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A sudden thought crossed my mind. “Wait, were you hunting darklings near Kat’s house the night before our date?”
His brows knitted.
“I didn’t recognize you guys at the time because it was too dark, but I think I saw you kill a darkling. I won’t lie, it freaked me out, because I thought it was a person you killed.” I paused, realizing I may have made things more difficult in calling the police. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry. I called the cops on you.”
He lifted his head, cocking an eyebrow, a grin tugging at his lips. “Soyou’rethe one who called them.” He paused, reaching out to take my hand again, stroking it affectionately. “I’m sorry you had to see that. We try to keep them out of neighborhoods and away from humans if we can. That group was a pain in the ass to track down and I hadn’t realized they’d gotten so close to you until we put them down. It was the first group we’d encountered acting in such a coordinated way. When they changed into their human form to escape it was the strangest thing. It’s not something they usually do. Typically they save it for daybreak.”
I nodded at his explanation. "You said darklings change into humans during the day. I know you said humans can't tell them apart, but can immortals tell them apart?"
He shook his head. "No. It’s a magic that’s too powerful to see through, even for our kind. It’d make things so much easier if we could search for them during the day as well."
It hit me then; anyone could be a darkling, and there was no way to tell who was a friend and who was a monster. A lady at the grocery store. A teacher on campus. I shuddered at the thought. That someone I knew or attended classes with could easily be a darkling and I’d never know.
Damien’s arm reached around me, pulling me against him. “I'm so glad I found you when I did.” The agony in his voice hurt my heart.
I sat there a moment, feeling his embrace, his pain. It rose off him like steam. My chest tightened, aching for him, and I wanted nothing more than to ease his hurt, to calm his worry.
I can’t lose you…Not again.
I froze for a moment. “What did you say?”
He pulled back to look at me, his brows knitting in confusion. “I didn’t say anything.”
I could have sworn I’d heard Damien’s voice, almost as if it was in my head. It echoed repeatedly as I processed it in my mind, but then it shifted, as if it were a distant memory. The deep ache that spread through my chest was indescribable, like bidding a lifelong friend goodbye.
“Cas, are you ok?” Damien asked as his eyes, clouded with concern, danced over me.
I couldn’t understand why he was suddenly so concerned. “I’m fine-” My vision blurred, and I sat, confused, as a tear rolled down my face. Was I crying? My hand came up to my face, touching the tears that continued to fall, before rigorously rubbing them away.
“I’m sorry, I think I'm just tired.” My voice shook as I struggled to keep the tears at bay. “Maybe the shock is finally wearing off.”
His mouth parted, as if he wanted to say something more, but he stopped before he spoke again. “We’ll continue this conversation tomorrow. Let’s get you home so you can rest. I’ve got to get back to figuring out how you ended up out in the alleys. Something about it doesn’t sit right with me.”
I wanted to stop him, to keep talking, but he was right. I’d been fighting the exhaustion since he brought me here, and we’d been talking for a while now. He lifted me off the bed, and I wrapped my arms around his neck as he cradled me. His smell filled my senses, a mix of sweat and that calming scent of cedarwood and leather. My body eased into his.
He walked toward the far side of the room where the one lamp hardly reached—where it was darker. “Alright, do me a favor and close your eyes.”
“Why?”
“Just do it. Trust me. You might get sick if you don’t.”
I sat there a moment, wondering why he wanted me to, but what could it hurt, right? I closed my eyes, obeying him.
“No peeking now,” he added.
I chuckled and pressed my face to his chest so I could better resist the urge.
He took a step forward. For a moment, it felt as if we were walking, then we were weightless, gravity shifting. It probably lasted a second or two, but it felt so much longer. An icy air enveloped us, chilling me to the bone. Wind whipped past me, through me, pressure building up against my body, and then all at once, it stopped.
When I cracked my eyes open, I nearly yelped, but Damien’s hand came over my mouth before I could.
“Shhh,” he whispered. “You’re ok, I’ve got you.”
I couldn’t believe my eyes. We ‘d been standing in the basement of the apartment complex just moments before, and yet somehow, we now stood in my room. It was dark, but I knew it well: the wood frame bed up against the gray wall, centered under the moonlight that leaked through my window, my desk in the far corner.
“Keep your voice low. Your parents are still asleep next door, so don’t worry,” Damien whispered, walking me to my bed and easing me down to sit.
I stared at him wide-eyed, my breath uneven as I tried to come to terms with what just happened. “How did you do that?” I whispered.
