AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I couldn’t help but smirk in satisfied glee.
Nova, the elusive, long-living fallen angel sounded exactly like a sulking child right now. I was usually the emotional nutcase in this relationship, but today I felt like the mature one in the room. My brain couldn’t reconcile the man in front of me with the version I’d gotten to know over the last several weeks.
Is this dude having a full-blown tantrum right now? Am I dreaming?
“You’re aware that running from your problems is what assholes do, and you’d just be repeating past mistakes doing it for someone you loved,” I argued before another angry breath escaped my companion.
Rubbing his face, Nova sighed loudly. “What would you have me do? The very idea of losing you cripples me. I fear I’d let the world burn before letting you be harmed again.”
Wow, okay, so he really was in love with me. I’d seen enough shows to know that people got incredibly stupid in love. And the shit he spouted was as stupid as it got. Nova knew I’d never walk away from a fight like this. Dealing with assholes head-on like my entire life. He’d have to be a whole world of stupid to think I’d walk away now.
When I offered him a look to say as much, Nova’s lips finally slid up, and I hadn’t realized until that moment I was holding my breath. His red eyes bled back to their usual green, and it was a relief to see the good humor return to his face. “You think I’m being a bloody child, don’t you?” he surmised with the usual Nova grin.
Shrugging, I smirked against my will. “Your words, not mine.”
“You’d never willingly walk from a fight like this,” the demon went on, knuckles brushing across my cheek, “and it’s why I find myself so captivated by you.”
Swallowing, I looked away, uncomfortable with how much feeling was in Nova’s eyes. “Yeah, well, I have a score to settle. You’d have to lock me up if you wanted me to sit this one out.” I looked over, catching the way his lips tilted sadistically and did my best not to think too deeply about that smile of his or why it came right after I talked about being locked up.
Nova started the car again and resumed our drive home. “There’s very few things that can contain you, I imagine.”
“Damn right,” I snarked, grinning a little too devilishly.
Chuckling, the demon’s grip visibly tightened on the wheel. “And Hell needs you as its next ruler. The truth is, I couldn’t do this without you, and there are demons who are counting on this to work. The balance of good and evil rests on whether or not we can pull this off.”
Looking out the window, I tried to ignore how much that little human moment between us appealed to me. “No pressure.”
“YOU’RE TOO OPEN,” NOVA WHISPERED, hand around my throat and a blade aimed at my gut. “You need tofeelmy movements—the air around my body and the sensation of power.”
I kicked out his legs and had him pinned to the floor with my knee, the sword I used across his throat a half-breath later. “Like this?”
Nova’s smile was breathtakingly gorgeous. “Precisely.”
“What about my own power?” I asked, releasing the beautiful bastard and offering a hand to him in camaraderie.
He got to his feet but refused to let go of my hand. I wasn’t given time to make a snide comment about it before the saucy demon was answering my question. “I think you’re in a good place to call on it, but half breeds like yourself need to unlock it.”
“Unlock it? Like with a key or some shit?” Green eyes watched me in mocking, and I sighed. “It’s still a little weird to think I’d have that sort of power.”
“Half breeds are far more powerful than your typical demon, and you even more so being female and the daughter of Creed, but your power is difficult to control. I wanted to make sure you could evade a strong demon’s abilities before tampering with your power,” the demon remarked coolly, pulling something out of his pocket that looked like blue marble cut into a crystal shape hanging on a silver string.
I peered down at it before it vibrated and glowed. “What’s that?”
“This will unlock your power and act as a sort of conduit to ensure it doesn’t backfire or harm anyone on your side.”
“On my side? Like you and the team?” I watched the oddly shaped stone visibly shake and hover over Nova’s palm, airborne. “Is that actually something that’s happened in the past?”
Nova didn’t answer, simply offered the levitating stone to me. When I tried to take it, he shook his head and spoke up, “Hold out your hand and will the stone over to you.”
“Talking in riddles, demon?” I taunted but did as he said.
The blue stone shot from his hand to mine, hovering and glowing for a second before falling still on my open palm. It was ice-cold when I expected it to be searing hot.
“Put it on,” Nova instructed.
I fitted the chain over my head and the stone fell heavily against my chest, then as if it were never there, it disappeared from sight. My eyes widened in confusion, and Nova chuckled softly to himself.
Before Aidan, I’d never trusted anyone and their intentions. Now, I willingly took what Nova gave me and put my faith in the demon. It was still a new feeling, so sometimes I reacted the way the old me would, but I managed to keep from outright lashing out when I was surprised.
