Chapter 17: Kieran

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        She just accepted me. Just like that. Can't seem to wrap my head around it, honestly. My whole life there's been a weight that's settled over my chest and with time it just grew heavier and heavier. I have always lain in wait for the day I will one day succumb to the same darkness that drove my grandfather. I am mostly demon after all and most demons are well, not pleasant to begin with. I, on the other hand, came from bad stock and have always felt an expiration date looming over my head like the shadow of an executioner before the guillotine drops. 

        That is until about five minutes ago. She laid it out for me so simply that even I couldn't refute what she was saying. My brothers have tried time and time again to make me see the light. To come out of the dark place I had been in since my parents were murdered. I thought the only way out was death. I figured if I died before I cracked then at least the good would outweigh the bad. So time and time again I threw myself into dangerous situations, not caring if I lived or died. For the first time in my life, right this very second, I care and I care a lot. If the beautiful woman standing in front of me is what I have to live for then I will live. I will live so she can. She's given me hope and I've taken to it like a man offered water in a barren desert. 

       I look around to my brothers as they surround the woman who has become precious to us. Forrest stands in front of her, taking point as usual, Drazik and Emerson to either side of her, and Leandre and I guard her back. When my eyes land on Leandre he raises a single brow in question. When I nod my head and look to Raven a large grin spreads across his face and he reaches over to squeeze my forearm in a show of support. I smile back at him, the new lightness I feel spreading through my body and showing out of my eyes. I can tell he can see the difference because his eyes soften and pure relief shows through. I feel a light tap to my consciousness and, knowing it's Leandre, I open the door. 

        This isn't a talent of his he uses often because he sees it as invasive but, seeing as we're trying to be sneaky, it's necessary. When he opens a mind link with another you can feel the other's emotions if you aren't guarding yourself. I don't allow my wall to come up for once because, for the first time, he won't feel the crushing weight. I let the lightness of my being fill me up. 

        She accepted me. I whisper in my head, knowing Leandre will pick it up.

        Did you think she wouldn't? He asks. I have done much worse than you and she accepted me. 

        His relief from that day pours through me and it's similar to what I'm feeling now. We both smile like idiots for a moment while we scour the surrounding area for threats. 

       So does this mean you'll stop being an idiot with a death wish? He asks in a joking tone. 

       I only plan to have a death wish if it means saving her. I say. Understanding washes through me and when I look back over to him I feel the determination and will to protect Raven. He feels the same way as I do, as I'm sure all the guys do. 

       I feel the connection abruptly close and am thrown into high alert. Drazik lets out a growl and I can see his skin ripple as he fights his need to shift. Emerson's skin has gone a pale lavender color in the darkness of the old abandoned church, his eyes dark as he looks around. Forrest's skin changes to a grey color as it hardens into his stone skin. I reach into my jacket and pull out two throwing knives and palming them in anticipation for an attack. 

       We all stop though when a faint silver glow starts around Raven. Black smoke interspersed with silver strands work their way down her arms, turning into two black ravens. They're identical outside of their beaks. I have no clue how the lass knows who is who when it comes to them but somehow she does. She looks to both of them then nods and they both take to the air, circling above us in a protective dance. She takes a deep breath before looking to all of us. 

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