CHAPTER 387: A DEMON

Sylthara/Winter~

I sat on the edge of Nicholas’s bed, the room heavy with the kind of silence that buzzes beneath your skin. My fingers still tingled where his hands had held mine a moment ago—tight, almost desperate—as if he could anchor me to him through sheer force of will. His voice lingered in the air like smoke, curling around my ribs and settling deep in my chest.

"Nothing you say could make me walk away."

The words hit me like a slow, steady drumbeat. A promise. A vow. Something carved into the marrow of the night itself. I wanted—gods, I wanted—to believe him.

His eyes had found mine with a raw, unwavering intensity that made it hard to breathe. They were dark, storm-tossed seas, full of everything he couldn’t say out loud. His black hair was still messy from the wind earlier, falling over his forehead in wild strands that somehow made him look even more devastatingly sincere. He knelt there in front of me, shoulders squared, every line of his body screaming a silent plea: trust me.

And I almost did.

Because he was my mate. The one the fates had strung my soul to. Every instinct in me—wild, ancient, and hungry—was pulling me toward him like a tide that refused to be denied. My heart thundered, caught somewhere between hope and terror.

Then the memory slipped in like a sword between my ribs.

Vaelthor.

His voice had been low and sharp when he’d spoken to me earlier in the gardens. The early sunlight had painted his face in soft gold and shadow, his jaw clenched, eyes burning with that ruthless fire that had kept us alive for so long.

"Syl," he’d hissed, fingers digging into my arm. "The royals are poison. They’ll smile at you, draw you in, then turn on us like wolves on prey. Remember what they did to Mother. They’ll kill us the second they learn what we are."

I could still see it—his eyes, so much like hers. Dark as midnight. Unyielding.

Vaelthor wasn’t just my brother. He was my compass. My shield. The only family I had left after the world had chewed us up and spat us out. Ignoring his warning felt like stepping off a cliff and hoping the wind would catch me.

But Nicholas... Nicholas was different. Wasn’t he?

Fear clawed up my chest like ice, leaving shivers in its wake. What if Vaelthor was right? What if this love—this fragile, burning thing between us—was nothing more than an illusion? One sharp turn, and it could shatter, leaving nothing but the truth of what I was.

A monster. A demon.

And Nicholas—my Nicholas—might look at me not with love, but with the same cold hatred the rest of the world had always shown.

And that thought... that terrified me more than anything else.

But as I looked into Nicholas’s eyes now, that love shining there like stars piercing the night, it overwhelmed me. It was real—I could feel it in the bond between us, pulling taut like an invisible thread. Against every instinct, every whispered caution from Vaelthor, I felt myself teetering on the edge. My heart pounded, a frantic drumbeat echoing the storm outside. I had to know if this could be real. If we could be real.

"Nick," I whispered, my voice barely above a breath, trembling as I reached out to touch his cheek. His skin was warm under my fingertips, a stark contrast to the chill settling in my bones. "Do you... do you really mean that? That nothing could change how you feel?"

He nodded without hesitation, his hands coming up to cover mine, holding them against his face like I was something precious. "I swear it, Winter. On everything I am—vampire, wolf, whatever mess of a hybrid that makes me. Tell me your secrets. Let me in."

I pulled back slightly, my blue eyes—wait, no, my eyes were red, hidden behind the glamour I’d worn ever since I appeared under the golden sun. But in this moment, they felt exposed. I stood up slowly from the bed, my legs shaky, the heavy velvet curtains behind me swaying like silent witnesses. The room smelled of him—leather and parchment, with that faint metallic hint that always lingered, reminding me of his vampire side. It was comforting and terrifying all at once. "Okay," I said, my voice cracking. "But first... swear to me again. Swear you won’t hate me. That you won’t try to kill me—or harm my brother. No matter what I tell you. Please, Nick. I need to hear it."

