Forget About Midnight (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #9)(76)

It wasn’t much, but it was enough for me to bite. “And these other reasons might be?” I kept my gaze fixed on the ceiling. There was nothing to look at but avoiding eye contact seemed to make it easier for Falon to talk to me like I was a person.

He dropped the chair leg with a clatter and resumed his previous position perched on the desk. “I bet you want to know how I fell, don’t you? How I lost my grace. There are many stories. All of them are wrong. The truth is that I chose to fall. I saw an opportunity to fight the enemy from the inside, and I took it.”

That startling revelation drew my gaze to him. I didn’t respond right away. I didn’t know how. Never had I considered that Falon might still be working for the light.

“But, you did so many shitty things,” I said. “I saw you kill a priest.” And screw a demon queen.

With a careless shrug, Falon slid open one of the desk drawers. He rifled through some blank papers inside before sliding it shut and opening another. “I’m not faking anything, Alexa. To fight the dark from the inside, I had to join them. I’m not light. I never will be again.”

“Then why do it? Seems like an exercise in futility.” I watched him closely, trying to be covert about it. This angel had always been an enigma. Every word he said fed my inquisitiveness.

“Some things must be done. Someone’s got to do them. Might as well be me.” He spoke without remorse or emotion of any kind, just a simple statement of fact.

I rolled over onto my side to face him and propped my head up on my hand. “Why stop halfway then? Wouldn’t you have a lot more power if you became a demon?”

“Yes. I would also lose the trust of those I’ve gotten close to. Like Shya, although it’s a bit late for that one.” Falon peered into a drawer filled with pens and pencils. The room didn’t have much in the way of entertainment.

Because I knew when I was being manipulated, I asked, “Why are you telling me this?” It made no sense that someone who despised me as much as Falon did would share such a deep truth.

He cocked his head to the side, listening to something I couldn’t hear. Knowing this building, it could be just about anything.

“So you know that you can trust me,” he said, somewhat distracted. “If we’re going to plot together against Shya, we need to be able to trust each other on some level.”

I couldn’t argue with that. He had a point. “So how am I supposed to prove that you can trust me?”

“By never repeating what I just told you.” His gaze met mine, and we shared an unspoken agreement. He looked away before it could get weird, toward the door. “You know, I think we may be able to get out of here after all. If I’m not mistaken, you may be able to break the ward.”

“Me?” I squeaked. “Unlikely.”

Fueled by his sudden idea, Falon leapt up and returned to the door. He held a hand out near it, sensing without touching.

“You’re a creature of the light. With my angelic power and your light, you may be able to break the ward.”

I made a noise of disbelief. “For one, I’m probably darker than you are. And for two, no way in hell am I taking your blood again.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t want to.” He cast a knowing smirk my way. “Get your ass over here.”

I sat up slowly, reluctant to do as he said. As soon as he brought my attention to his powerful blood, I did want it. I’d done a good job of ignoring it, seeing as getting out of there was my priority. Of course I want it, I thought. I just hate that I do.

When he gestured impatiently for me to hurry up, I moved even slower. It was impossible not to enjoy antagonizing him.

“Do you want to get out of here or don’t you?” he demanded, eyes flashing with annoyance.

“You know, I’m not so sure anymore. Maybe I’ll stay awhile. I could use the time to think.” The room was too small for me to drag it out much longer. I joined him at the door, peering out to see the guard seated a few doors down, in the middle of the hall where he could see every door. “Ok, what?”

Falon grabbed my hand and held it near the door, just inches away. “Do you feel anything?”

I shook him off, uneasy at his close proximity. Focusing on the door was difficult when my attention kept shifting to the heavy angel essence beside me. I could feel it fogging my mind, not that it was clear to begin with. The dark hunger within me tempted me with promises of how amazing that angelic power would feel coursing through me now that I was strong enough to control it.

“No, I don’t feel anything.” I didn’t. Whatever power was warding our only exit was beyond me, beyond life and death, having never been alive.

‘You want him,’ the evil entity whispered in my ear. ‘You can have him. There is no creature like you. Make him yours. Make them all yours.’

With a shake of my head, I clamped my hands over my ears and backed away from Falon until my back hit the wall. “Shut up, shut up.”

Covering my ears did nothing to drown out the malevolent voice. It only served to make it echo louder inside my mind.

Falon pulled my hands from my ears and searched me for some semblance of sanity. “It’s talking to you too, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, this isn’t the first time.” I slumped against the wall, feeling my resistance fade. Falon was starting to smell really damn good. My gaze landed on the pulse in his neck, and I licked my lips in anticipation.