Page 37 of The Human Element (The Human Element Collection #1)

Daemon

Daemon continued to run his hand through Lorelei’s hair as she fell asleep beside him. He couldn’t help but smile to himself, the blonde strands of her hair silky to the touch as they fell between his fingers. She loved him back.

Something he never thought he could have this deep of a connection with somebody—was right there before him.

He'd been with other women before, but the feelings never lasted. He didn’t ever aim to fall in love, not with anybody.

But with Lorelei, it was a totally different world.

The way she made him feel, he could do no wrong in her eyes; even if he did fuck up, she would always love him.

When she looked at him with eyes like a clear ocean when the water was still and breathless, he saw the infinite possibilities with her.

The joy, the laughter, the love. It was all there in those eyes.

For so long, he was convinced he was meant to be unlovable, meant to live with the guilt of his past and merely exist. But now he knew that to exist wasn’t enough; he wanted to live .

Live a life with the person he most cherished, because now she was showing him that he deserved to.

To her, he was worthy. And to him, she was worth more than anything else in the world.

Was he always meant to fall the way he did so that he could be here now to help her?

Only those much higher than himself would ever know the Divine purpose of others, even the purposes of certain angels.

Daemon always thought that his purpose ended when he was cast from Heaven, but what if that wasn’t actually the case?

Could there possibly be a destiny for him with Lorelei beyond all the turmoil?

And was he actually strong enough to protect her as she protected the world?

Despite the odds stacked against them, he wanted with all his heart to believe they would achieve their goal.

To even think about the alternative was too terrifying to dwell on.

But luck would have to be on their side, and that very well may not be how the cards are drawn.

Plus, time was waning quickly. The demons will have regrouped soon, and that means the angels may be finalizing their plans as well.

Raphael had said the hierarchy of angels were to meet to decide what they were to do in regards to Lorelei and Daemon.

That was 3 days ago now, and time moved faster in Heaven.

They were bound to make their decision by now.

So why weren’t they attacking? What was keeping their hands steady?

Surely they knew about the first demon attack which would only push them to act sooner rather than later.

But perhaps, like Samuel today, they’d be surprisingly better than he thought.

He only hoped it was enough, because if it wasn’t—if there were more coming at them than the four demons before, from either side, they probably won’t stand a chance.

Getting back to Stonehenge as soon as possible was their next goal, but they were having to go in the dead of night to make absolutely sure no humans would be lurking about.

He’d fortified the field earlier with wards and protections, but it severely drained his magical energy; he wouldn’t be able to do the same tonight.

He thought perhaps he might need to sleep, but he was so wired from what happened earlier with Lorelei, he was content to just lay beside her.

She was always beautiful; he thought he hadn't ever seen anything so lovely before.

Of course angels were lovely, but they were also terrifying in their own right.

Vampires were usually pretty, but had a sinister side that always showed itself eventually, and other human women just never seemed worth the time.

But Lorelei was more beautiful than ever expected. Never before had Daemon become so completely attached to a human. And now it felt as though if he ever parted, the loss would never make him feel whole again. Because for the first time in centuries, he did feel whole.

Even many of the angels spoke of true love as an almost folly pursuit, one that would only end in heartache and suffering; but perhaps that was more because for an angel, the heartache felt from a breakup or are loss of love would be felt indefinitely, seeing as angels live on while their loves are lost to time.

Daemon always believed that's why angels usually had short, playful relationships rather than long-term. With humans, love could always be fleeting, and yet their first instinct is to jump head-first and love as deeply and truly as possible—despite the fact that it might not last. It was a trait Daemon always admired in humans, and now he understood just how much you want to give of yourself when you finally find the one you feel you’ve been waiting for.

For so long, he never thought he deserved to be loved by anybody for the shame of his past seemed to spill over in all aspects of his life following the incident.

Suddenly, a shifting from Lorelei brought Daemon out of his thoughts. Lovingly turning to look at her face, he immediately drew in breath as she began to toss and turn. He tried to sit up slightly, but was taken aback when Lorelei screamed aloud and began to cry, whimpering into his arm.

“No please! I never meant to hurt anyone! Please….please! I’m begging you! I’m so sorry, Daemon! I am so sorry…”

Tears ran down her face, and Daemon gently tried to wake her.

“Lorelei...Lorelei...Please wake up.”

Lorelei’s eyes remained shut, the curtains on the wall behind them starting to move, slowly at first, but the longer Lorelei screamed out, the more intensely they moved, flipping about wildly, nearly seeming to pull themselves off the curtain rod.

Her emotions were producing energy that was making the entire room shake.

The desk opposite the bed rattled on its legs, causing scratching sounds and thumping as it hit the wall. The bedside lamp flickered on and off, making it resemble a scene in a ghost horror film.

