Page 17 of The Human Element (The Human Element Collection #1)
Those words struck Daemon, hesitating his movements a moment until she felt him walking towards her with urgency.
He only stopped himself a few paces from her, trying to keep a respectful distance, his eyes acknowledged the air that now made the hair on his arms stand up straight like static; it undulated around them and it was like he was scared to disturb it, for fear it might erupt.
“Look. I thought that’s how it was when I came to you the other night, too.
I’ve been pushing away the idea because I believed I was only feeling this way about you because of the soul bond, as well.
But I know that's not true anymore. Yes, there is this connection between us because of what I did to save you all those years ago, but it’s not the only reason.
I hoped.. you of all people would’ve understood and seen that. ”
Daemon’s words surprised her. He wasn’t denying the connection she felt with him; and he was even admitting he felt the same way. Yet, something about the entire situation still stirred up resentment towards him.
“Lorelei. Do you want to know why I saved you that night? Why I decided to go against my orders, instead of making sure you did die from getting hit by that car?”
Lorelei continued to ignore him. Turning her back to him as she watched the sun inch its way further behind the hills in the distance.
Daemon’s voice softened to a near whisper behind her as he at last, closed the gap between them.
He stood so close, perhaps a thin sheet of paper could barely penetrate the space between their forms. But he didn’t touch her, he didn’t dare.
She could feel his warm breath against her head which could’ve easily pressed upon his chest. A part of her screamed to close that gap further.
To let her body rest against his, to turn and face him, look into those emerald eyes that made her swear she could see the whole of the Universe within them, like galaxies swirled just beneath the surface, a pool of endless cosmic night—one she wished to explore in its entirety and become one with.
Lorelei stubbornly stood her ground, her heart twinging at the fact he kept this secret from her, a hurt she wasn't sure she'd experience from Daemon.
The air around them, even her own emotions, stilled at the sudden closeness.
The energy between them, his energy —calmed her own.
A sweetening, intermingling that soothed the raging sea of emotions that moments before, were seconds away from drowning her.
Her breath altogether stopped, and although she wasn’t looking at him, it felt like the world stood still, and he was holding her in a breach of frozen time.
“I did it because of what I saw in you. I was tasked to watch you all day, to make sure that your death went as planned. I watched you at school, with your friends, with your teachers, I couldn’t help but see the bright light you were in this world.
You were so kind and caring to everyone around you.
Your soul shone brighter than any other’s I’d experienced in all the thousands of years I've been on Earth. Even at such a young age, you saw those around you as more important than yourself. You did all you could to make everyone smile and feel better when they needed a helping hand. So when the car hit you, I didn’t think twice about my decision to save you.
You are the kind of person this world needs.
That’s when I truly saw the cruelty of Heaven ending your life, just to play out their idiotic fight.
And when you gave me permission to attach a piece of my own soul to yours, I performed an ancient and forbidden spell that would give you enough of my strength to heal yourself and live.
No angel is meant to do it, because it could kill us if we attempt it.
By doing so, it changed your timeline. Or, so it seemed to.
The spell created a false outcome of your destiny, which allowed the ArchAngels to believe you would no longer be capable of stopping Armageddon.
In reality, it was merely a facade I placed over you; like a shield, so that they wouldn’t feel the need to send anybody else to finish the task I was unwilling to carry out.
It was a decision that would keep you safe until it was time to fulfill your destiny, while everyone else believed the incident changed the course of your destiny completely.
I didn’t know if it would work, and I didn’t know if I would survive it once it was set in motion.
But when your little blue eyes met mine, I too, saw a vision.
A vision of a beautiful, intuitive girl who would one day grow to be the person who could save this world with your power of love and desire to help others, from those who seek to only fight for themselves. ”
Daemon paused one last time. She could tell he was wondering if he should say what he was going to say next.
“And…I also saw the girl who would end up being the one person I cared more for than any other in the entire universe.”
Each word that fell from his lips, made her feel she saw into him, into his soul. The soul she now shared; and savored.
Lorelei finally faced him, tears once again running down her face.
Even though part of her still wanted to be angry, to lash out, his words confirmed the same feelings that had been building up inside of herself.
She watched silently as Daemon took her face into his hands, cupping her cheeks and wiping her tears away.
The sun now completely disappearing over the hilltops and plunging them into the early commencement of night.
Her lips trembling, begging to solidify the feelings that they both built up, the fear that could’ve swept them apart now only intensified the very sure connection she could no longer deny.
He saved her, he protected her when the very Universe conspired against her.
When destiny called for her demise, he sacrificed not only his grace, but his life; to save hers.
He saw her fully, for what she was, and who she could be.
It was the greatest gift to her the acknowledgement she needed that this was Divine.
Their relationship transcended boundaries that shouldn't have been crossed—yet, here they were, falling into the depths of a connection she couldn’t fathom with words or logic.
She leaned on her tip-toes, her hand finding its way up his chest. Daemon holding the back of her neck so delicately, and with so much care, she thought she could cry from the sheer tenderness of the act.
His lips brushed hers, sending her heartbeat into a free-fall, hurtling over the barrier she no longer wished to submit herself to.
She craved for nothing more than what came next, what they could discover—together.
But as she let her lips meet his, she gasped.
Daemon was pulled backwards into the darkness behind him, and she watched in terror as he slammed hard into the side of the car and crumpled to the ground.