Dee responded, but I was focused on the sound of Daemon’s heart. I was only vaguely aware that after some time, Dee left the room. I stayed where I was and there was no stopping the tears. They kept coming, streaming down my face, dampening the thin blue blanket that was tucked under his arms.
Minutes passed. Maybe hours. I didn’t move—wasn’t capable of it and didn’t want to. My heart finally slowed. So did his, and then it thumped when a heavy arm settled over my waist. Startled and full of hope, I lifted my head.
My eyes locked with a pair of brilliant emerald ones.
“Daemon,” I breathed. The waterworks really picked up then, and his beautiful face blurred.
His lips slowly parted. “Don’t cry, Kitten.” As if it took great effort, he lifted his other arm, brushing the tears off my cheeks with the back of his hand. “Come on.”
My chest twisted. “I never thought . . . I’d hear you say that again. I thought you were gone and . . .” My throat closed off as I placed my hand over his, pulling it to my mouth. I kissed his knuckles.
He made a sound in the back of his throat. “Did you think I’d leave you?”
I shuddered.
“I heard you,” he said, and then he tried to sit up.
“Don’t,” I said, my eyes going wide.
He made that sound again, this time more frustrated. “I heard you out in the yard. I wouldn’t leave you, Kat. I’d never do that. Now . . . get down here and kiss me.”
“But you . . . you took a bullet for me, Daemon.” My breath hitched in my throat again. “She was going to shoot me and you . . . you could’ve died. I thought you had died.”
A moment passed as he stared at me like I’d grown two heads. “What else would I’ve done?”
Now I gaped at him through fresh tears.
“I love you,” he said, his eyes incredibly bright as he spoke those words. “If your life is in danger, I’m going to do everything I can to make sure you’re safe. That’s what love makes you do. Right?”
“Right,” I whispered, still stunned somewhat. He spoke as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“I’d do it again.”
Oh God. “Daemon, I . . . thank you.”
He frowned. “You don’t need to thank me.”
“I do.”
The corner of his lips tipped up. “Okay. Thank me by getting down here and kissing me.”
I did just that. I lowered my mouth to his and kissed him softly, reveling in his taste and the warmth of his lips. “I love you so very much, and I’m going to spend every waking moment proving it to you.”
“I like the sound of that.” He tugged on my hair as I lifted my head. “Where . . . are we?”
I gave him the quick version of what Dee had told me. “They’re not sure how you survived.” I sniffled, using my shoulder to wipe the tears off my cheek. “But you’re so stubborn.”
Daemon coughed out a dry laugh and the grip on my hand tightened. “You know how I love a challenge.”
My heart lurched as I remembered those words from the day we’d learned we were connected, and I’d shot him down when he suggested we should get together. I leaned over him, brushing my lips across his forehead. I closed my eyes, sent up as many thank-yous as I could to every God and deity and prophet I knew. “So do I, Daemon. So do I.”
EPILOGUE
Eleven months later . . .
{ Katy }
Bright sunlight streamed in through the bedroom window of the townhome at the foothills of the Flatirons. An early bout of October snow had capped the tips of the mountains, turning them white.
It really was beautiful here in Colorado—the air fresh and trees everywhere. It reminded me of home, my old home, but with easy access to a lot more cool stuff.
Like Starbucks.
Which had reopened two months earlier, just in time for the return of the pumpkin spice latte, a sure sign mankind would trek on. Humans were probably the most resilient and stubborn creatures in all the universes.
Something the invading Luxen, those who’d managed to escape the Arum, had learned quickly. Days after the battle, while our little group had holed up in Northern Virginia trying to decide how and where to move on, the remaining invading Luxen left.
It had been like a reverse D-Day.
Lights had flashed upward in steady streams, all across the world, for several hours. It had been a sight to see, just like it had been when they’d come. Something I would never forget.
But we all knew that there still could be some here, and there was no stopping them from coming back. Maybe one day they would, but if I’d learned anything in the last two years, it was that I could not look toward the future if I lived in the past.
It was hard.
Not a day went by that I didn’t think of my mom. Like with my dad, it got a little easier, but there were days when something would happen or I’d just get bored or want to talk to her, and I’d reach for my phone, seconds away from calling her when I’d realize she wasn’t there, that she’d never be there.
Those days were rough, full of tears and anger. I wanted to resurrect Ethan just so I could kick him in his junk and kill him all over again. The fury and helplessness and, oh God, the hurt could be so raw some days. If it weren’t for Daemon and my friends—my new family—it would be unbearable.
I glanced over my shoulder.
Daemon rested against the headboard of the king-size bed—a bed big enough for half of my economics class. His arms were folded behind his head, one leg bent at the knee. No shirt. Just faded denim jeans, and I knew for a fact that that seriously was all. The corded biceps drew my gaze and I soaked in the naturally tan expanse of his chest and the tightly rolled muscles of his stomach. To this day, I had no idea how he got that dip on either side of his hips. Like what kind of sit-ups does one do for that? The only time I sat up from lying down was to get out of bed.
Or get some chocolate.
Or a book.
But yeah, Daemon Black . . . well, he totally made it bearable.
He winked one green eye, and somehow, when most guys would look all kinds of douchey, he made it look sexy. “Like what you see?”
I didn’t even dignify that with a response. Instead I faced my computer, my fingers hovering over the keys—the enter button to be exact. My heart was racing like it had been when Daemon and I had submitted our applications, the day the University of Colorado had finally opened their enrollment and resumed classes.
That had been major.
Still felt epic.
We both were doing something I thought we’d never be able to do. Going to college had seemed like a fantasy, but it had come true.
We were college students—Daemon and me.
Neither of us had declared a major yet. We had no idea what we wanted to do, but that was okay. We’d figure it out eventually.
“Just do it,” Daemon said, his voice closer than I expected, causing me to jump. His chuckle stirred loose strands of hair around my temple. He tugged my ponytail, tipping my head back. He kissed me softly, almost making me forget what I was doing, and when he lifted his head, he grinned down at me from behind. “You’ve been obsessing over it for weeks. Do it.”
I bit my lip, still tasting him.
“Come on.” He picked up a pen off my desk and tapped the tip of my nose with it. I swatted at his hand, and he laughed. “Your inner book nerd will have a book nerd orgasm.”
My brows knitted. “That just . . . sounds weird and kind of gross.”
He snickered as he let go of my ponytail. His gaze landed on the screen of my brand-spanking-new MacBook that I’d protect with my last dying breath. I’d even named her Brittany, because she had to be a girl, and she was shiny and red and perfect and she might not have ten toes and ten fingers, but she was my baby.