A Demon’s Touch by Ella Jade
Chapter 32
Angelo
“Now you have to make a choice.” Koradon smirked. “Fight me or save her?” He glanced over the edge. “Even if she is worth saving, she won’t survive the fall if she doesn’t land in the water, but if she hits the water she’ll drown.” He shrugged. “She’ll probably break her back before she drowns.”
“You’re never getting that sword.” I took a few steps back, giving myself room to run toward the cliff. “You lost your leverage.” With a wave of my arm, I throttled him, sending him crashing into the mountainside.
“This is far from over.” He hit the mountain before disappearing into the night. For now, Koradon was the least of my problems.
My wings emerged as I dove off the cliff, soaring toward the ocean. I searched my surroundings and hoped I could catch her before she hit the water, but she was nowhere to be found.
I’d felt desperation from countless people my entire existence, but I never experienced it first-hand until this moment. I regretted not being able to release her from Koradon’s hold. My powers were developing at a rapid pace, and as I gained strength, so was he. We were feeding off one another.
I could feel it.
I flapped my wings faster, bracing myself for the ocean that would ravage her in seconds if I couldn’t find her.
“Harper.” I yelled as I plunged into the cold, rough waves. My flesh sizzled as the water washed over me.
“Harper! Please.” I dove under, but all I found was darkness. I swam in a frenzy of panic, trying to stay in control, but each time I submerged myself, the odds of finding her diminished.
I’d search for the rest of my life. What kind of existence would I have without her? As I came up to gain my bearings, a blinding white light settled in front of me. I shielded my eyes from the brightness, recalling how the light had manifested over the past few weeks. Once my eyes adjusted, I saw her.
“Hello, Angelo.” Her impressive white wings extended over her shoulders, fluttering amidst the violent waves. In her arms, she cradled Harper, protecting her from the rugged waters. “It’s been a long time.”
“Mom?”
“Yes.”
She was just as I had remembered her, beautiful and tranquil. The love she felt for me was as strong as the day she left me.
“You’re here.”
“Always.” She gazed down at Harper, who looked as if she were asleep. “This one brings out your light.”
I swam toward them, taking Harper from my mother’s arms. “The flashes of lights I’ve been seeing. That was you.”
“Yes.” She smiled at Harper. “I’ve always been here, but you wouldn’t let the light through until you met her.”
“You saved her.”
“I would not let your father take her from you too.” She touched my face. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you too.”
“You have to get her out of the water.”
“Come with me.”
“I can’t.” She fluttered her wings, rising from the ocean and looking down on me. “I’m never far, but you have to drop this vendetta with your father. Make peace with my death and live a full life with Harper. You deserve it.”
“I don’t deserve her.”
“You do, but you have to realize it.” She flew higher in the sky. “I love you, my son.”
“I love you too.”
“Let her help you find the goodness in your soul.”
“Angelo.” Harper touched my jaw as my mother spread her wings and soared away. “I’m cold.” She closed her eyes again.
I flew us out of the ocean and back to the cliff. I placed Harper on the ground. Her frigid skin was blue, and she wasn’t moving.
“Harper.” I slipped my arm under her neck. “Wake up.”
She turned her head to the side and coughed up water from the sea. My mother had caught her before she hit the water but the waves were so rough and large they had splashed up and washed over them. Harper needed a moment to recover from the trauma.
“That’s my girl.” I turned her on her side and rubbed her back as she coughed and gagged. When she finished, she crawled into my lap and cuddled against me, seeking my warmth. She shook against me, so I held her close to me.
“Hi.” She gazed up at me, biting her lip. “Am I in trouble?”
“Big trouble.” I brushed my lips against hers, kissing her softly. “But right now, I’m relieved you’re safe.”
“Are those…” She reached up but hesitated with a trembling hand. “Wings?”
“Yes.”
“How? Why?”
“My mother was an angel.”
