Page 50 of Demon Heart: The Complete Series

XAVIER

T his time.

This place.

The blossom trees shed yellow petals under the blue light of the demon realm’s stars, the delicate flowers landing at the feet of a shirtless Ismael and me. Lovers, him still a prince, not the wicked king he was set to become.

“What is this?” the past me asked, standing before his prince.

Our prince. Our slender, bronze-skinned beauty with long black curls of silky hair I loved to run my fingers through. His bewildered eyes melted between demonic white and beautiful violet, those lush lips parted, glossy, loaded with desire.

“I…” I fought to stay upright and not collapse into the grass.

Ismael. My past, my once truest love. Gone to the frozen lake.

“How is this possible, my love?” Ismael asked the past me.

My knees buckled at the soft, melodious tone, those two words reserved for me. Only for me. Even in his cruelest moments, he still spoke them, caressed my soul with them.

My. Love.

I landed on the cold grass, the permanent chill of the demon realm kissing my kneecaps.

“Ismael…” My two hearts were breaking. “You… There… There you are…”

The past me pushed back his platinum blond hair, messy from a dalliance with Ismael behind the blossom trees.

I remembered it well, my fingers inside his mouth as he straddled me, working my cock to the point of almost violent ecstasy.

My back scratched by the bark, gazing up at my beloved as he soared into the heights of pleasure.

Vicious kernels of pain attacked my chest, invading every corner they could find. “Ismael…”

I never thought I would see that face again, be so close to his skin and heart and scent. Rose and vanilla, a heady potion able to unwrap me so completely.

The other me approached, unlaced brown boots stepping into my line of vision. Legs wrapped in black, silky breeches Ismael said showed off my muscles and buttocks perfectly.

“You are me,” the other me said from above.

I lifted my head to meet my pale face and icy blue stare. A version of me without the Arcana scar across my chest yet—now on full display seeing as I was naked. A happier me. At least, happier before Roman Gold.

The witch had turned my years of sadness upside down.

Roman.

Roman did this!

I stood, the other me cocking his head. “You really are me. How are you me?”

“I…” I kept my eyes off my lost love. He might be there, but he wasn’t… He should be sleeping for eternity in the lake. “I… I am…”

Ismael moved, coming to stand beside the past me, linking his arm with mine. Still bare-chested, still such a splendid feast for the eyes, red marks on his neck indicating where my lips had been.

I have missed that neck…

Now I might have Roman’s…

“Xavier?” he addressed the current version of me.

“I…” My tongue lost all function.

Past Me bristled, his eyes becoming white. “Is this some Arcana trick?”

Ismael faced him, inching closer. “My love?”

Don’t be afraid, darling one… “N-No. I’m… I’m…”

Past Me moved Ismael behind him again. “You are what? Here to wreak havoc with your magic? Kill the prince?”

Never! “I…”

“Why can’t you speak?”

“I…” I quickly collapsed back to my knees, crippled by shock and sorrow.

Get ahold of yourself!

This wasn’t real. There was no such thing as time reversal magic.

If there were, I would have used it on many occasions to right many wrongs.

Somehow, Roman had brought me back in time.

He’d brought himself too, blinking in and out before disappearing completely.

I didn’t know how, but time and life didn’t work like this.

Time moved onward, our choices made, often a once-in-a-lifetime decision. Even for an immortal demon like me.

You could never go back. When something was irreparably done, it got left behind. No ifs, no buts, no second chances. Time would not allow it.

Like the choice to put a tyrant like Ismael to sleep in the lake.

Look at him now, hiding behind me. So gentle, so beautiful. Untouched by a grief that would set him on a course of terror like no other monarch in demon history.

I can stop him…

This is a second chance…

I lifted my hands. “I’m not a witch. I’m…” A quick, hesitant breath. “I’m from the future. And we have to talk.”