GUARDIAN DEMON | BL ✔

CHAPTER 69

Where am I? Weightlessness filled Denzyl's senses as he slowly regained consciousness. Faint beeps reached Denzyl's ears, and his ears felt full...of...something. What was it? It was heavy. The answer came when Denzyl opened his eyes to find himself floating in a small tank. The demon jerked his body, but chains around his wrists and ankles kept him from moving much. He had been stripped to his pants, and circular medical devices had been stuck to his chest and neck to monitor his vitals and heart rate.

A mask was strapped around Denzyl's head, covering his nose and mouth and supplying him with a faint stream of oxygen. Looking through the clear water, Denzyl could make out several dendrum milling about the hovercraft guarding the tank. A vivid round of shivers shot up Denzyl's spine as his body fought the chilling cold that was slowly creeping into his heart.

Denzyl was able to hear muffled voices with his advanced senses, but it was hard to make out what exactly was being discussed through the water and thick glass separating Denzyl from the remainder of the ship. Flames flared in Denzyl's grey orbs when Etta stepped out of the shadows of the ship and approached the tank that held the avex. Denzyl struggling against the chains only caused Etta to smirk at the demon's efforts to break free.

"I wouldn't try so hard to break out," Etta warned as she came to a stop next to the glass. The demon placed her hand against the tank and made eye contact with Denzyl before adding, "The water in this tank is partially sourced from the Soul Sea, something you know quite well. It's not enough to completely freeze your soul, but you have been weakened significantly since you have been soaking in it for...well, about ten hours."

Denzyl's eyes widened at Etta's words. He did not care that the water was partially from the Soul Sea; rather, he worried that Devyn had been lying alone on the rooftop with a gunshot wound for the past ten hours. Having Denzyl's essence in him would certainly have helped Devyn resist succumbing to loss of blood if he was not shot in a fatal spot. But it would only help so much. Denzyl was not sure the human would have been able to survive bleeding out for more than a few hours. Denzyl could only pray someone had found Devyn and brought him to a hospital.

"Have a lot on your mind?" Denzyl snapped his eyes to Etta to see the demon studying him. His face had fallen as his thoughts went to the human, and Etta was watching him with her head cocked to the side slightly. "Well, you'll have lots of time to think about your pet. It'll take us a bit to reach Sendrum." The female uncrossed her arms as she asked, "Excited to return home?" Etta's brow was cocked as she waited for Denzyl's response, clearly knowing that her question would spark some rage in the avex.

The mask strapped around Denzyl's face dampened the snarl that filtered from his mouth, but Etta heard the avex's reaction and smirked in satisfaction. Letting out a slight "Hmph," Etta bid "See you on Sendrum, Avex," as she walked away from the tank leaving Denzyl trapped in the chilling water.

Once alone with his thoughts as the dendrum had vacated the immediate area in which he was being held, Denzyl began to feel the fear and worry fully consume him as he cried for his love who was so far away from him suffering on his own. Pull yourself together, Denzyl. Devyn needs you. The demon's inner voice ripped the demon from his spiraling thoughts, reminding him he could not just sit back and let himself be kept from Devyn. As if a switch had been flipped, the avex immediately began looking around the room he was being held in and scrutinizing the details and technology of the tank in search of ways to free himself. He was going to go back home to his love.

<<<<<<<>>>>>>>

"Oh, thank god you're awake!"

A slight ringing sounded in Devyn's ears as he slowly recovered him the unconscious state he had been in the past day. White light blinded the human as Devyn slowly opened his eyes only to blink multiple times in attempt to adjust to the brightness of the room he was in. Once adjusted to the light, the first thing Devyn saw was Miren looking down at him in relief.

"How do you feel?"

The woman's question did not register with Devyn right away. What am I doing in the hospital? It was not until Devyn tried to sit up did he feel the pain that was throbbing in his chest. Accompanied with the fresh round of pain came a round of memories of a woman with vibrant green eyes smiling at Devyn, a fight against several dendrum, and Denzyl being tackled and sedated. Recalling Denzyl being kidnapped, Devyn immediately inquired about the demon. "Where is Denzyl? Is he okay?"

Miren answered Devyn's frantic inquiry with a slow exhale before saying, "Denzyl disappeared." Devyn's heart sank at the woman's words. "I found you unconscious on the roof bleeding out with Denzyl nowhere to be found. While you were in surgery, I watched the surveillance from the roof and saw Denzyl being kidnapped by Etta Downey, VIANT's newest investor. There was also footage of you being dragged through the halls and...beaten by dendrum while that woman...fucking smiled." It was evident from the anger and disgust in Miren's voice and expression that she was outraged and repulsed by the female demon and what she had done to Devyn and Denzyl.

"The hovercraft disappeared into space," Miren added. "There's no way to tell where they are now and where they're going."

Devyn was silent for a long while as he thought through the events of the day prior. "It's Denzyl's clan," he finally spoke up, drawing Miren's attention. "They came back for him."

"His clan?" Miren inquired. She did not know much about Denzyl except that he was a demon from a planet called Sendrum and that he had saved Devyn when he had been sold by the dendrum.

"Mm," Devyn responded before continuing, "He is the clan's prince, called an "avex". His father probably sent Etta as a bounty hunter to bring him back to the clan."

"I take it it's not going to be a heartwarming reunion when he gets back to Sendrum," Miren assumed as Devyn explained what had happened on Denzyl's home planet before the two had escaped. Devyn nodded in confirmation. "They'll probably try to erase his memories again."

"That's awful," Miren commented as Devyn tossed back the covers and swung his legs off the bed. "What are you doing? You've just been shot!" Miren tried her best to get Devyn back into the bed without harming his wound, but the human was determined to stand to his feet. "I'm not going to just lie back and do nothing, Miren. I have to go to him."

"I understand, but at least wait until you've recovered." Miren did her best to persuade Devyn from marching on Sendrum that very second.

Devyn knew why Miren was trying to stop him from leaving, but he finally put his foot down by exclaiming, "I am his mate!"

Miren was shocked by the force in Devyn's tone, so she fell quiet as Devyn continued, "I love him, Miren, and I cannot let him be abused by his family. I don't know what I'd do with myself if I lost him. He's done so much for me, and I will be damned if I let anyone take him away from me." Devyn took a breath before calming himself. "Even when he had completely forgotten about me, he still accepted me and cared for me even though he had no idea who I was."

Devyn clutched his chest as his breathing intensified and irritated his wound. Miren was silent for a moment as she studied the man. She had never seen Devyn this concerned even when he was going through the hell Wil had put him in. He was genuinely fretting for Denzyl's safety and well-being, something he had not done for himself. Devyn had always been a silent sufferer, but he could not be silent in his worry for Denzyl. Grasping the desperation Devyn was in, Miren finally released a long breath and asked, "What can I do?"

Devyn pressed his lips together and lowered his head in thanks to Miren before answering, "Stay here to get VIANT on its feet and check on Vaumyr and Co. once in a while for me." The human took a small pause before relaying the most important part of his answer, "And get me a ship."

"And what are you going to do once I do that?" Miren asked in concern over Devyn's haphazard plan.

"Go to Sendrum," Devyn stated matter-of-factly.

"What about your wounds?"

"They'll heal. Denzyl's mark increased my healing capabilities."

Miren released a small sigh at the man's determination to march on the demon-infested planet. "There's not much you can do against a whole clan of demons on your own."

"I won't be alone when I reach Sendrum," Devyn responded, causing Miren's brows to furrow. "There's someone who owes me a favor."