23

Aiden’s long arms draped over me and secured me to our spot in the tree. He smelled faintly of herbs; sweet with a hint of spice. I never noticed before since I made efforts to avoid him. Ironically, it was a familiar and comforting aroma for me and reminded me a lot of home and Naomi.

We listened to birds whistling by and the occasional shouts from other players. It could have been tranquil if I wasn’t so close. If Aiden was anything like his sister, he was going to get excited real soon. What did the vampire have planned, anyway?

His eyes darkened, just like his sister’s had when I first bled. I took a sharp inhale, but then, I was guided forward and gently dropped back onto solid ground. Aiden slid down next and then walked off as if nothing happened.

“You’re helping me?” I asked.

“What are teammates for?” He paused and lifted the ends of a blue cloth that sat on his hip. “Although, even if you had been perfectly silent, I would’ve found you.”

He then pointed to the blood drying on my arm. The wound itself was clearing up, but the stained evidence remained. My hand made the perfect vampire lollipop after holding it earlier. I wished I could have washed off in the creek. “You can thank your lovely sister for that.”

Aiden’s grin exposed a single fang. “Maybe you should stay close. Never know what could be lurking out there.”

“Besides you?”

“Besides me.”

Aiden didn’t appear interested in eating me, for the time being. Practicing caution, I followed behind him, keeping a few feet between us. He peered over his shoulder. “If you ask nicely, I’ll stick around. I’m a gentleman like that.”

Aiden had a talent for making everything sound condescend ing. I didn’t want to admit that I could use his help so, like a proud coward, I said nothing. He never made it easy to be around him. I wasn’t about to hold my breath at his generosity now.

“Can’t have Zak’s favorite pet getting hurt on my watch, ”Aiden said, adding a pinch of petty sprinkles.

My jaw clenched as I spoke. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He flicked away a branch that hung near his head. “He obviously likes his new toy, or are you just used to being the center of attention?”

“Jealous?”

“Ooh. A spicy Cupcake.”

Aiden didn’t even look like he was participating in the game. I kept glancing around for anyone pursuing us but he blazed the trail without a care in the world.

“Don’t make things weird with Zak,” I said, “He’s nice to everyone.”

His harsh laugh gave me chills but also spiked my anger. “Don’t give me that. His face makes your heart beat faster than a hummingbird. Huh… the same thing happens when you’re with me. Does that mean you like me too?”

I stomped a little harder than necessary on the twig under my boot. Aiden took a break from his cocky saunter to let me see his amused face. “Am I getting under your skin?” he asked.

“You’re all obsessed. It’s gross,” I said.

He could sense danger coming better than I could, but I took the lead and veered off in another direction. I needed him to stop looking so he wouldn’t see my flushing skin.

“It’s not like you can help it,” Aiden called after me, “A succubus will drive anyone crazy.”

I leered back at him. “You and your siblings, I swear… I love bread but I don’t go around harassing my bread.”

“You’re comparing yourself to bread?”

“Is Cupcake better?”

His lips crept further up his face. “My sister’s nutty but clever. She wasn’t wrong, by the way.”

Figures, he’d been listening the entire time.

“About what?”

“Something more than darkness lives inside you.”

I watched him scan my arm and then my hand. It wouldn’t even taste good now that it was dry, but what did I know? “I’m not pregnant if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“Oh, I know.”

I flinched, not loving the fact that he knew about anything that happened inside my body. A demon couldn’t also have angel blood. First of all, the two would never mate. Even if they’d wanted to, I doubted they could. Oil and water don’t mix. Light and dark would only create shadow.

“Forbidden Love is a tale as old as time. Who’s to say an angel didn’t fall for a demon? Isn’t danger enticing?” he asked.

“You seriously think an angel got busy with a demon?”

“I’m open to the idea.”

“Are you here to find out?” I asked, tasting the bitterness in my mouth. If I’d wanted an examination, I would’ve given Mallory a shot.

