The Demon's Half

Chapter 13

I should have stayed with Elena and Logan.
They both had made it painfully clear they weren't thrilled about me going back to work. But after a full week of keeping an eye on me, exchanging unreadable glances every time I so much as sighed, as if I was doomed or cursed, I needed to breathe. If I let fear dictate where I could and couldn't go, what kind of life would that be? Besides, Ozias Dravenkov couldn't kill me... Not yet, anyway.

And then there was Carly.
She let me keep a job when I could barely function, let me fumble through shifts when I had no right to be behind a counter, and never once made me feel like I had to earn her patience.
Skipping work felt like betrayal.

"Morgan! I thought you already left." Jessica said as I wiped down the cappuccino machine—again. No matter how much I scrubbed, the stink of spoiled milk clung to it.

"You're coming to my party tonight, right?"

"Oh..." That was tonight?

"Come on, Morgan." Kate materialized behind me. "It's her birthday. You have to come."

Jessica's hands landed on my shoulders as she leaned in. "And remember, you have a plus one! You can bring—"

In my peripheral vision something moved.
The realization sunk in just a little too late, as a voice, husky, low, and unmistakably him, made my heart want to run away.

"Anyone?"

We all turned at the same time.
Ozias Dravenkov was a few feet away from us.
Every nerve stood on edge, hyper-aware of him.
I had been hoping—quietly, desperately—that he had forgotten about me.

His black hair was perfectly tousled. Dark clothing clung to his body. Far more in line with what the few wealthy people wore in Whisperwood. Gone was the fairy-tale outfit of a long-dead prince.

"Hi," Jessica's voice an octave higher than normal. "I'm Jessica." She offered a trembling hand. "Would you... would you like to come to my birthday party tonight?"

Wait, what?

"Wait—What?!" I yelled. A few customers raised their brows like I had just completely lost it. Maybe Logan was right and I never actually had it.

Then, it struck—not from sky, but from a gaze:
the startling, storm-fed blue of Ozias Dravenkov's eyes. The corners of his mouth curved up, and the whole room disappeared. My skin burn and tingle all at once. But his attention drifted back to Jessica. The way he reached for her hand carried the weight of a crown long since turned to dust. Of course, Jessica giggled.
I noticed how small her hand looked in his, how fragile. He brought it to his lips and pressed a feather-light kiss to the back of her hand.
My nails bit into my palms, sharp enough to leave half-moon marks.

"I would love to," his breath brushed her skin, and she blushed.

He looked at me again. That smug smirk spread wider. Jessica's entire face lit up like a little kid with a shiny new toy. Kate's eyes were glued to him. I wanted to shake them. Scream at them. This isn't a man! I wanted to yell.
And then it hit me.
Their souls.
They might be on his list.

"No," he said. "That's not on my plans."

The demon lowered Jessica's hand, as he kept looking at me. Heat rushed to my face, an involuntary reaction that made me want to claw my way out of my own body.
I hated that he could read my mind whenever he wanted. Like my thoughts were his to devour.

"Let's talk," he said.

Not entirely a suggestion.
I didn't move. I remembered Elena's words.
'As long as you have the bargain protecting you, he won't be able to kill you.'