GUARDIAN DEMON | BL ✔

CHAPTER 20

Pain ushered Devyn back to the world of consciousness. He opened his eyes to see an arm stretched out beneath him. The human's body cried out as he turned from his left side to lie on his right side. Devyn let out a surprised gasp as he saw an unconscious Denzyl holding him. Flashes of Denzyl stopping the emyr from clawing out his heart and Devyn running to cover Denzyl flared in the human's mind. He could not stop his eyes from swelling as he recalled Denzyl protecting him. And here he was, bloodied and dying right before Devyn's eyes.

A sticky substance caught the human's attention as he moved to sit up. Devyn looked to see blood covering the bed. Both men were bathed in the thick liquid. They had been unconscious for a while as the blood painting their faces and arms had dried. Gashes covered Denzyl's body, but it was not nearly as bad as when he endured Ryiak's torturous interrogation. The blood had mostly stopped flowing in response to the demon's enhanced healing, but the wounds were still daunting.

Taking in the scene, Devyn rummaged through the medical materials scattered across the bed and immediately began tending to Denzyl's wounds. Devyn ended up stripping the demon of most of his clothes to get to the wounds. Ignoring the pain searing through his body with every move, the human began stitching the demon's wounds after stopping the remaining bleeding. Devyn cleaned and disinfected the not-as-critical wounds before wrapping most of the demon's abdomen with gauze.

The mark on Devyn's back began to throb as he finished bandaging Denzyl's wounds. Devyn reached his hand to the back of his shoulder and felt the skin. It was hot and sore. Devyn looked down at the unconscious demon and gently moved the man's crimson hair out of his face. Devyn's fingers ended up sliding through the demon's hair and running along Denzyl's head down to the back of his neck. His hair was soft and silky, just how Devyn expected it to be. The human found himself smiling as he looked down at the man. This time, it was Devyn who was looking at Denzyl with fondness.

Withdrawing his hand from the demon's hair, Devyn placed his hand on the side of Denzyl's face and cupped his cheek. The human sighed mentally when he saw the demon's brows unfurrow. Unaware that his touch had awakened the demon's heart, Devyn assumed Denzyl's face relaxed as the pain had lessened. Devyn slightly moved his thumb across the demon's cheek before withdrawing his hand.

The human turned to clean up the mess on the bed, but his heart began to race when a hand reached out and took the hand that had been soothing the demon. Devyn held his breath as he turned to see those stormy eyes gazing up at him.

"You're awake!" Devyn smiled. He instantly began checking on the demon's condition unaware that Denzyl's eyes were filled with tears. Before he knew it, Denzyl had sat up and pulled Devyn into his arms. It took the human a moment to register what had just happened. One second he was checking on the demon's wounds, and the next he was in his arms. Devyn eventually snapped out of his surprise and slowly wrapped his arms around the man holding him. Devyn found himself snuggling his face into the crook of Denzyl's neck as his heart felt whole.

The demon's body pulsed as he cried. "How could I forget you?" Denzyl's voice was quiet and broken as he held the human tightly.

Devyn's heart ached as he heard the demon's broken cry. Devyn lifted his hand and began stroking the back of Denzyl's head. "It's okay. I'm here," the human soothed.

"I'm so s-"

"Please don't apologize," Devyn cut off the demon. He did not want Denzyl to blame himself. "It was what it was."

Denzyl continued to hold Devyn for a few more minutes before he realized Devyn was still hurt quite badly. The demon was then quick to bring the human to arm's length. Devyn could not help but smile as the demon began checking his wounds. Denzyl's brows furrowed as he saw the blood stains on the bandages and deep bruises. The wounds were healing, but they would need to be in better condition for Denzyl's plan. "Devyn...I need to strengthen the mark. I will try to make it as painless as possible, but-"