Emry's Demons

Chapter 15

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Chapter 15 – Within

Damon

Damon raised his head as he heard a knock on his bedroom door. Then, Emry silently came in and closed the door after her, leaning against it and taking a deep breath. Her eyes were fixed on the floor. "Sorry about my behavior earlier."

He examined her. "It's fine."

She nodded and turned to leave.

"How was class today?"

She turned. Something changed in her eyes, in her face. It was there only for a moment, but he always closely observed everything about her, that he couldn't have missed it.

"It was fine."

"Did something happen? You seemed agitated when we met after that." He stood up.

She kept quiet, and it only confirmed his suspicions. He took a step closer. "Tell me."

It took a moment before she actually spoke. "Ella has seen demons before."

He frowned. "It's good that she has experience, isn't it?"

She shrugged, but her shoulders were shaking. "When she was younger, just a kid, her house was attacked by demons and Tigers, after Tigers had betrayed her... parents..."

Her shoulders bounced, and he realized with a jolt that she was crying. "I ran into a lot of soldiers that Tigers have hurt. So many accusations pointed at me, so much shame reflected on me... this girl didn't accuse me, but she's my soldier, and I just wonder if some part of her hates me, too."

He wrapped his arm gently around her shoulders, as her tears dropped. Her profile was against his body, her head resting gently against his chest. Touching her was an instinct, but now his heart was beating fast inside his ribcage.

He tried to think of something to say, anything, to make this better. "I'm sorry that it's like this," He said as he rubbed her arm, as he rubbed his cheek against her hair. He added another arm around her, tightening her to himself.

Her pain made him suffer. "It's not your fault that one of our soldiers was attacked when she was younger. You were not the one who attacked her. It's not your responsibility, and you know it. She's smart enough to know it too. I'm sure she doesn't hold anything against you."

"I just, for once, wanted a clean start," she said quietly. She was crying, but she wasn't agitated now. She was trying to control herself as much as she could, holding herself back, and he could feel it. "Without feeling guilty or having any kind of bad history, and I finally thought I did, especially with my own soldiers. I'm so used to blocking anything people throw at me, and it always works. But these... These are my soldiers. It's not fair."

"Your soldiers know who you are and have only admiration for you," He murmured. The feeling of her in his arms was more intimate than anything he'd ever experienced. "I know it's been tough lately," he rubbed her back. "But it will get better."

They were both startled and raised their heads when they heard a knock on the door. Emry gently pulled away, eyes red, and just took a step further into his room, while he approached the door to open it.

"Hey Luc, how is it going?" He asked quietly, as he saw his redhead young soldier looking up at him.

"Okay," she smiled at him hesitantly. He opened the door just a crack, but maybe she still somehow caught a glimpse of Emry behind. "Headley asked me to call you and Tiger to the dining room, apparently everyone is gathering there because the council has something to say."