The Destiny of the Half-Bloods

Chapter 11

Dameon:

I’m carrying an unconscious Seraphina in my arms, dodging the falling rubble while shielding her precious body. I find a nearby window and kick it with all of my might, and it explodes under my unholy strength. Holding Seraphina as tight as I can, I leap from the window.

Searing pain rips through my legs when I land in the snow. An unearthly roar slips from my mouth as I feel the bones shattering inside of me and we tumble to the ground. I push myself up to look around. Seraphina’s wing of the dorm is completely demolished, while the rest of the building and the others around it are completely intact. There’s not a soul in sight, no sirens in the distance. Everything is still. This isn’t right.

This was no natural earthquake or building collapse. I know in my gut that it was Agares, the Duke of Hell who has an affinity for earthquakes. My father undoubtedly organized this whole disaster. The anger boils in my chest at the thought of him using me like a pawn. I just wanted to see Seraphina’s face, I had to figure out if my feelings for her were real or just the heavenly spell of her song.

Now I’m lying in the snow with an unconscious angel and broken legs.

I feel my bones beginning to mend themselves (one of the few advantages to being part demon), so I roll over to check on her. She’s breathing, but completely motionless.

I put my hands on her face and close my eyes, focusing my energy on her. I’ve never used my wicked magic to heal anyone before, so I have no idea if this will work.

The electricity I feel when I touch her blessed face is almost unbearable, but I have to help her- mission or no.

Her beautiful eyes flicker open and I breathe a sigh of relief. Knowing about her divine heritage explains so much about her, but still leaves me helpless when I look into her eyes.

She props herself up on her elbows, scooting away from me in fear. Her eyes frantically dart about, attempting to comprehend the situation around us. Her eyes settle on the rubble.

“You saved me,” she murmurs, quivering from the fear and the cold.

I wrap my favorite leather jacket around her shoulders. “Any time.” She recoils at my closeness.

“What happened?” She asks, and I pray that she hasn’t noticed the supernatural circumstances surrounding us.

“Maybe a structural thing? Who knows.” I can’t give away too much. “Are you okay? You were just… standing in the middle of it.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she says with a sigh. “I’d like to get out of here before people start showing up. I can’t deal with all of that right now.”

“Where are you going to go?” I ask. Her home lies in heaps around us and she has no family. It’s freezing out here, and if we don’t leave before the first responders arrive I will have a lot of difficult questions to answer. I can’t reveal my secret.

She has no answer.

“You can come back to my place tonight,” I offer. She recoils at the thought. “I promise I won’t touch you.” That reassurance seems to relax her a little.

“Okay,” she resigns. “I really appreciate that.” She looks around curiously. “Why haven’t any cops or firetrucks shown up yet? This is really strange.” I don’t want her to notice the supernatural evidence, so I look for the closest distraction.

There it is. “Your guitar didn’t fare as well as us,” I point at a pile of mangled wood and string nearby.

Seraphina’s face turns as white as the snow we stand in. She runs to the remnants of her beloved guitar and falls to her knees. “It was the only thing that made me feel normal.”

“Normal is overrated,” I assure her with a smile. “Let’s get out of here.”

We gather the remnants of her guitar and rush across the vacant lawn to my dorm. Each step feels like hot knives in my freshly healed legs, but walking by Seraphina’s side is bliss.

The echoes of distant sirens finally emerge as we reach the front door. I look about, knowing that my father’s henchmen are probably lurking in the shadows monitoring my progress.

As we wordlessly walk down the hall, my heart begins to race at the prospect of having Seraphina asleep in my bed.

I want to be with this woman more than anything, but if I am to obey my father’s orders and seduce her, she will die. What will be left of my humanity then? If I disobey him to save her, he will just send some other demon to complete my mission and I will be sentenced to an eternity of torture for my treason.

I’m literally damned if I do, and damned if I don’t.

For tonight, I’ll just enjoy having her close to me. I’ll come up with a way out of this after a good night’s sleep.

I pull out my key and open the door, and my breath hitches at the memory of our heated embrace. I gesture for her to lead the way in, and silently close the door behind us.