Page 29 of The Human Element (The Human Element Collection #1)

Lorelei

Lorelei watched Samuel practically skip towards a bed of wild flowers and smiled to herself. It was a moment like this that showed Lorelei how much she took for granted as a human.

Being able to pick and enjoy the sweet aroma of a wildflower, to relish in its beauty and delicacy, was just a simple and easy action for a human.

Many wouldn’t even think to do it. Forgetting the simple pleasures like picking and smelling a flower was common for humans who don’t take a moment to stop in their busy lives.

Yet, for Samuel, who has probably hardly seen anything like it in person, it was a pure marvel and wonder to behold.

Although seeing the amount of joy spread across his face as he inspected the tiny flower made Lorelei beam to herself, but she couldn’t ignore this severe notion of sadness that followed.

Imagine being the son of Lucifer, whose only wish was to see the human world and be among them, when fate dictated you would be part of the side out to torment them.

How could such a boy come from such a dismal place?

Was it a sign that brought Samuel to them for some reason?

What role might he play in all of this? The questions surrounding Samuel and the entire journey thus far were swirling dizzyingly around in her head, and it was beginning to give her a headache, again .

Daemon commented more than once about how well she was handling this entire situation, but in all honesty, the anxiety and amount of fear that was welling up higher and higher inside of her, only scared her more.

Growing up, she developed a knack for being able to hide her emotions when courage and strength were necessary to get through a situation.

But she knew that biting her tongue about her anxieties and fears would only grow to a point where it might result in a breakdown, the emotions becoming too much for her to hold back any longer.

Which is exactly what happened 6 months ago.

She’d been out with friends, drinking a little too much, when suddenly she was knee deep in a panic attack about her dad’s death; having not really processed it, and found herself shuttled off to the hospital.

It was the moment she decided that pushing herself into work to keep herself too busy to think about the sadness of it all, was not the solution.

When she was released from the hospital, she called around to therapists all afternoon until she found the first one who could get her in as soon as possible.

Suppressing her emotions was the thing they worked on the most in therapy.

She knew this was the pattern that occurred.

The same pattern she’d acquired since childhood, when she was old enough to understand why her mother couldn't step up for her, the way every little girl craved. She was 12. This was 3 years before her mother’s funeral.

She remembered crying for what felt like 2 weeks straight, the emotions totally taking control of her.

And although she knew she could probably divulge her feelings to Daemon, for some ridiculous reason, she didn’t want him to think she was weak.

She wanted to continue to show a brave face because deep down, Lorelei knew the anxieties of the unknown were piled just as high on Daemon’s shoulders as they were on her own.

Lorelei sat back and finally took her gaze away from Samuel in the distance, turning to find Daemon watching her. When their eyes met, he smiled brightly at her, making that same immediate effect of feeling as though she was in a free fall, her heart soaring to him with no looking back.

They hadn’t been alone together since the night prior, when they fell asleep in each other's embrace.

The memory of his strong arms wrapped around her as she rested her head gently on his chest. The slow and steady drumming of his heartbeat that seemed to match perfectly with her own.

The soft, hushed breathing while he drifted off to sleep alongside her

Reflecting back on it, it felt more like a dream than reality. A perfect, peaceful dream amongst a cacophony of chaos that enveloped them. Part of her feared it was all just the heat of the moment and they were merely finding comfort in the nearest person.

It surely couldn’t be that….right?

Her heart started to flutter at the thought.

What she felt for Daemon was unexplainable, but she’d also never felt so sure of her feelings in her life.

It was like there was a rope tied around her heart connecting to his.

A pull that felt like if broken, she would be untethered from this world altogether.

But what if you only feel this way because you have a piece of his soul?

Now this was the thought that bothered her more than any other.

What if it was because of the soul connection?

What if it wasn’t her own genuine feelings but that of a connection that occurred all those years ago?

What if the only reason she felt as strongly as she did for Daemon was because the piece of him that lived within her, only gave her the false notion of knowing him better than she actually did.

No. I can’t accept that as the answer.

There had to be more to it. There had to be. Otherwise, her heart might break more than she might be able to handle. Lorelei tried to clear her mind; to think these things at the moment were only hurting her.

Looking into Daemon’s striking green eyes, she wanted more than anything to go closer to him; to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss all the uncertainty she was feeling away.

To once again melt into his lips and feel the warmth of his body against her own.

His silver hair tousled softly down to the tops of his shoulders, glistening slightly as sunshine began to spread across the sky above them.

