Page 13 of Craving Darkness

“Kallista.” At his unspoken demand, I glanced back at him. “Tell me.”

I waited a beat as I tried to figure out how to say the words. “My eyes…” I swallowed hard, then let the truth spill from me. “When I get upset, my eyes change to black. If I can’t get control of my emotions, the room will shake,” I whispered. “One time, I made the ceiling break into pieces. It almost killed my mom.” And the priest they brought in to perform the exorcism, but I couldn’t bring myself to admit that part. “My parents believe I am possessed by a demon,” I admitted, shame and agony filling every part of me.

Instead of being repulsed by me or even scared the way I would have expected, Valen started chuckling. Then he started laughing so hard he had to grip the edge of the counter to keep himself from falling over. I was shocked into numb silence, my jaw hanging open as I watched him lose his mind.

As he continued to laugh, I began to frown, and then I crossed my arms with a huff. “I don’t see what’s so funny,” I muttered.

Valen finally straightened up with one arm wrapped around his ribs as if he’d given himself a stitch in his side from laughing so hard. He swiped his thumb under one eye and gave me a grin. “No, I don’t suppose you would.”

Without saying another word, Valen suddenly began to change.

Before my eyes, his bronze skin tone grew slightly darker, a little grayer. Horns suddenly grew from his head through the dark hair, wisps of shadows swirling around them. Giant wings that resembled those of a bat appeared behind him, a little taller than he was and touching the floor at his bare feet. Those, too, had shadows swirling around every inch of them. They were solid; I could see that, but at the same time, it was as if they were the shadows. Insubstantial, yet… not.

“Valen?” I breathed his name in wonder at the sight. Perhaps I should have been screaming and running away in terror. But after the way he cared for me and the gentle way he’d held me, I had no room in me to be scared of him. Instead, I was fascinated as I itched to reach out and touch the shadows. He was my every girlish fantasy, every thought I’d had as I stared into the darkened closet when I was five years old. I had a fleeting sense of sadness that he was only now coming to me and hadn’t been there to save me from my childhood the way I had prayed for.

It wasn’t until my wondering gaze finally made it back to his face that I gasped and took a step back. It wasn’t from fear, just shock. “Your eyes…”

“Do I scare you, Kallista?” He growled low, a menacing tone that made shivers run down my spine, but not from fear.

“No.” I shook my head slowly without losing eye contact. “Your eyes, they look just like mine do when I…” I swallowed hard and tilted my head. I was suddenly scared to know the answer because I had spent my entire life being told I was one thing, and now the truth was finally in front of me. And from what I was looking at, my mother had been right all along. “What are you, Valen?”

“What do you think I am?” He took a step toward me. Movement from the corner of my eye had me looking down to see a thin, whip-like tail move back and forth. It had a small, pointed end, almost like a spade. Just like the horns and wings, it was made of those same shadows. I had a feeling that all he would have to do was will them away, and every part of him would just go back to normal.

“You’re a demon, aren’t you?”

“Very good, little girl,” he said in an almost mocking tone. “You know that you are, too. Right?”

I shook my head, then nodded. Then I shook it again before shrugging helplessly. “I don’t know.”

In an instant, the same Valen I had met the night before was back. All the proof that he was something other than just a man was gone from sight. I blinked as my mind tried to process all the new information over the last few minutes. I was tempted to ask him to bring back the shadows but squeezed my hands into fists instead.

“I think that you are, at the very least, part demon. Either your birth mother or biological father was a full demon. It makes sense.”

I shook my head, denying it even if I could feel in my heart that he was right. “Why is that what makes sense?”

“You can make the Earth tremble. Your eyes change when your demon is close to the surface.” He stepped closer. “We are mates.”

“I’m a mate you don’t even want,” I shot back, still hurt over his earlier words.

He grunted, not denying it. A white-hot pain bloomed in my chest, and I had to work hard not to show any outward signs. I fought not to bring my hand up to rub there. Instead, I turned away from him and walked back over to the couch. I picked up the blanket from the floor and began to fold it. Despite everything I had learned so far that morning, nothing had changed.

“I need to get back to my apartment.”

Valen’s low words, gritted between clenched teeth, had goosebumps rising on my arms. “You aren’t going anywhere.”

Chapter 9

Kallista

“Excuse me?” I dropped the blanket and looked up to take in the angry expression of the man across the room. No, the demon. Surprisingly, he didn’t frighten me, but a small, tiny part of me wondered if he would pull out the wings and horns if he got angry enough. Idly, I shook off the thought and crossed my arms. “Why do you get a say in what I do?” The words, You don’t even want me as your mate, hung silent and heavy between us

He was across the room and within touching distance with just a few of his ridiculously long strides. “I saved you from three very pissed off vampires last night. Do you think I want you to walk out that door just to end up with them again?” he snarled down at me.

I scoffed, even though I knew he was right. “Way to make it all about you, big guy. I thought this was my life we were discussing, not yours?”

He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. I noticed he did that a lot when he was upset and tried not to think about how sexy he looked doing it. “That’s not what I meant,” he glowered down at me. He dropped his hand and took another step closer. “You’re in danger, and you fucking well know it. The safest place for you is here, with me, so that I can keep an eye on you.”

My mouth dropped open. “I’m not a helpless baby! You don’t have to watch me. Besides, I highly doubt it’s so safe here with you, considering everyone seems to know where you live.”

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