Page 112 of Dark Flame

I opened myself up to Darkness.

I scan the group. The stares. All unwelcoming, terrified, horrified.

Carina looks puzzled.

Jasper looks dazed.

Morgan looks disappointed.

Unable to suffer the weight of their judgement for a second longer, I lunge from the circle and streak into the woods, bushes and low-hanging branches tugging at the cloak tied around me. The string pulls taut around my neck until I undo it, letting it flutter to the ground behind me, a black stain on nature.

Exactly as I am.

Hellion.

I ignore him and keep running.

Harlow, stop.

A command I also ignore.

This entire time, I drained myself of my fire magick only to allow the shadows to slip in and fill the gaps left behind. A cold and unwelcome pest, taking over slowly, bit by bit.

For a fuckingsecond, I thought maybe, justmaybe, I could forgive the people I called Mom and Dad. That after all they’d done to my family and this coven, the love I felt for them growing up would decide everything. Like kids who get adopted; it’s the family they know who matters more than the family they had.

But no. Every hug, every moment, was all for show. Whatever their reasons, Violet and Arthurusedme. Created me to be something I’m not—shouldn’t ever be.

The whoosh tells me who’s incoming before the body appears in front of me, dark eyes covered by dark hair, a creature of Darkness himself, standing amidst the dark forest…in front of the witch forced into it. Like a fucking match of fate.

I nearly laugh, but instead voice my thoughts. “It all makes sense now.”

“What does?”

“You. Me. My attraction to you. Me being your Bride, despite not being a vampire. It all makes sense! From the minute we met, I felt something different with you. Something I’ve never felt towards another, and I assumed it was some weirdness pulling us together, considering I was hearing your voice long before we met. But no.” I huff, partially annoyed I’m admitting all this to him when I’ve barely processed it myself. “No, it’s not that at all. It’s because you’re avampire, descended from a demon, and I’m tainted with black magick. We’re both creatures of Darkness!”

He hauls me to his chest, his arm an unbreakable band around my waist. “Do not say that. Black magick hasn’t tainted you.”

“But Iamtainted,” I argue. “You can’t deny that, because you know it’s true.”

“Fine, it is true,” he agrees, his hand coming up to the back of my head, his fingers wrapping around the side of my neck until they brush his bite marks. “You are tainted—tainted byme. I could think of nothing better, because you’re a fucking gift that I’mpleasedto have, and it has nothing to do with the magick you control—Light or Dark.”

“You don’t get it.” I shove his chest, twisting to get away. “Black magickdestroyswitches, Alec. There’s a reason it’s forbidden. You saw everyone’s faces back there. I’m dangerous. The coven I’ve just rediscovered will kick me out because I’m unsavable. And you…you need to get away from me, because if it doesn’t destroy me, it’ll destroy you. And I don’t want that, okay?” I don’t. At all. Because like it or fucking not, by some sick twist of fate, we’re connected enough that I care what happens to him. Regardless of the past, Alec doesn’t deserve to be brought down by me.

His eyes glisten beneath the full moon. He’s a natural predator, but for once, between the two of us, I might be the more dangerous one. He releases my body to grasp the sides of my face, walking into me until I’m forced backwards. “Black magick cannot destroy me, because you have already annihilated me, Hellion. Since the moment we’ve met, I’ve been breaking down piece by fucking piece, never to be whole again.”

Another step.

“It won’t destroy you, because I will conquer every level of Hell, Heaven, and whatever Otherworld there is before losing you. Death would never dare touch what I’ve claimed. Death is not possible, because the sorry soul who tries to steal you will havemeto deal with.”

Another step.

“As for the magick…you think I care? As you’ve said, I am a creature of Darkness, so your Darkness is now my Darkness. If you submerge yourself in it, I’ll be there to catch you. If you want to fight it and remain in the Light, I’ll be the shadow at your back, an obscurity forever trailing you. Either way, Darkness is a part of us both, and I don’t give a fuck.”

Another step, and my back hits a tree trunk with a low gasp. His hands curve around the sides of my face, fingers digging into my jaw until he tilts my head.

“Ithankthe imposters who raised you, because they made you fucking perfect. Perfect for me. Perfect in every way. Light, Dark, or a mix. And if your asshole coven wants to toss you out, then they’re missing out on a powerful witch who’d damn well strengthen their ranks.”

“Alec,” I whisper, my throat tight with the many other things I want to say. To deny. To argue about. “It’s not the same,” is what I manage. “This kind of magick is bad. I’ll fall into it the more time passes, even if I fight it.”