Mark of Damon by Eva Chase Page 0,38
I’d sooner cut my own throat than let them use me like this—turn me into a murderer. Fulfill whatever sacrifice they were trying to enact.
Rose’s dad didn’t deserve the life he had, but I wasn’t going to become a murderous puppet for demons to take it away.
I wasn’t sure how long I could hold on to that determination. The sear of power emanating from my mark gushed all through my body, clouding my vision and my mind. I was clutching my last strands of will when more footsteps clattered into the hall behind me.
“Damon!” Rose’s voice cried out. And then, quieter, darker. “Dad.”
“Get me out of here,” I managed to rasp. “I don’t think I can…”
Gentle arms wrapped around me and guided me toward the doorway. They tensed for just an instant as Rose paused. Magic wound through the words she hurled at her dad. “You will not mention my or my consorts’ presence here to anyone in any way. Make up whatever story you want if you need to explain the injury, but it can’t have anything to do with me or them.”
She murmured something else, her hands stroking over my back in what must have been spell forms. A cooling, calming sensation trickled through me. By the time we reached the car, the fog of rage had drawn back enough that I was aware of Rose’s head tucked close to mine, of Gabriel at my other side, and of the wretched act I’d almost committed. Nausea swelled in my gut.
I turned and pulled my consort into a proper hug, soaking in every bit of her loving warmth. Even knowing I couldn’t avoid the conversation now and how essential it was, the admission still stuck in my throat. But a sense of understanding cracked through the resistance that constricted my lungs.
The demons had almost gotten what they wanted after all. I couldn’t help seeing it now. They’d wanted me to refuse to turn to anyone, to let my fears and resentments guide me until I fucked up in the most epic possible way. They’d wanted me to think that trying to conquer them on my own was real strength.
It wasn’t, though. I should have remembered that fact, no matter how they’d been messing with my mind for who knew how long.
We were family. We were strong together. I could find it in me to tell Rose I needed her. The true weakness had been in avoiding this moment.
“I was stupid,” I said. “I thought I could battle demons on my own, but it’s too much. Help me?”
Rose’s arms tightened around me. Her lips brushed my cheek. “Of course. Tell me everything, and we’ll get through this, just like we always do. I promise.”
Chapter Fourteen
Damon
Rose turned off the Buick’s engine in the amber glow of the lights on the side of the Hallowell garage. The manor loomed in the night like a mountain of thicker shadow until Meredith must have flicked on the front hall light at the sound of the car. A paler glow seeped from the windows.
We’d driven through evening and dusk right into night. Jin’s car was parked a few spots over, he and the twins standing by it waiting for us.
My consort turned to Gabriel, who’d ended up in the back seat after all. “Can you give us a moment? Tell the other guys a little more about the situation than we were able to say over the phone?” She’d been just as cautious in our communications that the Assembly might theoretically trace as in ensuring her dad wouldn’t use the incident against us.
Gabriel nodded and opened his door. Before he got out, he leaned forward to give my shoulder a quick squeeze. He didn’t say anything, but I already knew he was with me in this as much as Rose was. My throat tightened with the wish that I’d figured that out sooner.
When he’d shut the door behind him, Rose glanced at me. I resisted the urge to scratch at the gauze bandage she’d wrapped around my left forearm from wrist to elbow, across the entire length of the expanded mark. She’d drawn glyphs on the fabric with pen that she’d then imbued with magic. Her work hadn’t healed the scar; it’d only contained the violent energy that’d coursed from it. I could still feel the prickling burn around my bones.
Because of her efforts, I’d been able to stay in control the whole way home, but it was only a temporary solution.
This was the first