mental effort and gave me the opportunity to sort through today’s events.
Asher had venom. Which meant he was at least a rank four.
Not only that, he bit Vhaena.
“We ought to kill him for touching her,” my demon growled.
I hadn’t seen my brother yet, but I had seen the other demons he was with.
Volker Rosen, Kai Aumer, and Thilo Jahn.
They likely saw me, too, which meant they had probably told Asher by now.
I had to assume they did anyway. Especially Thilo.
If he was running with Asher, he had to have told him about our previous encounter when I diverted him away from Vhaena and Inka.
On the bright side, Thilo was dead now, and I didn’t even have to kill the stupid little fucker. Vhaena had bashed his skull into a boulder. I saw it in her eyes—pure, undiluted rage and the will to survive, giving her more strength than she knew what to do with. Not that I was complaining.
But it was the flash of pride in taking a life—even in self-defense—that truly shook me.
When she started running for Inka, I had thought she was going to kill her for her betrayal.
I knew I couldn’t let it happen, understanding that once she had left this place, it would haunt her forever.
Except I was wrong. Even in the face of betrayal, she was about to try to save her.
There was so much more beneath the surface of Vhaena than I realized. So much untapped fury and unwavering integrity. It made me question whether the woman I once knew was truly gone or just buried.
My mind questioned where all that rage came from, how she had gone from a light-hearted, easy-going person a year ago to someone who no longer made eye contact on the street and retreated into herself.
I watched her from the corner of my eye while I wrung the water out of my shirt.
Though she was likely still somewhat disoriented from the venom, she remained on her feet.
She tore her gaze from me the moment I turned my head to look at her, and I chuckled.
Then, she grabbed up the bloodied spoon and started scrubbing the red-stained wood in the water, perched on the bank a few feet from me.
“Why?” she asked quietly without looking up.
“Why what?”
“Why don’t you want to kill me? Why are you helping me? It’s…” She shook her head. “I just don’t—”
“It doesn’t matter why.” There honestly wasn’t anything I could say without revealing who I was—or lying to her.
She opened her mouth as if she was about to respond but decided against it, instead remaining quiet for several moments.
“Thank you,” she said softly, just barely over the sound of the trickling water. “For what you did, I mean.”
“For saving you?” I arched a brow, though she couldn’t see it. I stood and uncrumpled the shirt before draping it over a tree branch.
“Yeah.”
“Which time? There were several.” I leaned against the trunk with my arms crossed over my chest.
“All of them,” she said, sounding reluctant to admit it with a twinge of annoyance.
“Hmm,” I hummed. “One thank you for saving your life…seven times, if I’m not mistaken. Doesn’t really seem like a fair amount.”
“Do you want me to say it seven times, demon?” Her teeth ground together as she forced the words through them.
“The effort would be appreciated, but I’m sure there are other ways you can thank me to make up for it,” I said with a smirk she couldn’t see but clearly heard in my tone.
The white-hot glare shooting from her narrowed eyes made my skin prickle with gooseflesh.
My lips tilted into a smirk I couldn’t control—half amusement, half something much darker as I was drawn to the flame she kept stifled inside.
She could glare at me like that every minute of every day.
It was a welcome reprieve from watching her walk away from me every chance she got.
“And what exactly are these ‘other ways’?” she asked skeptically, with a sinister undertone.
You act all mad, but you were ogling my body not two minutes ago.
I let the question hang between us for a moment before responding. “For starters, you could start doing what I ask without fighting me.”
“I’ve barely fought against you.” She rolled her eyes while crossing her arms over her chest. “I ran when you told me to.”
“Which brings me to my second point. Stop making it so damn difficult to keep you alive. When I tell you to run, you run like hells. No hiding, no stopping, no turning back to save anyone.”
She flinched ever so slightly, and I knew I had hit a nerve. But it was necessary. She needed to know that I wouldn’t accept any excuse.
“She didn’t deserve to die—”
“That didn’t make it your responsibility to save her.
” I pushed off the tree and took a step closer.