At last, Lorelei’s eyes shot open fast, but when she blinked several times as if she didn’t remember where she was, Daemon placed both hands softly on her arms and attempted to get her attention on him. He needed to calm her before the room was destroyed.

“Hey there, hey. It’s alright. It was just a nightmare. You’re okay, I’m here with you.”

When Lorelei finally looked at him with recognition, he breathed a sigh of relief and gave her a small smile. She was breathing heavily, like she finished running a marathon, a look of horror upon her face that made Daemon’s stomach wrench.

What did she just see?

After several more breaths, Lorelei reached for Daemon and hugged him tighter than she ever had before.

Wrapping his arms just as tightly around her, stroking her hair soothingly, he wanted her to feel safe again.

Between gasping breaths and tears, Lorelei buried her face into his chest and sobbed.

The energy shift ebbed the longer he held her the more she calmed, the effects of her emotions causing a rippling in the energetic field in the room, stopped.

All was quiet. Lorelei was becoming stronger, her intuitive and empathic abilities growing more powerful.

“Daemon...I saw….I don’t even know what I saw.

But I know I saw you. You were hurt because of me.

Because of who I am, and the danger you’re in from helping me.

I saw the fate of the world if I failed.

I saw the horror of it all before me and I could do nothing to stop it!

It was all my fault and all I could do was watch!

It was the most terrible thing I have ever seen and. ..and it was….all my fault…”

Her sobbing worsened as she tried to utter the last few words.

Instinctively, Daemon pulled her to him as he sat up against the backboard of the bed.

She curled her legs around his waist and sat in his lap.

Making a soft shushing noise without thinking, he continued to hold the back of her head tenderly and whispered.

“Lorelei, it was only a dream. None of that stuff you saw was real. You haven’t hurt me; and I genuinely don’t believe you ever could.

I know...I know that this is more on your shoulders than anyone should ever have to bear.

But you of all people can bear it. You are so strong and so capable, and I know you can do this.

It’s going to be alright. I’m with you, and we can get through all this together.

I’ll never leave you to face this, or anything else alone—ever.

You’re my light, and there is no longer a future I can see and want that doesn’t have you in it. ”

He heard an indiscernible mutter against his chest between another wracking sob, and although he couldn’t quite hear her, he knew what she said.

“Because I believe in you. I believe in this cause we are fighting for. I believe that it can be done and that you can save everyone with your light, not just me.”

He waited another minute before saying more, continuing to hold her tight against him.

It killed him to see how much pain Lorelei was in—to witness her self-doubt and fear of the possibility of failure render her like this.

All he wanted was for this mess to be over and to love her and give her the life she deserves—to protect her.

But how could he protect her when the very thing they were trying to do, might not work out?

How can he reassure her that it will all be okay, when there is a chance it won’t be?

He was racking his brain for the right thing to say when her sobs lessened, and she was breathing more steadily.

“Lorelei…”

She finally looked up at him with a tear-stained face. Her eyes grey like a storm, he put a finger under her chin.

“I believe in you.”

She merely stared into his eyes.

“But...what if you get hurt—because of me? I couldn’t forgive myself if that happened.”

Moving his hand to cup her face, he spoke softly.

“I would die for you, Lorelei. You are my path now. I willingly follow you anywhere, even if that means I lose my life. Because for me….life without you in it wouldn’t be worth living.

I chose this course. I choose you and everything that comes with being with you.

I will continue to choose you until my last breath.

And if I can keep choosing you beyond death, I will do that too. ”

Her tears finally ceased, and she leaned her forehead to rest against his. He breathed in her sweet scent, now mixed with the saltiness of her tears, and closed his eyes as she spoke in a hushed tone.

“I love you, Daemon. I love you so much...I never thought I would find somebody like you. Someone who believed so whole-heartedly in me. Someone who saw my potential more than I saw it myself. I am thankful I do have you. I choose you, too.”

She kissed him fiercely. The lingering taste of salt from her tears upon her lips didn’t bother him. He returned the kiss just as passionately. After a moment, he drew back, but the feel of her lips could still be felt on his own.

Hesitating before asking, “Do you want to talk about what you saw in your dream?”

She shook her head “no” and Daemon nodded. He was curious to know what particularly about him freaked her out so much, but respected her desire to not discuss it. Leaning over to look at his phone, he slowly turned to face her once more.

“It’s time to get going. I’ll go wake up the kid.”

Placing a kiss on her forehead as she got off of him, he walked out the door of the hotel room to get Samuel.

And although he hadn’t experienced it nor knew what the dream was about, a part of him feared Lorelei’s intuitive abilities were now allowing her to see what could come to pass, and he didn't know if it was better that way.