He cocked his head curiously as he continued to meet her gaze.

“You have a lot going on in that pretty head of yours, hm?”

Lorelei felt that familiar hum around her as the energy between them began to undulate and shift.

Her emotions were not only written all over her face; they were manifesting again.

She wondered how long she had been staring at him, but decided it didn’t matter, seeing as he had been watching her as well.

“Yes, I am just trying to gather my thoughts on…everything.”

Lorelei hadn’t meant to pause before the “everything” bit, and Daemon sat up straighter, scooting himself closer to her, looking around at the energy that moved in the air as he got nearer, obviously feeling it.

They faced each other. She watched as he took her hands and held them tenderly in the palms of his own.

He continued to stare down at their joined hands, as his left thumb stroked the top of her hand.

For a moment, nothing was said between the two of them.

Immediately, his nearness calmed her racing thoughts, and the energy between them that started to feel static, quieted.

The manifestation of her emotions turned into a physical occurrence that was becoming stronger with each passing day during their travels.

Never before did she notice anything similar to this before meeting Daemon.

Small recollections of large breakdowns tried to formulate in her mind, one time especially, when she felt like the walls around her in her little bedroom as a child were actually shaking—but these memories were fuzzy.

Too hazy to make out or remember for certain.

It was draining nonetheless, the more her feelings turned tangible.

After the last of the energy trickled down to a dull hum again, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Daemon noticed the change in her, and gave a reassuring smile as he spoke.

“Lorelei, I know this is a lot. This entire situation is absolutely mental, and I know that throwing us...on top of all the rest of it must be incredibly difficult for you. And although you haven’t said anything, I know you’re scared.

I know that you’re doing your best to hold onto your courage when all the while you are terrified of the outcome.

But I wanted to do my best to finally reassure you: about all of it. ”

She couldn’t find the words to respond, and when she continued to blink and stare into his eyes, he nodded; taking that as a yes to continue.

“Lorelei, I know you’re scared of being unable to do whatever it is you must do to save humanity.

I know that a few days ago you thought you were a normal girl who worked as a writer and lived in London, who would most likely go on to do other normal things in your life.

To actually find out that you have a destiny that says you’re the only person who can save humanity and you now must run around with a disgraced angel and the son of the Devil to figure out how—is absolutely mad.

But, believe me when I tell you that you're one of the strongest human beings I have ever met. You continue to surprise me with your courage and your abilities. And yes, you do have abilities that have nothing to do with the piece of my soul you have; although I am sure it helps in some areas. You are incredibly intuitive; you just haven’t had anybody teach you how to harness it.

You already have used your intuition throughout your life to guide you where you need to be; which is right here.

Despite feeling like you woke up one day and are now an entirely different person, in reality, you are the same person you have always been.

Everything that has happened in your life has been leading you to this moment.

Something they teach us about how the Universe works, is that nothing is a mistake and everything that happens is the only possible way it could’ve happened.

Which also means there is no mistake you have this destiny.

I also believe it means that despite everyone else telling me how saving your life was wrong, I don't think it was a mistake either. Something about you and something about me were interconnected long before I gave a piece of my soul to save you. A force within me completely took over, and I couldn’t stop myself from saving you.

It sounds weird but I just knew deep in my heart that I had to save you.

And when I held your little body in my arms, and your beautiful blue eyes stared up at me as the light began to leave them, I saw you in the future.

I saw what you were meant to become. I saw the kind of person you would grow to be.

It was at that moment that I knew I not only had to give part of myself to save you, but that I wanted to do so more than anything in the entire cosmos.

So if there is any doubt in your mind, please believe me when I say it now: my feelings for you are more real than I can express. "

Lorelei was speechless. Everything he was saying was as if her own heart was speaking.

What she felt was real, and he felt it too; just as strongly.

His words about how this was all meant to be; her destiny and them, was exactly what she needed to hear.

She took a deep breath and felt her shoulders relax from the tension she hadn’t realized she’d been holding there.

She finally leaned forward, placing a hand on his chest, and kissed his lips softly.

She felt Daemon give his own sigh of relief against her.

Daemon’s hand moved from her hand to the back of her head.

After returning her kiss, he pulled her head down and kissed her forehead.

When she finally pulled away, he gave her a hopeful, but tentative look.

“Then, you understand how I feel?”

Lorelei’s voice, nearing a whisper, responded confidently.

“Yes, I do.”