“Only if you’re feeling curious. I don’t bite without consent.” His lashes fluttered with innocence I knew was absent.

We escaped the coverage of trees and reached a cliffside. The sun gave a warm welcome to our elevation. I had no idea where to go from there, and Aiden hadn’t bothered to correct me. I’d brought us to a dead end.

The nearest tree became my post as I smashed my forehead against it.

“Guess this means we can talk for a while,” Aiden said.

I lazily peered at him. He leaned against a tree next to mine, stretching his shoulders from all of his strenuous labor. I mumbled in response, half-hoping the game was over and Lisha and Zak would round us up soon.

“So, what’s your deal?” Aiden asked.

“You’ll have to be more specific,” I said, “Right now, I’m anxious about being alone with you and your sister in the woods.”

His red eyes glittered. “I’m talking about embracing your inner demon, not me. Unless you’d like to try that instead.”

“I don’t have to embrace it. And no.”

“You’re wrong there, Cupcake.”

He waited for me to argue and then blew a stream of air up to reach his hairline. Like it was a choice? If it were, I would’ve chosen to be an elf or a fairy. A regular ol’ human would’ve been great too. I could live and die without a bother.

But… I had enjoyed kicking the lights out of Mallory. I would never have been able to stand against her as a human. Remembering our fight got my heart pounding again.

“Just admit it. You think it’s bad .” Aiden’s fangs teased his bottom lip. “You feel guilty about sucking souls. It must be exhausting living your life, starving to the point of passing out, and for what? Newsflash sweetheart, no one cares. You could be a selfless martyr with a heart of gold. Humans don’t give a fuck. You’re still a demon.”

His words left a bruise. Could a true demon even experience guilt? Then, what feeling ate away at my heart whenever I needed to help myself?

Aiden relaxed his head against the bark and gazed at the sky. “Hey. Fuck ‘em, right? There’s no reason we shouldn’t be friends.”

“Fine. We’re friends,” I said, “Now, point us in the right direction so we can get the hell out of here.”

His pretty face had a cunning air about it as he fanned his thick lashes. How could someone with such lovely aesthetics also inspire others to punch them? “You really want to go back? We’re far enough away from the others. You could roll down this cliff and disappear.”

“Disap—…” At first, I thought he’d threatened me, but then, I too looked out over the cliff. If I were careful, I could slide down without much trouble. Run and keep running. I could go home. Maybe not that, but I could search for my aunt. On my own.

I lifted my foot but brought it back down.

“Or we can keep playing their games like good puppets do,” Aiden said with a sigh, “Let’s not question Zakiel’s intentions for they must be pure.”

My patience was worn. I stormed off, like an elephant tram pling my way back into the warzone. Why did Aiden make me so angry? Did his words actually have merit, and I wanted to ignore them? Had my admiration for Zak blinded me from concerns about EXO and the angels?

Aiden reappeared next to me, teasing my bloodied arm with the back of his finger. “If it were me, I’d want to know what was in my blood before some EXO scientist took a sample.”

“So what if they happen to find something?” I said, “I’m al ready the worst-case scenario.”

“If you say so.”

I expected him to ditch me after that but he stuck by my side. The forest quieted before, I could hear the faint sounds of combat. I only broke our silence when I felt Aiden staring too long. “What now?”

“You’re leaving a trail of breadcrumbs,” he said.

“I have nothing to clean it with right now.” My blood in creased our chances of being caught. Not only that but if we found Jarmiel, I’d lead the sharks right to him.

I started rubbing my arm clean with some leaves from the forest floor and tossed them about. Aiden watched me with a hungry expression. The last time I used the same trick, I escaped Max the night of my arrest. Crafty and resourceful, but then…

We arrived at another cliff.

“You did this on purpose!” I pointed a finger at Aiden. The more pissed off with Aiden I became the braver I sounded. His teeth were perfectly straight, giving his canines a grand, white stage.

