Chapter 23
Dante
SERENITY’S HORRIFIED SHRIEK SANK INTO my chest like a hot knife.
The sound of falling rock and the rumble of shifting earth fired a burst of fear through me.
I whipped around and peered through the darkness, thankful as Hell for my ability to see clearly through the dark.
A pale hand flailing for the safety of solid ground was all I saw as Serenity fell over the cliff.
Suddenly, nothing mattered. Instinct took over.
My body became shadows and quickly moved through space, hovering in the open air on the other side of the cliff.
My shadowy form wrapped around Serenity’s tumbling body in a tight cocoon of dark safety.
With her body in my grip, the fast momentum of my lightning quick form and inability to think past the heightened alarm to reach her had my ethereal form coming to a stop in the first place I thought of.
My body resolidified, and I found myself breathing hard from the adrenaline still polluting my veins. Serenity trembled in my arms as I held her close, her face buried in my throat and arms wound tightly around her midsection.
“Are you okay?” I asked, not giving a fuck how shaken my voice sounded.
She let out a hard breath against me before slowly pulling away to look up at me. Her tear-filled eyes were doubled in size, and her already pale skin had gone stark white. She stared up at me as I tried regaining control of my frantically beating heart.
“Wh—” she stammered as her gray eyes flickered to the top of my head. “What … are … you?”
The emphatic beating of my heart, the untamable breathing, and the adrenaline fueling my system all came to a jarring halt.
Everything inside of me stopped until I mirrored her unblinking stare.
I didn’t need to look in a mirror to see what had made her go so pale.
I didn’t need confirmation for what I already knew to be true.
In my panic, I’d lost my grip on my human form.
The eyes she looked into were no longer a rich earthy brown but deep black broken up only by a red vertical slit.
The perfectly trimmed hair on top of my head now sported two short black horns.
The hands still holding her close to me were now sharpened with claws.
And when I opened my mouth, two sharp teeth had replaced my canines.
“You’re dreaming,” I said calmly, setting her on her feet and backing away.
It was then I noticed we were no longer outside under the brilliance of the night sky but in my dimly-lit library before the fireplace.
What a horrible choice of venue I’d landed us in during my panic.
I could’ve explained this away if I’d kept us outside.
I would’ve had a better excuse or cover up, but I’d brought us here.
She seemed unsteady on her feet, one of which was now bare from where she’d lost a shoe during the fall. She braced a hand against the wall by the fireplace and feebly shook her head while staring wide-eyed at me.
I’d only ever been so careless once before, and I’d paid a hefty price for that mistake. Ever since I regained my freedom from that slip-up, I’d never let my true identity out in front of a human. So like an inexperienced imbecile, I plowed on with my ridiculous excuse.
“You hit your head during the fall, passed out, and are now dreaming. No. Hallucinating,” I insisted while simultaneously rehiding my demonic features so that I appeared human once more.
That was a horrendous idea, because her large eyes now practically took up half her face. “What are you?”
“I’m human. You’re—”
“I’m not dreaming, Dante,” Serenity cut me off.
“And I’m not hallucinating. I was … falling.
I went over the cliff. I-I can still feel the air on my skin from how fast I was falling, but I never hit the ground.
Instead, I-I … I’m here.” She waved her hand around the library.
“I appeared here just like that.” She snapped her fingers, and my nerves spiked with the sound.
“And you …” She gestured a trembling hand in my direction. “You … What are you?”
I wanted to tear my gaze away from hers, but I was afraid the moment I looked away, she’d run. She’d race out of my house, screaming that I was a monster, confirming that there was nothing about me worth staying for, worth listening to. So I stared at her like the paralysed beast that I was.
“Th—That appearance … the horns, eyes, all of it. It’s your demonic persona that you wear during concerts or Sinners Do It Better gigs.”
Again, I remained silent while the mental cogs worked behind her studious gray eyes.
“It’s real?” she asked dubiously. “You’re real? You’re a-a demon?”
Clenching my fists, I forced a teasing smirk that no doubt came out more like a grimace. “Can’t we just pretend this is a dream or a hallucination?”
“Dante,” she begged in a near whisper.
The feigned joking attitude faded, and I realized that she was right.
She wasn’t stupid, and treating her as such to distance myself from this major unleashed secret wasn’t helping.
