Page 40 of Where the Dark Knelt (Worshipped by Darkness #1)

Chapter Twenty Two

Eveline

It had been a long time since I’d woken up screaming in the night.

The sun hadn’t risen yet. Darkness still draped over the room, but it wasn’t empty darkness, it glowed, almost vibrating, as if reality itself was rippling.

I blinked hard, trying to clear my vision, but the shimmering didn’t fade.

Instead, it sharpened. There, just at the edge of my sight, a bright iridescent sphere flickered with rainbow colours, shifting and bleeding outward in waves until it became a line splitting my vision in two.

It was like staring at a horizon where the world had cracked apart, revealing another identical world beyond it. The line vibrated with all the colours of oil on water, pulsing, corroding reality like acid. My chest clenched with raw terror.

Was I still dreaming?

My body trembled uncontrollably as the memory of the nightmare pressed in from all sides.

My breath came short and shallow, tight in my throat, and panic clawed its way up from my chest until I felt it choke me.

I curled in on myself, hugging my knees tight against my chest and pressing my chin down until my jaw hurt.

“God… what’s going on… Am I still dreaming…?”

I blinked again and again, but that rainbow fracture didn’t disappear. I could barely breathe past the dread crushing my ribs. Slowly, shakily, I lay back down and forced my eyes shut, trying to focus on my breathing — four counts in, hold for seven, exhale for eight. Again. And again.

The line began to fade with each exhale, shrinking until it was only a tiny point of glimmering acid light. As my heartbeat slowed, the vision melted away completely, leaving only darkness behind my closed lids.

I swallowed hard, tears pricking my eyes. I fucking lost it, didn’t I? It was all just a dream… right? Desmond was there… or… it was just my imagination coz we’ve been together a lot these days… maybe it’s just… just…

The party. That beautiful girl with long hair whose face I couldn’t remember, only her curves, her breasts, her warmth against me. Desmond… The dark forest. The kittens. The cat… that terrifying man with the scalpel… the sound of bones snapping, tissue tearing.

I shuddered violently, nausea churning in my stomach.

“Oh God… why did I dream about something like that…” My heart picked up again, hammering against my ribs so hard it hurt.

I forced myself to keep breathing in the calming rhythm until dawn lightened the room. When the sun finally rose, I dressed in my usual black dress, pulled the hood over my tangled hair, and stepped out for morning prayer. Astra hurried down the hallway behind me, catching up with anxious eyes.

“What were those screams last night?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

“I… I had a nightmare,” I whispered hoarsely.

“Yeah… that’s what I thought.” She fell into step beside me as we trudged downstairs, the flickering candle sconces painting her face in soft gold.

“I knocked on your door, but you didn’t answer…” she said, her worry clear in her tone.

“I’m sorry… I think I was… in a panic. I… I couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak.”

“It’s okay… it happens…” she murmured, squeezing my arm lightly before letting go. We continued in silence down the stone corridor, each step echoing in the quiet dawn.

But inside, my mind kept screaming. Because no matter how I tried to convince myself it was only a nightmare, a sick dread gnawed at my chest, whispering that it hadn’t been just a dream at all.

Everyone had already gathered at the altar. Candles flickered softly, casting shadows across the stone floor, while the first rays of the morning sun filtered through the mosaic windows, flooding the entire hall with a gentle golden light.

I recited the prayer on autopilot, the sacred words tumbling from my lips without thought. My mind was trapped in the nightmare, replaying it over and over again, each vivid image cutting deeper than the last. I hadn’t dreamed like that in years… and it had felt so real.

“God…” I whispered under my breath, too softly for anyone to hear.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, each hour slipping by unnoticed.

I moved like a ghost through the convent halls, my body acting on memory alone, each motion automated and empty.

I hadn’t felt like this in a long time, hollowed out, like there was nothing left of me except instinct and dread.

And then, as dusk bled across the sky, he appeared.

I saw him walking toward me through the garden of white roses, helmet in his hands.

The shadows deepened around him, painting him in silver and black, as if he didn’t belong to this reality at all.

Everything today felt strange and unreal, but seeing him shattered whatever fragile stability I had managed to build since morning.

My heart stuttered with panic as he approached.

The colours in my vision blurred and bled together, splitting him in two before my eyes.

One half was human — blond hair tousled from his helmet, piercing green eyes, a faint smirk on perfect lips.

But the other half… horns curled from his temple, sharp and black like obsidian.

Bat-like wings of shadow arched from his back, and a tail flicked behind him in the evening breeze.

“Wh-what the…” My voice broke as I stumbled back, clutching my chest. The colours around him warped again, vibrating in my vision, splitting reality apart like glass.

He moved toward me with slow, careful steps, kneeling on one knee in front of me as his warm hand pressed gently to my back, steadying me.

“What is it, ashpetal?” he murmured softly, his voice dripping with unnatural calm.

“What?!” I gasped, my hands shaking so badly I didn’t know where to put them. “You… wings… horns… are you… a demon?”

His lips twitched into a crooked grin, and he let out a quiet snort of laughter. “Well… I’m not a bad demon, you know.”