“Of course, she was.” She took in my peculiar appendages. Her emotions were full of curiosity and admiration. “You’re half angel?”
“Only the good half.” I smirked.
“That means you’re only half demon.”
“I’m still a demon.”
“Can I touch them?”
“Sure.” No one had ever asked me that before, but I would never deny her anything. If we were going to be together, she needed to see all of who I really was.
She got up on her knees and gently stroked my wings, satisfying her inquisitiveness. Harper was careful as the feathers glided through her fingers. I closed my eyes, indulging in her touch and relishing in her love.
“Your mother saved me, didn’t she?”
“She intercepted you before you could hit the water. When you went over that cliff, I thought I lost you.” I took her face between my hands. “I haven’t seen my mother since I was a child. She came to me because she said you bring out my light.”
“Where is she?”
I looked up at the sky. “Where she belongs.”
“And Koradon? Is he where he belongs too?” The fear rose in her chest like bile.
“I had to make a choice. Kill him or save you.” I swept my lips along her jaw. “There really was no choice.”
“Will he come back?”
“Eventually.” I pressed my lips to hers, slipping my tongue inside her mouth, and kissing her slowly. “It’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“I can’t lose you.” She draped her arms over my shoulders. “That’s why I came here tonight. I never got to tell you that I…”
“Love me?”
“With all my heart and soul.”
“I know.”
“You do?”
“There’s a reason I’m good with feelings.” I caressed her cheek. “I’m an empath.”
“That’s why you always know what I’m feeling thirty seconds before I do?”
“That’s why I’m so moody. I feel everything around me all the time. Humans are a ridiculous breed.”
“You’re an angel, a demon, and an empath?” She bit her lip again. “You have wings, and you did some freaky sorcery. I felt you trying to pull me from the cliff.”
“I have a lot to tell you.”
“I’ll say.”
“Why don’t you tell me how you ended up here tonight?” I arched a brow at her. “I left you at the convent to keep you safe. How did you even find me?”
“I, ah, I sort of put a tracker on your phone when we were at my villa,” she blurted out. “I don’t know why I did it, but it seemed like the right thing to do. It all happened fast, but something told me I needed to know where you were. I can’t lose you.”
“A tracker?”
“An app on your phone.” She shrugged. “I told you leaving it unlocked wasn’t safe.”
“Clever.” I had to admire her fast thinking. “It was incredibly brave for you to risk your life to come and find me.”
“Thank you.” She smiled.
“It was also stupid.” I took a deep breath, so I didn’t lose my composure and yell at her for almost getting herself killed. “If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I’ll unleash my full demon on you. Understood?”
“Don’t worry.” She kissed me, totally unfazed by my tone. “My demon hunting days are over. I caught the only one I wanted.”
“I’m never leaving your side.”
“Kiki.” She tried to stand, but her legs were still weak. “She came with me, but Koradon grabbed me when we got here. I don’t know what happened to her.”
“She’s with David.”
“You’re sure?” Relief bathed over her.
“We found her, and she told us Koradon had taken you.” I held her close to my chest. “I don’t scare easily, well not at all, but when Kiki told me he took you, I lost all sense of reality.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to be sorry.” I raised her hand to my lips, kissing the inside of her wrist. “I understand why you came after me.”
“You do.”
“I can’t lose you either.” I pressed her palm to my cheek. “I’ve waited an eternity for you. You’re my entire world.” I stood, lifting her in my arms. “Where you go, I go.”
“As long as we’re together. I don’t care where we go.”
“I told you I’d always find my way back to you.”
I carried her across the mountain with a newfound purpose. Nothing would ever take her from me. I’d found love and light, but to restore my soul, I’d have to destroy those who wanted to keep me shrouded in darkness.
My mission was only beginning. With Harper by my side, I could finally have what I’d been searching for my entire existence. Freedom.
The End
Are you ready to continue the journey with the next book in the series?
A Demon’s Sins