Page 70 of Thane's Demon
Curled beneath my blanket, tucked into my bed, her hair spilling across the pillow in soft waves touched by moonlight. She looked impossibly peaceful, the fragile curve of her cheek illuminated in silver. Her lips parted slightly in rest. For a moment I couldn’t breathe. Everything inside me, the fear, the fury, the desperation, it all collapsed in on itself so fast I had to brace a hand against the wall to stay upright. Relief slammed into me with such force my vision blurred. My demon, moments ago a storm of violence, quieted instantly before releasing a deep, trembling purr that seemed to vibrate through my bones.
‘She is here.
She is safe.
She came home to us.’
I moved toward her slowly, as if the air itself might shatter under the weight of the moment. Moonlight touched her in gentle strokes, softening the exhaustion under her eyes and lending her an ethereal glow that made my chest tighten painfully.
I sank down beside the bed, unable to tear my gaze away from her. Carefully, almost worshipfully, I reached out and brushed a loose strand of hair away from her forehead. Her skin was warm beneath my fingertips, and at even that slightest contact she shifted, instinctively turning toward my hand as though seeking it in sleep. A sound escaped me then, low and raw, something between relief and devastation. Something so human the demon inside me went perfectly still in acknowledgment.
I forced myself to stand long enough to close the door, locking it. Sealing it up and barricading the world from her presence before returning to the bed. Doing so with a heaviness that bordered on surrender. I should not lie beside her. I should not expose her to the weight of the darkness living inside me. I should not let myself have the moment that I knew would undo every ounce of restraint I had left. But she had come here.
Into my home.
Into my bed.
Into my world.
And every part of me, human and demon alike, shattered beneath the meaning of that choice.
Slowly, with more care than I had ever used in my life, I lowered myself onto the mattress. The bed dipped beneath my weight, and she responded instantly, shifting closer with a soft, unconscious sigh that stole what little breath remained in my lungs. Her back pressed lightly to my chest, the warmth of her body sinking into mine. Without thinking, without planning, without the slightest resistance, my arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her gently toward me. Her breathing deepened almost immediately. Her body relaxing into mine as though she belonged there and always had.
Her softness pressed against the hard lines of my body, her scent filled my lungs, and something deep inside me eased in a way I had never known possible.
‘Hold her.
Keep her.
Protect her.
Never let her go.’
The demon melted into silence, its hunger replaced with something calm and tender. I lowered my forehead to the back of her neck, inhaling the warmth of her skin as if it were the only anchor holding me together. My voice slipped out in a whisper I barely recognized, something fragile, something true. Something I would never say aloud if she were awake.
“I will keep you safe,”I murmured, letting the vow sink into the darkness.“Even if I can never have you. Even if I cannot claim what is mine. I will be whatever you need, even if it kills me.”
She shifted again, inching closer, her body aligning with mine with such unconscious trust that it nearly broke me. I tightened my arm around her waist, holding her gently but firmly, letting her warmth flood through the cold spaces inside me.
And for the first time in my life, I felt something like peace settle over me.
Terrifying. Beautiful. Vulnerable.
Something I knew, without question…
I would burn the world to protect.
29
THE OUTCOME
ALORA
For a moment, I floated somewhere between sleep and waking, caught in that hazy place where dreams felt more like memories and the warmth around me felt too real to question. I felt safe, wrapped in something solid and protective, something stronger than anything I had known in so long that my heart ached at the unfamiliar comfort. It had been years since I felt this way, not since my mother used to hold me after nightmares or tuck me against her side when storms rattled the windows. There was a warmth surrounding me, a steady rise and fall against me, and a deep, soothing sound that felt almost like a purr rumbling through my spine.
For a heartbeat, I allowed myself to melt into it, to breathe in deeply, to feel the safety curl around me like a blanket. I shifted slightly, nestling closer without thinking, and the hold around me tightened instinctively, a set of strong arms pulling me back against a chest that felt like carved stone wrapped in heat.
That was when the realization struck.
