The Demon's Half

Chapter 8

My stomach shriveled like a dying thing.

He was dressed like some lost royalty—flowing black layers, too elegant for this place. Impeccable. Made his pale skin look almost supernatural.

The very atmosphere seemed to get heavier at his presence. As if the world itself had realized something unnatural had entered its space.

He prowled forward, slow and unhurried.
And the floorboards felt it. A faint tremor followed every movement, like even the ground feared him.

The lively hum of the outside world fell silent. No birds. No rustling leaves. Not even the whisper of wind. It seemed that every living creature decided, all at once, that it was safer not to breathe.

He looked young. Maybe early twenties.
But that was a lie.
Because no one that age could hold this much power in a single space.

His eyes met mine.
"You're far more interesting than I expected."
His voice was sin itself.
Sin wrapped in temptation.

Heat curled in my stomach, but I forced my expression into stone. Because his eyes...
Ice blue. Pure ice.

They were as dangerous as they were beautiful. Like glaciers waiting in the blackest depths, still and patient, ready to pull you under and never let you go.

The kind of eyes that could destroy you.
And make you thank them for it.
I didn't want to look away.

The world faded, shrinking into nothing. Only those beautiful, damned blue eyes remained.

Was he an apparition? A ghost?
No.
Because those eyes weren't hollow.
They were alive.
They whispered promises I couldn't hear, but felt in my soul.

My feet betrayed me.
I moved toward him.
Step by step. Helpless.
And happily at his mercy.

One corner of his beautiful mouth lifted.

I was drawn like a moth to a flame. To those eyes. I had to tilt my head back just to meet his gaze.

Mia's face flashed in my mind.
And I closed my eyes. Breaking the trance.

I stopped moving.
A breath hitched in my throat as realization slammed into me.
I had been seconds away from touching him.

My heart slammed against my ribs like a trapped bird, desperate to escape.
With my eyes still closed, I took several steps back.

"Who—who the hell are you?" I refused to look at him again. Every part of me screamed not to. So I kept moving backwards.

Somehow I knew, his eyes could destroy me.

He stepped closer.
Like a panther indulging in the last, sweet moments before the kill.
His grin widened.
But it wasn't warm.

"Don't recognize me?" He asked. His tone tugged to something deep inside me.
It wanted me to move closer. To give in.

I didn't.

Every nerve screamed at me to run. To get away.
Before I could, the ground exploded.

The earth lurched.
A violent tremor, tearing through the foundation, rattling everything around me. Windows broke. Things fell off the shelves.

I screamed as I fell to the wobbling floor.
Pictures crashed. Furniture skidded. Walls shook. I couldn't hold my ground as I tried to stand.
And at the very heart of it, he stood.

I forced myself to look up. He was slowly changing before my eyes.
His body expanded.
Larger. Massive. Four times his size. Growing until he reached the ceiling. What had once been flawless skin was now rough and black. His face was no longer human.