He rose to his feet in one fluid motion, towering over me but not in a threatening way—more like a shield against the world. His dark eyes searched mine, confusion flickering there for a split second before resolve hardened his features. "Winter, what’s this about? Of course I swear. I could never hate you. Never hurt you or Vincent. You’re my mate. He’s part of you, so he’s part of me now. I promise on my life, on my parents’ lives—Sebastian and Cassandra, who fought through hell to be together. Nothing changes that."

His words wrapped around me like a warm embrace, pushing back the fear just enough. But my heart was still racing, thumping so hard I thought it might burst from my chest. I could feel the glamour itching under my skin, begging to be shed, but the vulnerability of it all made me hesitate. "Please," I pleaded, stepping closer, my hands fidgeting at my sides. "Just... be open-minded. Promise me you won’t... react badly."

Nicholas frowned, those perfect brows drawing together, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he reached out, tucking a strand of my hair—blonde in this disguise, but soon to reveal its true raven hue—behind my ear. "I promise, Winter. Whatever it is, we’ll face it together. I’m not going anywhere."

Gathering every ounce of courage I had, I closed my eyes and let the illusion fall away. It was like peeling off a second skin, a ripple of dark energy coursing through me. My human facade dissolved— the fair hair darkening to inky black that fell down my back like shadows come alive, my skin paling to an ethereal glow with faint veins of midnight blue tracing beneath the surface. Horns, small and curved like crescent moons, emerged from both sides of my head, and my eyes... I knew they’d shifted to that piercing red, the color of fresh blood under moonlight. My powers hummed awake fully—darkness manipulation ready at my fingertips, dream-walking whispers teasing the edges of my mind. I stood there, exposed, my simple dress now feeling too tight against this true form, vulnerable in a way I’d never been before.

I opened my eyes slowly, looking up at him, my breath caught in my throat. "This... this is me, Nick. The real me."

For a heartbeat, the room was silent, save for the morning wind now blowing against the windows like waves of accusations. Nicholas’s face... oh gods, his face. The love I’d seen moments ago drained away, replaced by wide-eyed horror. His mouth parted, but no words came at first. He staggered back a step, his hand dropping from where it had been reaching for me.

"A... a demon?" he stammered, his voice shaking, barely above a whisper. It wasn’t anger—not yet—but the shock hit me like a physical blow. His dark eyes, usually so magnetic and cocky, now darted over me, taking in the horns, the eyes, the subtle aura of shadows that clung to my skin like mist.

I nodded, fear coiling in my gut like a serpent. Tears pricked at my eyes, hot and unbidden. "Yes," I whispered, my voice small and broken. "I’ve always been a demon. Since the day I was born. Nick, please... say something."

He didn’t. Instead, he took another step back, his chest heaving as if he’d been punched. The air between us crackled with tension, the thunder outside booming like laughter at my foolishness. "Always?" he repeated, his tone laced with disbelief, maybe even betrayal. His hand ran through his black hair, tugging at it as if to ground himself. "You... you’re a demon? Like... like the ones my parents..."

He didn’t finish the sentence, but I knew. The ones his parents had destroyed. My mother—Kalmia, the demoness slain by Natalie, Zane, Sebastian and Cassandra. The weight of it crashed over me, and I reached out instinctively. "Nick, wait—"

But he bolted. Without another word, he turned on his heel and fled the room, the door slamming behind him with a force that rattled the books on the shelves. The sound echoed through me, shattering something deep inside. I crumpled to the floor, my knees hitting the carpet with a dull thud, tears streaming down my face. What had I done? The fear Vaelthor warned me about—it was real now, clawing at my heart. I’d trusted him, bared my soul, and now... now everything was broken.

I sobbed into my hands, the room spinning around me—the four-poster bed mocking me with its empty expanse, the curtains whispering secrets I wished I could take back. "What have I done?" I whispered to the empty air, my voice choked with regret. The storm raged on outside, but inside, my world had already crumbled.