Page 116 of Demon Apathy: Sunderverse
He took a step forward, leaving the flames behind, and I gasped at the sight of the most dreadful demon I could have ever imagined. He had grown to a height of eight feet. Muscles the size of boulders rounded his shoulders and chest. His fingers were long and tipped with terribly pointed claws. The wings—which had been so beautiful with the lush, black feathers—had turned leathery with brutal bone spikes at their apex. They seemed translucent against the fire, membranous.
But it was his face that horrified me the most.
Curved horns sprouted from his forehead, ending in hooked, sharp points. They were black and ridged, shining with the light of the flames. His chin ended at a severe point, and his elevated cheekbones left his face sunken like a skeleton’s. Rows of jagged teeth filled his mouth as he roared in fury.
“You will not take her from me. You will respect your role as I respect mine,” his eerie voice boomed, shaking the very foundation of the building. Of my soul.
I shrank in fear. My body, my heart, the love I’d thought I felt for him. It all became nothing in the face of his terrible likeness, of the pitiless evil aura that radiated from him like heat from the sun.
Roaring like some great engine, he swooped toward Jophiel. The angel had the sense to look terrified in the presence of such an awful beast. Backing away, Jophiel tore the shirt off his torso, flung it aside, and let his white wings spring free. In the same breath, he whirled and ran toward the end of the parking deck, where the wall was open to the outside. As he sprinted, his legs pumping in a blur, he leaped into the air, positioned his body like a streamlined arrow, and flew right out through the gap, disappearing as he ascended toward the heavens.
The beast that was Drevan chased the angel, and it seemed, for an instant, that he would fly in pursuit. Instead, he came to an abrupt stop, his clawed hand gripping the ledge of the opening as he scanned the sky.
The concrete crumbled under the pressure, and chunks of it fell to his feet. He seemed to be fighting his fury, fighting to prevail over the desire to take chase. After a drawn-out moment, he released the ledge, took a step back, and shook himself. His outstretched wings folded behind his back, then slowly disappeared. As his chest visibly rose and fell, he shrank to his usual height. A few more seconds ticked by before he whirled on his heel and ran in my direction.
I shrank from seeing his face, but the sharp, cruel features were gone, replaced by that chiseled perfection that once made my mouth go dry, except now, it didn’t have the same effect.
Not at all.
A frown of worry edging his forehead, he skidded to a stop and kneeled by my side. “Lucia!” His perfect hand with his tapered fingers and manicured nails reached for mine, but all I saw were the awful elongated fingers with its pointed black nails.
Whimpering, I recoiled from him.
He pulled his hand back, folding it into a fist. His lower lip quivered.
“Don’t… don’t touch me,” I said, fear slicing through my chest like a sharp Queller.
His head dipped, eyes lowering in shame. “I can take you back to the league,” he offered, his tone turning neutral.
“No,” was all I managed to say.
“To your sister then.”
“No!”
Slowly, his gaze lifted to meet mine. “I can explain.”
“So that you can lie to me again and again like you’ve been doing all along.”
“I haven’t lied to you since—”
“Haven’t you?!” I demanded, even as I felt the world sway, my limbs weakening with blood loss.
“Please, you’re bleeding. Let me help you.”
“You and I almost…” I trailed off, unable to say the words. I had been so close to having sex with him. My stomach roiled.
“I never meant to hurt you,” he said. “I… just wanted to be with you, to… care for you.”
“You’re a monster,” I managed as I collapsed back down, my head hitting the concrete with a crack.
—Please, Lucia.
I shook my head.
Khargon appeared behind Drevan. For an instant, gargoyle features flashed before my eyes, but I willed them away, refusing to subject myself to their monstrosity.
“I’ll take her,” she said, then leaned over and set one arm behind my back and another under my legs and, as if I were a child, lifted me and cradled me to her chest. “You’ll be all right, little one,” she said, her voice tender as I never could have imagined.
