Chapter 71 Chapter 71
Maxwell did not need long to find Valerie; after all, she wasn’t exactly subtle, looking like a beacon in the dark. She radiated so much light that everything around her appeared ten times brighter than it was supposed to be. Hearing him approach her, she snapped her head around, barely making him out over the brightness surrounding her.
“What are you doing, idiot?” he hissed angrily, but she could hear the confusion and slight waver in his voice.
“I don’t know. This just happened, I have no idea what caused it,” she said. The damn light felt painful, and the otherworldly power that ran through her body was burning hot.
“Damn human, always causing trouble,” he grumbled, unbothered by the hot light. The closer he got, the more it dimmed. He reached out a hand to touch her wrist, and that was the moment it vanished entirely. They were enveloped by darkness. Breathing heavily in exertion, she felt more than a little drained, leaning her back against the wall behind her while looking at him hesitantly.
“I’ve suppressed it for now,” he explained in a huff. “But since you can’t control it at all, it will come back if you are too far away from me.”
“What was that?”
He narrowed his eyes like he couldn’t believe it himself. “It was light magic. I have no idea where it came from all of a sudden, but we need to do something about it. This could get dangerous if we leave it as it is. Demonic magic is not something a human should come in contact with. Its raw power could rip your body apart if you are not careful.”
“Very reassuring,” she mumbled sarcastically. “Let me guess. This is your fault, right?”
“Because, according to you, it’s always my fault,” he snarled back, his rage boiling over once more. “At least be thankful I came here. You could have died sooner or later.”
“Which means you only came here to save your own skin,” she countered harshly. “Selfish demon.”
“You’re the most ungrateful being I have ever met,” he shot back.
“I can’t wait to sever the bond to be rid of you.”
“Likewise.”
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Valerie had never felt so uncomfortable in her flat, in the place she called home. The demon’s presence pushed her mood down and made it impossible for her to focus. She was on edge constantly and could not calm down. Had he not suppressed the magic within her, it would have been all over the place due to the chaos in her mind.
She was angry, anxious, and hurt.
A part of her wanted to cut Maxwell out of her life and never deal with this crap again, while another part wanted things to go back to the way they were before.
However, that would be difficult after all the harsh words she had screamed at him. I can’t wait to sever the bond. That had been the last straw, the sentence that made everything ten times worse than it already was, and she wished she could take it back.
Valerie remembered the hurt that had flashed through his blue eyes, remembered how they were dyed deep red just seconds after. He’d hidden the pain her words had caused him behind his rage, but she had felt the sting in her heart. In hindsight, she should have just kept her mouth shut instead of making everything worse.
She stared at the gleaming star on her wrist and sighed. It was hard to fathom how complicated her life had become over the past month. The demonic crest on her skin was proof that she could not just cut him out of her life. They had to depend on each other for this to work out, but how should that go when they couldn’t even speak to each other without arguing?
Heaving another deep sigh, she left her bedroom, walking to the kitchen. She avoided the living room like the plague and went to the fridge, unsure about what she wanted to eat for breakfast. Closing the fridge when she didn’t find anything, she opted to make toast for herself.
Usually, she would ask if Maxwell wanted breakfast too, but today she decided against it. He would only yell at her, and she wanted to spare herself from being a target for his anger yet again.
Turning on her heels, she walked back to the counter and readied her breakfast, making coffee and sitting down at the table. She absentmindedly scrolled through the messages on her smartphone, spotting one from Thorne. Apparently, the interview with Jackson had been a big success, sales of the newspaper going up, and their website receiving more clicks than usual. She smiled proudly and typed a quick message in which she thanked him for his praise. At least that part of her life was going smoothly, even when everything else was falling apart.
While she was busy eating, the person she wanted to see least walked into the room, coming to a stop when he saw her. His eyes narrowed, and her throat went dry under his harsh scrutiny.
“So, now you don’t even want to eat breakfast with me anymore,” he said bitterly. “Funny how you call me selfish.”
She swallowed and avoided his eyes. “You… you’re a demon, it’s not like you need food,” she said quietly.
“I don’t want to hear your stupid excuses,” he hissed.
“Then do me a favor and go,” she replied, not knowing how to handle his sudden aggressiveness towards her.
“If we broke the bond, I would leave in an instant,” he spat, clenching his fists. “I don’t want to be around you anymore.”
“Why are you mad at me, huh?” she yelled, her appetite gone. Pushing the plate away from her, she glared at him.
“Because you’re acting like an ungrateful bitch. Why did you run away from me twice yesterday? What’s your problem?” he screamed back, the loudness of his enraged voice making her flinch. Light radiated from his fists, and his shoulders trembled as he fought to regain his composure, but the anger had him under its control.