Page 3 of A Daemon’s Alliance (Daemons & Lumens)

Morax

I paced the forest surrounding the royal castle, waiting for what was to come.

I knew it would happen tonight. The hybrid would summon me, and I would finally be able to play a part in my father’s demise.

Phenex told me it would be soon. He was following the other one, the assassin.

She was absolutely insane, so I was all too happy to work with the half-lumen girl instead.

We’d been tracking the females since our brother, Belial, sided with our psychotic father and his plans of destruction.

Phen and I knew from childhood our brother was rotting with evil.

And while Father was terrible, Belial would be even worse.

Phen and I had our own brand of darkness, but the endless abyss of cruelty Belial and our father craved was not it.

When the prophecy was revealed, we knew the beginning of the end was upon us. And only with the help of Aurora Valdis’s offspring could we stop our father and Belial from destroying us all. Gods knew I was ready to jump into this fight.

I slammed my fist into a tree, satisfied when it cracked and splintered beneath my knuckles. What was taking the girl so damn long?

I couldn’t go to her on my own. I needed her to summon me.

Our father had grown paranoid in his old age, and now all borders between worlds were guarded.

We couldn’t get to Earth without the summons, though, not even he could do so.

Aurora Valdis saw to that when she sacrificed herself some eight years ago.

She and her lumen daughter perished, all access to the humans was cut off, and all daemons and lumens on Earth were essentially trapped.

Belial and my father raged at her defiance.

Phen and I were impressed. Although not surprised, knowing what we did of the prophecy.

It was easier for Phen to accept lumens containing such power.

I had always found daemons to be the superior race.

Phen and his chaotic curiosity accepted change more easily than me.

And yet here I was, stomping around, listening for the words I knew the hybrid would say. My skin tingled with anticipation, and the power in my veins rushed to the surface, needing to be unleashed. But not yet, I couldn’t risk Belial or one of his loyal followers catching me now.

The gentlest push of her magic brushed up against my own, and I paused.

Any daemon strong enough to feel it could answer her call, but I was ready for it.

This summons was mine. Her voice became clearer, uncertain, but strong, and it called to my soul.

How strange. This feeling was different from the average summons.

My blood began to sing, to crave more of her power mingling with my own.

As she continued to say the words, the ritual grew in strength, and I said the words needed to accept her summons.

My body turned to stardust, and I plunged through the abyss between worlds.

To the human eye, I was a falling star; a beam of light flitting across the sky only long enough to make a wish.

But only one little hybrid would be granted a wish from me today.

I dropped to the earth, my clawed feet digging into the soft grass.

I chose to stay in my natural daemon form for our first encounter.

This little hybrid needed to see exactly what she brought into this world.

The air was hot and sticky here. I surveyed her world, noting the circle of salt and nearly spent candles surrounding me.

I smirked. Salt would not hold a daemon captive.

I stood tall, seven feet of muscle and daemon power.

I surveyed the little lumen hybrid who called me here.

She was quite beautiful. Her strawberry-blonde hair hung in messy waves down her back.

Her frame was petite and thin, like a doll, so very breakable.

I licked my lips, taking in the way her silky blue dress hugged her delicate curves.

Her strange bright eyes, round with wonder, stared up at me without blinking, as if I were a mirage that would disappear if she looked away even for a moment.

One of her eyes was the brightest blue, and the other was the color of cognac.

Both eyes studied me with quiet determination. She was scared, but fierce.

The little lumen would not back down easily. I rather liked it. I grinned, giving her a look at my sharpened canines. She shivered, and my nostrils flared as I inhaled her strange scent. No. This was impossible. It was not to be. I didn’t want it. I stepped back, stumbling out of the circle.

“How can you escape my circle so easily?” Her voice called to my soul instantly. My blood began to sing with desire to claim her. The voice of a weak, hybrid girl.

The voice of my mate.