None of this was funny. My chest burned with terror. “All demons are bad…” I whispered, my voice trembling. “You’re one of them.”

“No, no… I’m good. In some aspects, anyway,” he said with a careless shrug. “Ever heard of succubus demons?”

I shook my head frantically, refusing to look at him, but I felt his warm palm slide up my back again, stroking slow circles that sent unwanted shivers through me. My body trusted him instinctively, even as my mind screamed to run.

“Seduction is given only to those who want it… I never force anything,” he said, his voice smooth and low, curling around my mind like silk. “I embody the hidden fantasies of people… in dreams… sometimes in reality.”

His words blurred at the edges of my consciousness as he reached for my chin, lifting it until I was forced to look at him.

His face hovered inches from mine — half demon, half man.

One eye was black as night with a glowing green pupil like burning emerald magic, framed by a sharp black horn curling back through his hair.

The other eye was human, still green, but calm and familiar, with the same perfect lashes and the same smirk that somehow terrified me more than any nightmare.

I gasped, feeling madness claw at my chest. “What’s going on, Desmond?” I clenched my jaw, the muscles twitching under my skin as I tried to ground myself.

A strange smile tugged at my lips as I shook my head, whispering to myself without even realising it.

“Fuck… my brain is so fucked up today, isn’t it…

? These erotic dreams are back again… these weird dreams and nightmares!

I thought I’d suppressed them forever… buried them deep in my body and mind…

but apparently that guy… did something to me…

or… it just woke up on its own, like it’s been sleeping for years and now it’s clawing its way out. ”

A nervous laugh escaped my throat. Reality vibrated before my eyes, colours rippling like a cracked wall splitting open. “What the…?”

“Hey, hey, babe, it’s okay… it’s going to be okay.” His voice was soothing, but it felt like acid against my skin.

I wanted to close my eyes and wake up from all this, from him, from myself. “Everything’s so strange…” I whispered.

“There’s nothing strange,” he said softly, though his words faltered at the edges. “It’s just… apparently that demon… discovered something in you… or…” He trailed off, his perfect face twisting into something unreadable.

“I’m a succubus demon, yes,” he admitted suddenly, his voice dropping to a low growl as he pulled me into his arms, “but I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

I trembled in his embrace, the strength of his hold both terrifying and devastatingly comforting.

“Everything has changed so fast… in just a couple of hours,” I whispered into his chest. His scent wrapped around me like a narcotic, sweet and dark, making my head spin.

“It’s okay… we can handle it. I’m here, okay? Everything will get better… maybe.” His words didn’t inspire confidence. They felt like broken promises whispered in the dark.

“Why do I see you as… half a demon?” I asked, tilting my head to look at him. My voice trembled despite the stillness around us. His eyes glowed faintly in the dim garden light, their eerie gleam making my chest tighten with unease. His smile curved slowly, sharp and knowing.

For a moment, he didn’t say anything, just studied me with that unreadable gaze. Then he chuckled softly, as if my fear entertained him. “Half a demon… is that what you see?”

“That’s… what it looks like,” I whispered, my throat dry. “Your eyes… your aura… it doesn’t feel… human.”

His grin widened, and he tilted his head, considering me with unsettling amusement. “You’re perceptive, little saint. Most people wouldn’t notice.”

I swallowed hard, confusion swirling with dread. “Why… why do I see it? Why me? Is this because of the nightmare or…”

He leaned closer, his voice dropping into a teasing murmur. “Because you’re mine. You can see the parts of me hidden from the rest of your world. And maybe a little bit because of the nightmare…”

My breath hitched, my chest tightening painfully. “Yours…? What does that even mean…”

His grin sharpened further, eyes flickering with something dark and ancient. “It means we’ll have many more dates, babe. You won’t just be in my arms… I know you. You won’t be just seeing me…”

I swallowed, confusion and dread tangling in my chest. “You keep saying that… how do you even know me that I won’t refuse you, maybe it was just a one time offer on that beach?”

He brushed his fingers through my hair gently, like I was something delicate. “Because I do. I do know you better than anyone.”

“How…?” The question slipped out, trembling with fear. “How could you possibly know me like that?”

His eyes darkened, gaze flickering across my face with something like possession. “I’ve been watching you for a long time.”

Ice spread through my veins. I felt my breath catch painfully. “That’s… that’s stalking… you can’t just… that’s not okay…”

His lips brushed against my ear, his whisper hot and dangerous. “But you like it… don’t you?”

“No… I… let me go,” I hissed, pushing at his chest with shaking hands.

“I can’t let you go.” His voice lost all trace of softness, becoming cold and final as his grip tightened around me.

“Can’t you…?” Panic rose sharp in my throat as I tried to pull away, but he only held me tighter, immovable.

“Calm down,” he murmured, almost soothingly. “You’re just in shock.”

“I… I… fuck…” My chest heaved as I struggled to breathe through the fear and confusion.

“Everything will get better… I promise.”

Promise. The word echoed inside me, heavy and hollow. Dangerous. I didn’t believe it. And yet, part of me wanted to.