Resolved with the fact that the damage had already been done, I responded to her questions by keeping my eyes locked on hers and shedding my human guise.
She took in a sharp breath, watching my horns, demonic eyes, and claws reappear. Fear lodged in my throat. Was this the moment? Was now when she’d realize I’d been a monster all along and run away, terrified?
Serenity’s glittering gaze traced every new feature. Many moments later, she took a tentative step closer.
Then another.
And another.
Finally, she stood directly in front of me, studying my horns before her gaze collided with mine. My gut clenched. My dread spiked. My resolve to accept her disdain for me solidified. This was the moment I’d lose her to the monster I didn’t want to be when around her.
“I have a lot of questions,” she declared, suddenly cracking a nervous laugh.
My brows rose. “Aren’t you going to run?”
That question seemed to confuse her even more than my newly revealed identity. “Why would I run?”
“I’m a demon. You just learned I’m a fucking demon from Hell.”
“Okay. So?”
Something inside of me, residing in the deepest pit of my very being, swelled to life for what felt like the first time since the Prince of Darkness Himself breathed life into me.
Before I could process what I was feeling, she continued, “It’s not like I’m suddenly in a room with a completely unfamiliar and dangerous stranger. Have I discovered there’s a lot more to learn about you? Sure. But it’s still you.”
“B-But,” I started with a shake of my head, “I’m a demon. A monster. Do you not know anything about Hell or demons?”
“If you wanted to hurt me, you would’ve done it by now. You certainly wouldn’t have saved me from falling to my demise if you wanted to kill me.” Her cheeks grew pink, and she gave me a sheepish smile. “Thank you for that, by the way.”
My mouth opened and closed uselessly before I managed to ask, “How are you not freaking out over the fact that I exist?”
She pursed her lips and looked up as she considered my question.
“Not sure. I guess my lack of freaking out leaves something to be said of my mental state.” She looked at me again with a growing smile and shrugged.
“Honestly, I’m a dreamer. I spend most of my days with my head in the clouds, fantasizing about magic, monsters, and wonders.
I’ve always wanted those things to be real.
So honestly? This is more exciting than it is scary or disturbing. ”
I let out a quick, disbelieving laugh and shook my head. “Why does that actually make sense with you?”
She narrowed her eyes slightly and crossed her arms. “I’m not sure whether or not to be offended by that.”
The teasing faded as I stared down at her and she up at me.
I was painfully aware of my demonic features on clear display, yet she smiled.
She didn’t scream in horror or point at me while declaring me an unlovable beast. She didn’t suddenly snicker with thoughts of tying me into some demonic contract or duty.
She didn’t rush to put me back in that deep well I’d managed to get out of all those centuries ago.
And I just couldn’t wrap my head around that.
I’d become jaded and hardened in the belief that someone like me was incapable of feeling love and receiving that in return.
Once someone knew what I was, they’d either use me for something they thought a demon could give them or flee while holding their crucifixes in my direction.
That’s the better of the reactions from the past.
But Serenity wasn’t the past.
Serenity was right here, right now.
Serenity smiled.
“I lied to you,” I pointed out softly, still trying to get ahead of the downward spiral that would surely come. “I hid my identity from you.”
Serenity gave a small laugh. “I also hid mine. SC Draven, remember? Looks like we both found out the truth today.”
Her grin was warm and fascinated. The expression was in stark contrast with the defeat and hurt she’d worn all evening. I wasn’t sure if her glee came from the realization that “magic” was real or if it was because I was “magic,” but regardless of the reason, I was glad to see her smiling again.
“How did you save me?” she asked. “Did you freeze time to catch me or something?”
Growing more amused and less afraid, I waved the suggestion away with my clawed hand. “I can’t do anything like that. I’m an Incubus, not—”
She gasped, her gray eyes brightening. “You’re a sex demon?”
Her excitement over that fact had blood rushing to my cock. Fuck. Her reaction to that news was so much better than anything I could’ve hoped for.
“Yeah,” I answered gruffly, trying to keep my lustful voice smooth.
Her gaze went hazy with barely contained curiosity, one now tinged in desire. A spike in arousal saturated the air around her, and I nearly let loose a low growl in response.
“What does that entail?” she asked softly. “What powers come with being an Incubus? What can you do?”
“Oh, Serenity,” I chuckled darkly. “You shouldn’t have asked that.”