Deity

“Aiden, you were just a boy.”

He nodded absently. “My mom yelled at me to get Deacon and get him out of the house with Helen. I didn’t want to leave her, so I started down the stairs. The daimon came out of nowhere, grabbing her by the throat. She was staring at me when he snapped her neck. Her eyes… .just glossed over. And Helen… Helen was screaming and screaming. She wouldn’t stop. I knew he was going to kill her, too. I started ru

I gasped. Tears burned my eyes. This… this was more horrific than I’d imagined, and it reminded me of the boy the daimon had burned in Atlanta.

Aiden turned to the fire. “The daimon went after me next. I don’t know why he spared me the fire and knocked me to the ground, but I knew he was going to drain my aether. Then there was this Guard who’d been burned downstairs. Somehow, through what had to have been the worst kind of pain, he made it up the stairs and killed the daimon.”

He faced me and there wasn’t any pain in his expression. Maybe sorrow and regret, but there was also a bit of wonder. “He was a half-blood. One of the ones I’d been following around. He was probably my age now, and you know, in all that horrific pain, he still did his duty. He saved my life and Deacon’s. I found out a few days later that he had succumbed to the burns. I never got a chance to thank him.”

His tolerance of half-bloods made sense. That one Guard’s actions had changed centuries of beliefs in one little boy, turning prejudice into awe. It was no wonder that Aiden never saw the difference between halfs and pures.

Aiden made his way over to me and sat. He met my stare. “That’s why I chose to become a Sentinel. Not so much because of what happened to my parents, but because of that one half-blood who died to save my life and my brother’s.”

I didn’t know what to say or if there was anything I could. So I placed my hand on his arm as I blinked back tears.

He placed his hand over mine as he looked away. A muscle worked in his jaw. “Gods, I don’t think I’ve ever talked to anyone about that night.”

“Not even Deacon?”

Aiden shook his head.

“I feel… honored that you’d share that with me. I know it’s a lot.” I squeezed his arm. “I just wish you’d never had to experience any of that. It wasn’t fair to any of you.”

Several moments passed before he answered. “I had justice for what those daimons did to me. I know it’s different from what you dealt with, but I wanted to give you that justice. I wish I’d told you before.”

“A lot of stuff was going on then,” I said. We hadn’t been talking, and then Caleb’s death happened. My heart didn’t clench as badly as it used to at his name. “I understand what happened with Eric.”

He smiled a little. “It was a knee-jerk reaction.”

“Yeah.” I searched for something to take our minds off everything. We both needed it. My gaze found the acoustic guitar propped against the wall. “Play something for me.”

He rose and picked up the guitar reverently. Walking back to the couch, he sat on the floor in front of me. He tipped his head down and locks of hair fell forward as he fiddled with the knobs along the headstock. His long fingers plucked a pick out from the taunt strings.

He peered up, his lips tipped in a half-smile. “Treachery,” he murmured. “You knew I wouldn’t refuse you.”

I eased down on my side. My stomach rarely ached, but I’d grown accustomed to being careful. “You know it.”

Aiden laughed as he thrummed his fingers on the strings lightly. After a few more moments of adjusting the tone, he started playing. The song was as haunting as it was soft, pitching high for a few strands, and then his fingers slipped down the chords. My suspicious were confirmed. Aiden could play. There wasn’t one wrong slip or falter.

It entranced me.

Resting my head on the throw pillow, I curled up and closed my eyes, letting the melody filling the room drift over me. Whatever he was thrumming on the guitar was soothing, like the perfect lullaby. A smile pulled at my lips. I could totally see him sitting in front of a packed bar, playing tunes that enchanted everyone in the room.

When the song ended, I opened my eyes. He was staring back at me, eyes so soft, so deep, that I never wanted to look away. “That was beautiful.”

Aiden shrugged and gently placed the guitar beside him. He reached up, carefully taking the barely-touched glass of wine from my fingertips. His eyes watched me as he took a sip, and then he set the glass aside, too. Minutes could’ve passed as we stared at each other, neither of us talking.

I didn’t know what came over me, but I reached out and placed a hand on his chest, beside his heart. Under my right hand, there was something hard and teardrop-shaped tucked under his shirt. I’d felt the necklace before and never really paid it much attention, but now there was something… familiar about it.

I sucked in a sharp gasp as comprehension shot through me. Aiden stared back, his eyes incredibly bright. A shiver ran down my spine, spreading across my skin with dizzying speed. I reached up, sliding my fingers under the thin chain.

“Alex,” Aiden ordered, pleaded really. His voice was thick, gruff. “Alex, please…”

I hesitated for an instant, but I had to see it. I just had to. Carefully, I tugged the chain up. My breath caught in my throat as I lifted the chain until it was completely out from underneath his shirt.

Dangling from the silver chain was the black guitar pick I’d gotten him for his birthday. The day I had given it to him he’d told me he didn’t love me. But this… thishad to mean something, and my heart was swelling, in danger of bursting.

Speechless, I ran my thumb over the polished gemstone. There was a tiny hole in the top, where the chain threaded through.

Aiden placed his hand over mine, closing my fingers around the guitar pick. “Alex…”

When my eyes met his, there was a brutal level of vulnerability in his stare, a sense of helplessness that I shared. I wanted to cry. “I know” And I did. I knew even if he never spoke those words, even if he refused to, I’d still know.

His lips parted. “Couldn’t fool you for that long, I guess.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, but a tear wiggled its way free, gliding down my cheek.

“Don’t cry.” He caught the tear with his finger as he pressed his forehead against mine. “Please. I hate when you cry because of me.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to be all weepy.” I wiped at my cheeks, feeling foolish. “It’s just that… I never did know.”

Aiden clasped the sides of my face, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead. “I wanted a piece of you with me always. No matter what.”

I shuddered. “But I don’t… I don’t have anything of you.”

“Yes, you do.” Aiden brushed his lips over my damp cheek. A soft smile filled his voice. “You’ll have a piece of my heart—all of it, really. Forever. Even if your heart belongs to someone else.”

My heart tumbled over, but I stilled. “What do you mean?”

He dropped his hands, leaning back. “I know you care about him.”

I did care about Seth. But he wasn’t my heart. When Aiden was there, in front of me, the co

“It’s not the same,” I whispered. “It never has been. You have my heart… and I only want to share my heart with you.”

Aiden’s eyes were back to liquid silver. I saw that before he lowered his gaze. Moments passed before his eyes flicked up, meeting mine. There seemed to be some sort of internal battle he struggled with. When he spoke, I wasn’t sure if he’d won or lost. “We should go to bed.”