The first thing Heaven saw when she opened her eyes was the dark ceiling and the broken, dusty chandelier that hung from it. It was covered with spider webs, as if it hadn't been used for ages.
Heaven sat up slowly; her movements causing the bed to make a creaking sound. Her eyes searched the dimly lit room she was in. It looked gloomy and uninviting. The furniture was old and dusty, and looked as if it would collapse anytime soon. Mold ate away at the damp freckled walls and floor, and she could hear insects crawling around. Where was she?
Suddenly pain shot down her neck, and she reached for it only to feel wetness on her fingers.
Blood.
Gradually, her memories came back to her. The dead body. The skeleton hands. It was him, the silver-eyed stranger.
She remembered his skeleton hand grabbing her wrist, and she had screamed at the top of her lungs. Horrified, she had cut his arm with her dagger, but before he could bleed his wound had already healed.
Gina tried to jab him with her sword but ended up stabbing an empty coffin. Just like that, he had dissolved into smoke.
Their eyes searched the cave carefully. Heaven tightened her hold on her daggers and Gina was ready to sprint anytime.
The sound of footsteps made them look behind quickly. There he stood in the shadows. The sight of him was very frightening. A walking dead body was not something you would expect to see in a lifetime, or ever.
"Heaven step back!" Gina ordered before attacking him.
With a wave of his hand, the skeleton man caused Gina to crash into the cave's wall by an invisible force. She hit the wall so hard Heaven was sure her ribs and spine cracked. Then she fell to the ground and got covered by enormous stones that fell off the wall.
"Gina!" Heaven screamed in horror, running to save her friend, but the stranger blocked her way and grabbed her by the neck.
She tried to stab him with her dagger when he spoke, "Don't move."
Heaven halted. What was happening to her?
He was compelling her.
How?
She was partly demon, so it shouldn't be possible.
His eyes. She had to look away from them. Compulsion happened by looking into someone's eyes, but it was too late now and she couldn't look away. She was spellbound.
Those silver-eyes that had haunted her dreams were now right in front of her. But the face was terrifying.
"Good." He said when she listened to his command.
Releasing her neck, he drew her into his arms. Heaven panicked. What was he doing?
Removing the hair from her neck, he leaned in.
Oh, God! He was going to bite her. No!
Heaven screamed internally. That would be marking her. He can't! She didn't want to!
Suddenly his teeth sank into her flesh. Heaven whimpered in pain, but she couldn't move. He was drinking her blood, and he wasn't stopping.
Heaven began to feel weak and lightheaded. If he didn't stop, he might kill her. She wasn't sure if the little part of her that was demon could save her.
Her legs became weak, unable to hold her, and she fell back in his arms. Would this be how she died?
Suddenly he stopped and drew back. His lips were stained with her blood before he licked them.
Heaven's vision became blurry, but she could see how his skin slowly came alive, changing its color and healing itself. Some flesh appeared on his bony face, giving him some structure. His hair thickened and elongated, and his earlier blue lips turned into a pale pink. His veins retracted and his skin became radiant.
Once he looked alive Heaven recognized his face. All this time she had seen him in her dreams, but she hadn't been able to remember. Now that she saw him in reality, he was even more breathtaking.
Heaven wanted to take a closer look, but her vision was darkening.
Was she dying? She didn't want to die.
Please save me! She begged before falling into a fathomless abyss.
Later when she woke up, she found herself in this gloomy room. The stranger must have brought her here. She needed to escape.
Heaven's eyes scanned the room. It had no windows, but the door was open. First, she would need a weapon if she was going to escape through the door. He could be anywhere and she needed to protect herself.
As she rose from the bed to find something sharp, her head spun. She was still weak from the loss of blood.
Carefully, trying not to lose her balance, she searched the room.
"Are you looking for these?"
Startled, Heaven turned hastily to where the voice came from.
There he stood at the entrance behind the shadows, holding her two daggers up. He threw one at her and then the other and she caught them in air.
Confused, she gazed at him. Why did he return her weapons to her? Was he telling her she could never hurt him?
Slowly he walked into the dim light so she could see him. The first thing she noticed was his silver eyes, as usual. They reminded her of smoke coming from a fire that burned deep, or the storm on a rainy night. They were cold and metallic, glistening in the dimly lit room.
His hair flowed down his shoulder like black ink, thick and shining. It looked so well kept, not one strand out of place. He had a strong, defined face with sharp edges, but his long thick lashes and pale pink lips gave him a softer look. He was a mix of roughness and delicacy.
Heaven tried to avert her gaze, but she couldn't. She found herself unable to move, just like her dreams. But this time she knew he wasn't compelling her, she was just lost in his dark web.
The stranger took a few steps forward, but Heaven backed away and held a dagger out, defensively. "Don't come close."
He lifted his hands in surrender. "If I wanted to hurt you, I would do it while you were unconscious. Don't you think?"
"Maybe it's not really me you want to hurt?"
He tilted his head to one side and seemed genuinely confused. "Then who would I want to hurt?"
"My Father."
"Who is your father?"
Heaven paused. Did he really not know or was he tricking her?
"My father is probably looking for me. Trust me, you don't want to be on his bad side." She warned.
His lips curved into an amused smile. "No trust me. Your father would not want to be on my bad side." He corrected her.
"Then you don't know my father."
"Tell me about him." He urged getting closer to her.
Heaven stood her ground, trying to not be intimidated by him. But her prenatural senses warned her of the danger she was in. She could tell this stranger yielded great power. He could destroy her with ease. He had to be the ancient smoke demon Lozan told her about.
"Are you an ancient demon?" She asked.
"If by ancient you mean did I exist before the human race, then yes."
Oh, no. She was in trouble. What would happen to her now? What would happen to her family?
Gina! Where was she?
Her stomach churned thinking of what could have happened to her friend. Her head spun, her legs gave in and she started falling. Before she could hit the ground, the stranger caught her and carried her up.
"What have you done to her?" She asked as he carried her to bed.
"She is alive, don't worry." He assured, as if knowing who she was talking about. Carefully, he laid her down on the bed.
"Where is she?"
"Probably back home."
Heaven let out a breath of relief. She was feeling so weak and tired. Her eyelids felt heavy falling over her eyes, before darkness embraced her.
*****************
???? Hi guys!
I know the wait is it tough, but writing a chapter in two days is also tough. Please be patient as I am back to uni now and have a lot of studies.
Join my discord and chat about the book while waiting. It might help. I check in now and then as well, to answer questions you guys might have or just chat. Use the link below. Hope to see you there.
Lots of love ❤️
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