My vision blurs as it raises one clawed arm, mentally bracing for the impact, when the world around me explodes. A wave of heat crashes over the yard, and the demon freezes. I blink through the haze, frowning when the impact from the demon doesn’t come, and instead, I see her.
Annika stands in the doorway, flames of crimson and gold ribbons rippling around her body like a living storm. Her darkhair is ignited by flames as it whips wildly in the heat, her usually chocolate-brown eyes blazing with a golden light that doesn’t belong to the woman I left inside minutes ago.
Power pours from her in violent waves, and the demon turns toward her with a snarl, but it’s the demon’s fatal mistake. Annika lifts one trembling hand, the hesitation quickly turning into something focused, something exalted, when the fire surges forward.
The demon doesn’t even have time to scream before the flames consume it. Within seconds, it collapses into nothing but blackened ash that scatters across the ground. Silence falls over the yard.
The fire slowly fades around her, leaving only faint embers dancing along her fingertips. My chest tightens as I attempt to sit up, one hand limply lifting and reaching out toward her. Blood still warms parts of my body, my flesh, where it shouldn’t be. “Annika…” I rasp, and she turns toward me, panic flooding her face as the glow fades from her eyes.
“Heinrich!”
She races toward me, but the world tilts violently as I try to keep my eyes on her.
The last thing I see before darkness claims me is her kneeling beside me, hands glowing faintly as she presses them against my chest.
***
When I wake again, the first thing I notice is warmth.
The second thing I notice is her scent.
My eyes open slowly, and I find Annika sitting beside the bed, a damp cloth in her hands as she gently wipes blood from my shoulder. Her hair is pulled into a loose knot, strands falling around her face like a natural frame that points to her beauty.
She looks exhausted, eyes rimmed with dark circles and puffiness as if she’s been crying.
But she’s alive, and that’s all that matters. Relief floods my chest so hard it almost hurts when she meets my eyes.
“You’re awake…” she murmurs softly, and I push myself up slightly.
My body should be screaming with pain, but instead, the wounds across my chest are nothing more than faint pink scars.
“You healed me,” I say in awe, and her gaze drops to her hands.
“Yes. I guess I did.” There’s no pride in her voice, only quiet acceptance.
I study her for a long moment, noticing that the fear I saw earlier has softened into something else.
Concern.
Maybe even trust.
“Annika…?” I say gently.
Her eyes lift to mine again.
“You can’t go back to the human world.”
The words land like a stone between us.
Her shoulders fall slightly.
“I figured you’d say that,” she says despondently, sadness etched across her features.
“The demons came here for you,” I continue. “They weren’t attacking the borders. They were hunting.” She goes still, and I reach out and place a hand over the one that holds the damp cloth. “They know what you are.”
A long silence settles over the room.
“So I’m trapped here…?” she whispers.
