“Only that you should know by now who is your friend and who is your foe.”
“According to you everyone I meet outside of your family is the enemy, Draven…so tell me, who is it this time you have come all this way to warn me about?” I asked again unable to leave the sarcasm from turning my voice ugly.
“Alex Cain.” His voice sounded strained saying the name of my new boyfriend and for a second I couldn’t blame him as I too had problems saying a certain Goddess’ name on occasion.
“Oh wow, now I am so shocked to hear that.” I said rolling my eyes and shaking my head.
“I don’t think you’re getting what I am trying to tell you, Keira.”
“And what’s that exactly?”
“He’s not human, he’s…” He looked pained for a moment as though what he was about to tell me might crush me further than what his action had already done. I was tempted to put him out of his misery but then he beat me to it and continued with what he knew was the truth,
“He’s a… Nephilim.” I closed my eyes as the weight of what I was about to say bore down on me like one of those cartoon anvils, only there was not one single thing funny about it!
I took a deep breath in the face of the locked cage I was about to open and said the words that would release the beast…
“Yes, I know.”
Chapter 8
Secrets Already Known
“WHAT?!!!” And there it was, Draven erupting from the cage I had opened with my last statement.
“You did not…” He had to stop what he was saying, holding up his hand at me like he was trying to process it all over again before carrying on and in an attempt to rein in his fury.
“…did not just say what I think you said.” He finished with not much more restraint than before.
“Well, if you’re happy thinking that, then you go right ahead but in reality then this is how it goes…yes, I know about Alex. I know because he told me, unlike other people I thought I knew, he doesn’t lie to me!” I fired at him like venom hissing from my lips.
I then jumped back further into the chair as I witnessed for the first time in what felt like forever Draven explode into his demon side. His wings extended fully to the sides and I watched as though in slow motion as the purple veins under his skin started to glow and pulse in his exposed neck.
“The truth hurts doesn’t it, Draven?” I snapped making him snarl at me and I wondered if I didn’t have a few screws loose considering it wasn’t exactly the smartest thing to do was add fuel to an already out of control blaze.
“You think you know his kind?! YOU DON’T!” Draven roared at me making me shoot to my feet in anger.
“No, that’s where you’re wrong because the only Demon I don’t know IS YOU!” I screamed back taking a step closer to him and clenching my fists by my sides, wanting nothing more than to lash out at him.
“He will hurt you!” He told me with pain and rage mixing, giving his eyes both a strong resolve one minute and then an erratic kind of panic, making them look everywhere at once.
“No, no he won’t.” I said a little calmer this time in the sight of how he clearly wasn’t coping with this news.
“HE WILL HURT YOU!” He roared at me and this time I flinched back with a shock of fear I very rarely felt around Draven but it was enough to get him to simmer slightly. He took a deep breath that he wouldn’t release until after he closed his eyes. I took another step back and with his eyes still closed he then cut me up inside with one order spoken,
“Leave!”
“What?” I whispered in shock, never before hearing this demand from Draven before.
“LEAVE! NOW!” He bellowed igniting his body in a red flame making me almost fall over myself to get away. I scrambled to the door and was just about to fling it open when I heard a broken voice from behind me,
“Keira, I…please, please…just give me time…forgive me…I…” I stopped and looked down to watch a tear fall and land on the floor passing where my death grip pulled the handle down, ready for my escape. I sucked in a shuddered breath and turned to face him over my shoulder.
“He can’t hurt me, Draven…no one can… not…not after what you did to me…” I said before pulling down on the heavy iron and walking through the door right before I heard the destruction I now left in my wake.
After leaving Draven to his rage I leant back on the door to let the tears fall freely. I banged my head back on the wood and forced myself to listen to his pain rip the room apart behind me. I didn’t know if he even realised I was still out here but with each sound of devastation, with each thunder of pain I heard, I felt it like a blade to the chest. I couldn’t help but think that if he didn’t love me why would he be reacting this way. Would anyone who didn’t feel like their life was being ripped apart at the seams react this way? So why…?