15. Callista

15

CALLISTA

" I s it over?" I ask tentatively, my body shaking after what I just witnessed.

Dagon is still staring at where the portal once was. He murmurs something about control and being the whole storm, but it doesn't make sense. I hesitantly move closer to him, freezing when his body suddenly stiffens.

He turns to me, and something flashes across his face. It's as if he just registered that I was here. "What the fuck are you doing here!" he roars.

I stumble backward as he angrily strides toward me, my heart racing as I lose my footing. His hand locks around my throat, righting me and I gulp at what I see in his eyes.

It's chaotic, it's charged, its fucking fear mixed with fury.

"I couldn't just stay home knowing-" I start, but his hand squeezes around my throat, effectively silencing me.

"You shouldn't fucking be here Callista! How did you even manage to sneak out? Fuck!" he yells before staring me in the eyes.

Before I know what is happening, he releases my throat. As I'm sputtering trying to catch my breath, he effortlessly grabs me, throws me over his shoulder, and begins stalking off angrily.

"Where are we going?" I shriek, somewhat frightened of what I just saw unleashed on Tagar and uneasy about how effortlessly he seems to have put it back in its box.

"Home, where you can be fucking punished."

"I'm not a fucking child, Dagon, you can't punish me," I retort more out of habit than actual fear.

"Yes the fuck I can, Callista," he replies with deadly calm. My stomach flips at the tone of his voice, and I don't say anything back. Dagon growls as he stalks forward, his arm wrapped tightly across the back of my thighs.

His anger doesn't subside as we reach the safety of his house. He sets me down roughly, his eyes blazing with a fury that sends a shiver down my spine. His anger fills the space, palpable and raw.

As he towers over me, chest heaving with each breath, his voice booms in my ears. "What the fuck were you thinking, Callista?" he thunders, his frustration barreling out unrestrained. "You have no idea what could have happened to you out there!"

I hold my ground, meeting his gaze squarely, my own anger flaring up in response to his. "I couldn't just stay behind, not knowing if you were safe," I snap back, my voice firm, fueled by a mix of concern and defiance. I had seen too much to simply wait in the shadows, passive and helpless.

"Silence!" Dagon's shout slices through the air, but I do not flinch or falter. "You acted like a fool, and fools get killed, Callista!"

I stand my ground, matching his energy with defiance. I was thinking about him, and he's pissed because I left. My fists are balled at my side angrily as my eyes track his every move. How dare he presume me a fool.

"So what now?" I ask, watching as he stares at me.

He paces, his movements a reflection of the storm brewing inside him, then abruptly halts and fixes me with a steely glare. "I can't let this go. I can't have you putting yourself in jeopardy like this—not when I love you."

The admission of love hits hard, but it does not soften the severity of his stance. "Because I love you, I must teach you what fear should have taught you tonight. You will be punished, Callista. It's the only way I can make sure you never do something this fucking reckless again."

His declaration stirs a complex whirl of emotions within me—anger, fear, love. Yet, I stand resolute, understanding the gravity of his words but not cowed by them. "I understand the risks, Dagon, but I won't be sidelined when you're in danger. We need to find a better way to handle this."

Dagon's eyes search mine, perhaps looking for a crack in my resolve, but I meet his gaze unwaveringly. This isn't merely about following orders. It's about standing as equals, even in conflict.

The tension between us is thick, a testament to the challenges we face together. As he steps closer, the air charged with his next move, I know that this confrontation will shape the foundation of our understanding, for better or worse.

Dagon's confession of love is laced with a darkness that reflects his life's harsh realities. His features, though hardened by battles both physical and emotional, momentarily reveal the depth of his fear and vulnerability. But any softness quickly hardens into a resolute, menacing glare.

"You think this is merely about protection?" his voice deepens, the edge sharper. "It's about survival, Callista. Mine, yours — everything is at stake."

There's a chilling certainty in his tone, a reminder of the brutal world he inhabits, where every shadow could be an enemy and every decision is a matter of life or death.

"Love doesn't soften the edges of a blade, Callista. It sharpens them." He steps closer, the air around him almost crackling with a dark energy. "I love you, and that means I must be more ruthless, not less. Because every threat to you is a threat to everything I fucking stand for."

His hands are fists at his sides. "I can't allow you to endanger yourself. Not out of some misguided sense of involvement or loyalty. If punishing you is the way to drill this lesson deep into your fucking bones, then so be it." His words are cold, delivered with a brutal honesty that chills me to the core.

"I am not your hero, Callista. I am the one who will do whatever it takes to keep you alive, even if it means being the monster in your nightmares. You need to understand the gravity of our reality." Dagon's gaze is unyielding, his stance that of a warrior ready for a relentless battle.

At this moment, Dagon embodies the complexity of a being who is both savior and destroyer, his love intertwined with darkness shaped by years of trauma and survival. The duality of his nature makes him unpredictable and, in many ways, more dangerous. He is a man—or rather, a demon—driven to the edge, where every act of affection is twinned with a potential act of violence, all in the name of protection.

I stand here, staring at him as he pours his soul out in front of me. The coldness of his words and the heat of his anger do nothing to take away the gravity of what he just confessed.

"So be it," I say calmly, holding his gaze and bracing myself as he stalks toward me with a deadly quickness. "If you think punishment is the way to handle this, then do it."