Lucian's POV
We hit the ground hard, dirt and dead leaves exploding around us. Damien rolled to his feet first, brushing off his expensive coat like we'd just had a minor disagreement instead of me throwing us both through half the forest.
"Still dramatic as ever," he said, straightening his tie.
I pushed myself up, spitting out a leaf. "Cut the small talk, Damien. What do you want?"
"What I want?" His laugh was sharp and bitter, his head tilting back slightly as the sound echoed through the trees. "I want you to stop messing with my targets. That boy was mine, Lucian. Weeks of waiting carefully for the right time, waiting for his anger to reach that perfect boiling point..." He gestured wildly with both hands, his usually composed face twisted with frustration. "And you ruined it all."
"Poor baby." I dusted off my jacket, noting the new tears in the fabric. "Maybe you're losing your touch."
His eyes flashed black for a split second, pupils dilating until they swallowed the color completely before snapping back to normal. The muscle in his jaw twitched. "Don't test me, brother. Just because you taught me everything doesn't mean I won't put you down."
"You could try." The words came out before I could stop them. Old habits.
We circled each other like wolves, the way we used to during training sessions back when we were on the same side. His shoulders were squared, hands loose at his sides. The difference was, back then it was practice. Now it wasn't.
"You know what I don't get?" Damien said, his voice casual but his stance ready for another attack. His eyebrows drew together in mock confusion. "Why do you care so much about some random college kid? Since when does a dangerous demon like you play guardian angel? And despite being punished, you're still playing games with your sentence."
Maybe I was just tired of watching people make the same stupid mistakes over and over again. And I was tired of living, being alive for centuries was enough to make me bored of my past job and everything. So if I passed this punishment or if I didn't, I didn't care about disappearing forever.
"It's her, isn't it?" Damien's voice cut through my thoughts like a blade.
I went very still. "What?"
"The girl. Selene." He grinned, showing teeth that were just a little too sharp, his lips pulling back in a predatory smile. "She does look a lot like her. Your precious Selene Adregon."
I got really angry "Don't you mention her name." How the hell did he know about Selene Blackwood? Had he been spying on me and I couldn't notice?
"She was a great witch, you know." His eyes lit up with malicious glee, watching my face carefully for every reaction.
I grabbed him by the neck, my fingers digging into his throat, but Damien just laughed. He would never shut up when he had ammunition like this.
"You know what's surprising?" he wheezed through my grip, "You're still about to make the same mistake and end your life forever." he said angrily.
"Shut the fuck up." My voice came out as a growl.
"Tell me, brother," he continued, prying at my fingers with both hands, "how long has it been since you properly fed? When did you last take a soul for yourself?"
The question hit because he was right. I couldn't remember the last time I'd actively corrupted someone. During punishment, demons were allowed to take souls to maintain their strength, it was practically encouraged to keep us functional. But I'd been refusing that basic need, letting myself weaken day by day.
I released his throat, and he rubbed the red marks I'd left, his expression shifting to something almost pitying.
"That's what I thought." Damien's responded, his head shaking slowly from side to side. "You're going soft, Lucian. And you know what happens to soft demons because you've experienced it."
His words hit like a physical blow. I had experienced it. The fall, the punishment, the humiliation of being stripped of everything I'd worked for.
"I'm handling my assignment just fine."
"Are you?" He pulled out his phone, swiping through something with deliberate slowness, his eyebrows raised in mock interest. "Because my sources tell me your department head has been asking questions."
My blood ran cold. If the administration started looking too closely at my methods...
"Relax," Damien said, pocketing the phone with a satisfied smirk. His hand patted his coat pocket twice, like he was securing a weapon. "I haven't said anything. Yet. But I could. One phone call, and your little human masquerade comes crashing down. Then what? Back to the pit for you, while I keep climbing the ladder."
"So what's your angle?" I asked, though I already knew.
"Simple." He brushed an imaginary speck of dirt from his sleeve, his movements deliberately casual. "Stop interfering with my work." He straightened his coat again, "And if you cross me again, I'll make sure everyone knows exactly what you've been up to. Deal?"
I stared at him for a long moment, studying the confident set of his shoulders, the way his chin lifted slightly as he waited for my answer.
"No deal," I said.
His expression shifted from smug confidence to genuine surprise, his mouth falling open slightly before snapping shut. His eyebrows shot up almost to his hairline. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me. I'm not about to start trusting demons now."
"Coming from a demon?" Damien laughed, but there was no humor in it now. His face darkened, shadows seeming to gather around his eyes. "Or do you think you're human? Listen to yourself. You sound like one of them. When did you start caring about mortals, Lucian?"
"Maybe I always did," I said quietly.
Damien's face darkened completely, his features turning ugly and dangerous. His hands clenched into fists at his sides. "Then you're more lost than I thought."
He moved faster this time, but I was ready. We crashed together like thunder, his shoulder slamming into my chest as I caught his wrists. The impact sent us both stumbling backward, leaves and dirt flying around us.
"You always were stubborn," he snarled, his face inches from mine.
I twisted, throwing him over my shoulder. He hit a tree trunk with a thud. "And you always talked too much."
He pushed himself off the tree, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. When he pulled it away, I could see his canines had lengthened into proper fangs. "Fine. If you want to do this the hard way..."
His form began to shift, shadows bleeding from his skin like smoke. His human mask was slipping, revealing glimpses of what lay beneath, scales that caught the dim light filtering through the trees and eyes that burned like coals.
"Still hiding behind your human face?" he taunted, his voice deepening as his true form began to emerge. "Or have you forgotten how?"
I felt my own control slipping, the careful human facade I'd maintained for months starting to crack. Heat built in my chest, spreading outward through my limbs. My vision sharpened, colors becoming more vivid, sounds more distinct.
"There he is," Damien breathed, his transformed face splitting into a horrible grin. "There's the demon I used to know."
We circled each other again.
"Last chance, Lucian," he said, his voice now a rumbling growl that seemed to come from everywhere at once. "Walk away. Go back to your little classroom and stop interfering with my job, and I'll let you keep breathing."
I could feel my human mask slipping further, could feel the familiar rush of power flowing through my veins. It had been so long since I'd let myself be what I really was. The temptation was almost overwhelming.
The sound of footsteps on dead leaves made us both freeze. Another heartbeat, which was faster and more fragile than ours cut through the tension.
"Professor Lucian?"
I turned to see Selene standing a short distance away from us, her eyes wide as she took in the scene before her.