“Are you deliberately trying to provoke a response from me?” she finally asked.
“Huh?” His voice sounded lazy and tired. He even yawned.
“Never mind.”
“What are you talking about?”
She sighed, staring at the darkness through the front window. Normally after a dream like the one she’d just had, the dark would scare her, but sitting in the pitch-black room with Dalton didn’t bother her at all for some reason.
“You’re touching me.”
He didn’t stop, his fingertips gliding over her arm. “Does it bother you?”
“Yes and no. I’m just trying to figure out your intent.”
“I’m relaxing you.”
“I’m fine.”
“True enough. You haven’t gone all demon on me.”
She snorted. “So do I get a cookie?”
“You’re a bit of a smart-ass, Isabelle.”
“So I’ve been told. And you didn’t answer my question.”
“What question?”
Men. Always talking in circles to avoid answering. “Are you trying to provoke the demon?”
“Maybe. The demon is part of who you are. You can’t avoid it forever.”
She shifted, facing him. She could see his face despite the darkened room. There was enough gray light sifting in from the moonlight that she could read his expression. But she couldn’t tell if he was teasing her or he was dead serious. “Won’t waking up the demon part of me alert the Sons of Darkness to our whereabouts?”
“I don’t think so. Because as Georgie said, there’s a part of you that doesn’t want to mix it up with the Sons of Darkness again. You’re doing a fine job of fighting their attempts to find you. I don’t think bringing out your demon side is going to alert them.”
Easy for him to say. He wasn’t having the kinds of nightmares she had, the feeling that the demons came for her every night, took her somewhere, had power over her. She started to pull away, not liking the direction this conversation-or his intent-was heading.
“Don’t.”
Her gaze shot to his. She wished there was more light so she could see his eyes. “Why?”
“We need each other.”
She didn’t understand that. She knew why she needed him-right now he was all she had, a lifeline to grasp on to. Otherwise, she’d be facing this nightmare alone. But why did he need her? “What do you mean?”
He hesitated. “I have to prove to the Realm of Light that there was a damn good reason I ran off with you.”
Things were becoming more clear. “You saved my life that day. You weren’t supposed to, were you?”
“No.”
She didn’t know why it had never dawned on her before. Maybe she hadn’t wanted to think about the possibility to voice it. “You were ordered to kill me, weren’t you?”
“Yes.”
She let that soak in for a second, though for some reason the knowledge didn’t surprise her. She was a demon now. She had become a threat to the Realm. It made perfect sense for them to want her dead. What didn’t make sense was why she still lived. “Why didn’t you?”
“Because for a second that night, when you looked right at me, I saw you. Not the demon. And I saw something in you that I–I saw something in you that was still human. That was worth saving.”
Dalton really did save her life that day in Italy. He’d not only rescued her from the Sons of Darkness; he had traded in his life with the Realm in order to keep her alive. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. I did what I thought was right, Isabelle. The others didn’t know you like I did. They didn’t see what I did. I made a choice.”
“You made a choice that cost you your career, your friends.”
“The hunters are-were-my friends, yes. Still are, I hope. We’ll get this thing with you figured out. Once we do, they’ll understand. And we’ll make it right with them.”
He made it sound so simple. Isabelle didn’t think it would be that easy. He had broken some policy or one of their sacred laws or something. Surely there would be consequences. She didn’t want him to be hurt because of her, because of what she was. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
Other than Angelique, she didn’t have friends or anyone she could count on. She’d always been on her own. No one had her back, so she’d relied only on herself. And she’d never made sacrifices for others. She had always been too into making sure her own needs were met. She didn’t understand why Dalton had given up so much for her.
“Why are you doing this, Dalton? For me?”
He didn’t answer for a while. She waited, not wanting to push him.
“I know how much it hurt you when I read your mother’s diary. I saw it on your face that day on the yacht.”
She remembered that day so clearly, seeing Dalton with her mother’s diary in his hands, knowing he’d read it, that he knew her secrets, knew her own mother thought her evil … She’d never wanted anyone to see that. “I wanted to burn that diary but I couldn’t.”
“It’s good that you didn’t. It gave the Realm insights into who you are.”
She snorted. “Even I don’t have those. And all it did was give the Realm ammunition to use against me.”
He shook his head. “Not true. It’ll take time for you to realize that the Realm is not your enemy. That’s why I’m doing this for you. My taking your diary was a catalyst for a lot of bad things happening to you. I felt responsible. I figure I owe you.”
She shook her head. “You don’t owe me anything. The Sons of Darkness would have found me, anyway. You’ve said so yourself.”
“Yeah. They probably would have.” He looked at her, and it was growing light enough now that she could see his eyes. Like mirrors. Beautiful, and truly open to her. “But I hurt you.”
Her lips lifted. “No, you didn’t hurt me. I did more damage to myself than you ever could.”
“How?”
“Self-hatred is a powerful weapon, you know.”
He swept her hair away from her face. “You have nothing to hate yourself for.”
She laughed. “I’m part demon, Dalton. I tried to kill my sister.”
“No … you didn’t.”
“My claws were at her throat. I raised my hand to strike. I-”
She realized then that she was remembering. Every thing. Including that moment when Dalton stopped her, when he told her he’d take her away. When the human side of her had come back, because she had forced it out. Part of her had wanted to come back long enough for him to see it.
“You remember that night in Sicily, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
Dalton had seen it. The human part of her had wanted to live that night, had wanted to triumph over the demon inside her. She hadn’t wanted to hurt Angelique-God knows she’d hated hurting her sister. She hadn’t wanted to be a pawn of the Sons of Darkness. That wasn’t Isabelle. She was a human being. Not a demon. She carried a demon’s blood inside her, but that’s not who she was-not who she wanted to be. She refused to let them turn her into one of their slaves.
Besides, Dalton had sacrificed everything for her. She couldn’t let him down.
“You’re right,” she finally said. “I have to fight this-fight them. They can’t win.”
He nodded. “And I’ll fight with you. For you.”
She grinned, hope surging for the first time. “Like my own personal knight in shining armor.”
He laughed. “Trust me, honey. I’m no knight. And my armor is kind of tarnished.”
“Even better. I hate perfection. Makes me feel inadequate.”