It was past midnight when Erlik fell asleep. Though I was angry with him for referring to me as a mortal, I mulled over his last words again and again. He told me he loved me. “How can I believe him?” I thought. “And how could a demon be capable of love?”

In the blackness of the dungeon I studied his features. He had the body of a demigod, as if each muscle were sculpted by hand. His red skin glistened against the light from the lava pit, and his horns were sharp and long with vibrant colors. It scares me to think that I could have spent eternity away from my friends and family back on earth, but I did love him and am not really over it still.

I laid down on the hard stone beside him and tried to think of Michael. But my combined fear and attraction pulled me closer to Erlik. I rested my head on his arm and cried, realizing that I loved him more than life itself and would even forgo a life back on earth to be with him now and always. He opened his eyes, touched my chin and told me we had to leave.