“You would have died right there with her if I hadn’t stopped you—and you don’t get to die here.
Not for honor. Not for guilt. And especially not for someone who doesn’t show the same respect for your life. ”
Her eyes glistened with hot tears. “Yeah? Maybe take your own advice because I don’t care about your life; yet here you are.”
I took another step, pinning her between me and the water at her back. “I’m not the one being hunted.”
“You sure about that?” my demon asked, and my thoughts instantly went to Asher.
I pushed those thoughts away for the time being. My brother wasn’t an immediate concern. Yet.
“I didn’t ask for your help. I can take it from here. So, again, go aw—”
“Don’t,” I clipped. My tone was darker than I intended, but I couldn’t help it.
“You may not have asked for this—any of this—but you’re just going to have to deal with it.
I don’t care what it costs me every damn time I have to put myself between you and them.
” I pointed out toward the forest. “But I’ll keep doing it again and again.
Just don’t make it harder than it has to be. ”
My sudden anger seemingly came out of nowhere, but I knew it stemmed back to when she had shut me out all those months ago.
We had had something, silent or not, and she tossed it aside like it was nothing.
If she had just made it a little easier for those around her to know what the fuck was going on, then we wouldn’t be here right now.
I could have helped her from the very beginning.
But she was so damn stubborn, she wouldn’t accept it.
At least now, I wasn’t giving her the choice.
My outrage was hotter than it should have been—greater than what I felt—and I realized my inner demon was messing with my emotions…
“Stop it. I won’t direct my anger toward her,” I snapped at my demon.
“Then maybe you should just finally confront her about it,” he retorted.
I had thought about doing that many times, but this certainly wasn’t the place for it.
I turned away from Vhaena before I revealed too much—before I said something I would regret.
The truth clawed its way up my throat, but I swallowed it back.
I couldn’t let her see who I was. Couldn’t let her see what I’d let grow in the silence between us over years of missed opportunities and lingering glances.
Just keep her safe.
We needed to get away from here, go across the Leuch River where there were fewer demons to endanger her. Unfortunately, Vhaena was still weak from the venom despite my efforts, and if we were to cover any good amount of ground, I’d need to carry her.
“You actually think she’ll let us carry her?” my demon questioned.
“Willingly? I doubt it.”
“I bet if you stayed shirtless she would be more than willing,” he chuckled.
I grabbed my still-damp shirt from the tree branch before turning back around to face her. She had a blank expression and wouldn’t look at me.
Yeah. Definitely no chance of this going easily.
We were now back at square one. Well, maybe not entirely. She wasn’t running away from me, but in an instant, she had completely closed herself off again. Maybe a little something to make her slightly more trusting…
I blinked, finding the raven and calling to it. A moment later, I heard a soft fluttering, and Vhaena’s eyes snapped above me. At first, there was just the smallest glint of relief in her eyes before her face morphed into a scowl.
“Oh, now you show back up.” She planted her hands on her hips and walked toward me until she was at my side, keeping her eyes on the tree overhead. I glanced over my shoulder to see her scowling at the raven nestled on a branch. “Where were you when I was being bitten by a demon, huh?”
The bird snapped its beak in quick succession, seeming like it was responding.
“Good-for-nothing Wingnut…”
The raven made a low croaking sound as its head twitched. I had no idea what it was thinking, despite my gift.
I slipped my shirt on over my head then cleared my throat.
She rolled her eyes and gestured to the bird. “This is Wingnut.”
My brow quirked at the absurd name. “Alright,” I said. “Well, if you’re done arguing with a bird, we should get moving.”
She finally looked at me again, and something loosened in my chest I hadn’t realized was taut. “To the river?”
I nodded.
She pursed her lips. “How long will it take?”
“That depends.”
“On?”
“On whether or not you’ll let me carry you throughout the night while you sleep.”
Her face scrunched. “Absolutely not. You already did that once. I can walk just fine on my own.”
I bit my tongue from trying to reason with her at the moment. I had time to convince her. Or I’d just do it anyway.
“Fine.” I shrugged. “But you better keep up.”