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This is what happens when a light child becomes a shadow.
Her strength outmatched mine and I had no idea how I subdued her. The moment she sensed human life above, her teeth had flared to sharp weapons of destruction and she had moved like lightning, finding the hidden entrance to the stairwell with ease.
I stared at her, holding my aching wrist and reeling from the mind-union we held as she feasted on my blood. That was an entirely new and unwelcomed experience.
“I, uh, I can’t let you go up there,” I said, unsure of whether my blood had tempered her thirst. If not, she was screwed. The minute she stepped from our daytime sanctuary, the sunshine would torch her delicate skin, leaving her nothing but a pile of ash.
Naomi wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, her gaze landed on my wrist and then traveled back to my face. Her eyes carried confusion and she stepped toward me, pulling my injured wrist toward her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. Her trembling fingers traced the wounds and she closed her eyes, inhaling and bringing my wrist to her lips.
Instead of latching on again, as I expected, she pressed her lips to my skin. A warm sensation flooded through me and her eyes opened, her gaze shooting right to my heart. Naomi melted the frost that had built over millenniums and I stifled the urge to take her to my bedroom and do things I hadn’t done since the days I spent with Athena.
The light burned in her eyes, too, and she stepped close, crowding me.
“You don’t kill humans, do you?” she asked, the lilt in her voice made the phrase more of a statement than a question.
“No. Not usually.” I led her out of the stairwell, closing the door and getting my bearings. “I’ve made exceptions over the years and death is usually warranted, but lately, I’ve let my hatred get the best of me.” I turned back to her. “If I had taken the time to really see you instead of just stalking you for revenge, I would have known why Lucifer wanted you. I would have known you were off limits.”
“Off limits?”
“A child of light is off limits,” I said and a crinkle of confusion appeared on her forehead. “A child of light is a descendant of the Archangel Michael,” I explained. “You’re in one of the lines I lost track of.” I dropped my gaze to the floor and the heat of my failure filled my cheeks.
“Is that why you looked so scared on the rooftop?”
My gaze snapped to hers and I shrugged.
It was bad enough having Lucifer as an enemy, but pissing off Michael, that was an automatic death sentence. The righteous were infinitely more brutal than the demons when crossed.
“I’m still here, but that could change at any moment.”