He raised his shoulders like an innocent bystander. “You were having so much fun playing the leader. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

I stopped myself from screaming profanities by covering my face with both hands. Even then, I could feel his smug face watching me suffer. We’d spent so much time trail-blazing that it sounded like everyone else had left us and gone home.

After dragging my fingers down my face, I worked the buckle around my forearm loose and removed the glove that came with my suit. Aiden’s attention locked onto my exposed wrist. The only blood left was smudged on my fingertips and had turned a darker shade of maroon.

I lifted my hand to Aiden’s chin. His eyes softened as if I were giving him a box of chocolates. “What’s this?”

If I really thought about it, giving blood to EXO couldn’t be much different than trusting Aiden. A vampire like Aiden had no agenda other than to serve himself but EXO could have reasons to keep something from me. I didn’t believe Zak would do that, but he was one angel among many.

“Don’t be creepy about it,” I said, “If being friends means you’ll get me out of here, then take some. Just tell me what you taste…”

How would he even know what angel blood tastes like, anyway?

Aiden snaked his fingers around my wrist. “You sure, Cupcake? It hurts but just for a second.”

“I’m about to change my mind, so just do it,” I closed my eyes. Two seconds ago I’d been motivated by curiosity to act impulsively but my arm shook the longer I anticipated his teeth. The deep laughter that followed did nothing to calm my nerves. Neither did his thumb making soft circles around the area I assumed he wanted to tear into.

I refused to look until I felt the softness of his lips above my veins. The view of his mouth coming over my flesh stirred a confusing sensation in my stomach.

And then, he pushed me.

I fell back into a soft bed of mud and moss. Had I really been fooled by such an amateur prank? Alarmed and infuriated, I laughed. “Wow, screw you—”

Then, I noticed his shoulder.

His composure melted away. Brows crunched. His lips popped over his fangs as he hissed. His pale fingers held the torn fabric on his arm like his limb would fall off otherwise.

“Aiden?” I got up slowly. “What’s wrong?”

“Careful,” he spat, but not at me. Something stuck out of the ground, right where I’d been standing. Aiden crouched low and examined the thin object. The dirt beneath vibrated from the energy buzzing in the metal. It appeared to have a sharp point but was too small to be considered a spear or even an arrow. The glow surrounding it was similar to Zak’s sword but less radiant.

“What is that?” I asked.

“ Ah, ah . Don’t touch. Unless you wanna end up like me.”

I drew back my creeping fingers. “It hit you. What did it do?”

“Purifiers love using these bolts. They’re blessed . Just another word for burns-like-hell.”

Blessed? Then, whoever shot it at us knew it could cause real harm. To prove my point, Aiden lifted his hand to reveal the wound. The flesh around his shoulder sizzled pink but the opened slit was clean. The bolt only grazed him but I could see that caused him a lot of pain.

“Can you sense someone out there?” I asked. He said the weapon belonged to a purifier and my mind immediately went to Faris. We’d only had one encounter and that somehow warranted an assassination attempt.

Aiden shot into a standing position. His eyes narrowed at the forest and I thought he might have seen the culprit from afar. “I can’t pick up a scent. They’re with EXO for sure, or at least trained to cloak themselves from supernaturals. Pissed off anyone lately, Cupcake?”

I thought about mentioning Faris but didn’t want to be responsible if his blood-drained corpse was discovered later. Should he be proven innocent.

Aiden lifted his boot and stomped the bolt deeper into the earth, making it sizzle. The opening in the ground expanded as each particle fled from the light.

Something else bothered me, though.

Aiden was a vampire…

“You’re not healing.” I pointed to his wound.

“Rapid regeneration can’t fix everything, and that wasn’t aimed at me .”

The weight of his sacrifice finally set in. Angel magic. Light magic. I started to say something again but froze. If blessed weapons worked against supernatural healing, and if the bolt had hit me just right, that could’ve been the end for me.

“Don’t get all sappy,” he scoffed, “We couldn’t have it going through your sweet little heart now, could we? Let’s move before your stalker takes a second shot.”