Page 77 of Knox
Knox seemed to pick up on it. "You always knew I was a demon. My actions tonight should not surprise you." He glanced back at the house. "I will own the title of monster for you."
Adrian winced. Was this because of that blog post Knox had read by accident? It had to be. Adrian pulled his phone out of his pocket even as he struggled to get his thoughts in order. "You’re not a monster. I never meant to say that, I just…" He searched for the blog post. "You didn’t read the whole thing."
Finding the post, he held the phone out to Knox once more. The incubus took it and read, brows creasing.
He mouthed the words Adrian had put down so long ago.Knox has shown incredible growth since he left the Night Court. Every day he strives to make the world better, even if he often doesn’t know how to accomplish that. That’s what I like bestabout his character. He’s just as lost as any of us, struggling with how to be a good person in a world that makes it so easy to be bad, to do only what feels good instead of what’s right. So what if he relapses every now and then? Don’t we all? Does that make us monsters or does it make us human?
Knox looked at Adrian. "This is what you think?"
"One hundred percent."
Knox looked at the phone again for a long moment. He seemed stumped. He shook his head. Then he raised his eyes to meet Adrian’s gaze head-on. "I don’t have a single regret about what I did to your ex. He never deserved you, and I’ll use any magic I have to protect you. Any day of the week, any time of day. Hell, even if I had no magic left, I would still protect you to my dying breath."
Adrian struggled to respond. Conversations like that only happened in romance novels, but this was real life, no matter where Knox had come from.
And Knox was real, wasn’t he?
"Why would you protect me?" Adrian managed to ask.
Knox’s eyes never wavered. "Take me home, and I’ll show you."
Adrian swallowed hard, nodding. He led Knox back to the car, the weight of the moment settling around him. Something would happen tonight. Something that would give him all the answers he needed.
The drive back was silent, but it wasn’t the tense silence from before. It was a silence filled with unspoken promises and, honestly, it was a miracle Adrian didn’t drive them into a ditch.
He parked the car outside his grandmother’s apartment, hoping that Evelyn was asleep already.
He fumbled with his keys before he managed to unlock the door. The apartment was dark, quiet. Good, Adrian thought, until he registered movement on the couch.
"You’re back," Leon said.
Adrian suppressed a groan. He’d forgotten about Leon. He’d forgotten about many things while he was out on his adventure with Knox.
Leon turned on a lamp, the sudden light blinding Adrian for a moment. He blinked, adjusting to the brightness.
Leon’s eyes darted between him and Knox. "What have you two been up to?"
Adrian didn’t want to delve into the evening’s events. He shifted uncomfortably, avoiding Leon’s gaze. "Nothing important."
Knox, however, had no such qualms. "We were dealing with a villain," he said.
Leon raised an eyebrow. "What villain?"
"It’s no concern of yours," Knox replied easily.
For a moment, it looked like Leon was going to press him further, but then he sighed, pulling out his phone instead. He tapped the screen a few times before looking back up at Adrian.
"I sent you a link," Leon said. "You need to check it out."
Adrian knew this couldn’t be good. A sense of dread settled in his stomach as he fished his phone out of his pocket. He unlockedit, scrolling through the notifications until he found the message from Leon.
Clicking on the link, he skimmed through the article, the dread he felt solidifying. Several people had been reported missing since the convention, not just Daniel.
"This is bad."
Knox moved closer, reading over his shoulder. His expression darkened. "It looks like Caelen gained more followers."
Adrian blew out a breath in exasperation. "And we haven’t heard anything from Zev and Lyrian yet. Do you think they’re okay?"
