“You’re far too handsome to be a Malphas.”
Was she insane? He was completely demon in her presence. The one thing he’d learned early in his life was that humans hated them whenever they wore their demon skins. Everything about his kind was repugnant to the human species.
Yet it didn’t seem to faze her at all.
Not even the darkness of his blood or the length of his claws that had been designed to shred human flesh seemed to bother her. She acted as if he were as normal to her as daylight.
And it softened his hardened warrior’s heart in a way nothing ever had before. “What name would you have for me, then, little one?”
She pursed her lips into an adorable frown as she considered it. Then, to his complete consternation, she reached up and gently brushed his orange hair back from his face so that she could cup his cheek and study his features. “Caleb.”
It left him speechless that she’d instinctively picked a name so close to his summoning name … as if she could sense it somehow. But more than that …
“Caleb?” He shuddered. “Why such an awful thing?”
She dropped her hand to the center of his chest. “Because I sense in you a true heart. A faithful heart. And by your wounds and scars, I can tell that you are fearless. So I shall call you Caleb, the faithful, fearless warrior who defends what he believes with everything he has. That is what I see when I look upon you. Not a demon. An ever-courageous, noble warrior. One day, I suspect, you shall look into a mirror and see the same noble man I do.”
And with those handful of words, Lilliana shattered the icy barrier that had caged his heart since the moment he’d been forsaken to this harsh bitter world without friend or family. “I can assure you that I will never look into a mirror and see a man there. At least not that I don’t scream. Then kill it.”
She laughed. “You know what I mean. Now let me see about collecting your sword before it’s found and they begin looking for you. Then I’ll make sure you have supplies until you’re well enough to rejoin your army.”
Malphas’s breath had left him in a rush as he realized that he’d completely forgotten his weapon.
What the hell?
He’d never in his life set his sword aside. Never been disarmed by anyone.
Until now.
Malphas had set it aside without a second thought. What magick did this human wield so effortlessly that she could ensnare the most lethal demon commander in the entire Mavromino army? For weeks now, he’d been pursued by their deadliest forces. Even wounded he’d put down their best soldiers with minimal effort.
And she had done nothing more than smile and he’d laid aside his sword.
I’m an idiot.
One who expected her to return with enemies to use his sword to kill him. After all, they would need such a weapon, forged by the gods, to damage his flesh, as mortal weapons were harmless against him.
But she didn’t. Instead, she returned, just as she’d promised, his weapon in hand and a basket of food for him in the other. Without a single reservation, she’d handed his sword to him. Then given him food and drink, and redressed his wound.
When she finally left the cave later that day, she’d carried his heart with her. A heart he hadn’t even known he possessed. With nothing more than a handful of spirited words and a kindness he’d never known, she’d taken the most lethal demon ever spawned by the most vicious, callous creatures the Source had spat out, and captivated him.
Centuries later, Caleb still loved her. He still grieved for her and kept her memory sacred. And he continued to use the name she’d given him to remind himself that his wife, alone, had seen something inside him besides a monster.
Lilliana had taught him to fight, not simply against his father because he hated him, but for his convictions because that was what a man of honor did.
It was the right thing to do.
I pray that you never again reach for this sword, Lord Husband. But should the day ever come when you must return to war, then it should be to protect what you love. Never again for hatred or fear. And never should you battle for vengeance.
Nick felt the same emotions Caleb had felt on the day he’d plastered his demonic sword into the wall of his cottage bedroom. Wrapped in enchanted cloth and bound with a protection spell to keep his enemies from locating him, he’d promised his wife that he was done with battle forever.
Never again would he fight for any cause. His only goal was to remain home with her on her farm, in the guise of a humble human.
But the gods hadn’t allowed him that peace. They’d dragged him back to their war against his will. Yet true to his word, he hadn’t returned to fight for the Mavromino.
He’d reemerged as a champion for the Kalosum—the side of light. His love for his wife had proven far greater than his hatred for his father, and to please his Lilliana and save her people, he’d fought with his enemies, and protected them with every ounce of his demonic strength.