Free Cursed (Demon Kissed #2) by Holly Ward Page B

blazing as he stared at the Martis
who was questioning him—Julia.
    “ Answer the question,
Eric. Did you or did you not see Ivy Taylor perform a demon kiss on
a Valefar to revive him?” Julia’s jaw locked as she gripped the oak
partition in front of her.
    Eric sounded like he could barely
restrain himself, “Yes.”
    “ And did you or did you
not have the opportunity to destroy both Ivy Taylor and this
Valefar?” Julia was leaning forward now, her eyes narrowing. The
room was utterly silent.
    Eric’s jaw tightened. For a brief
second his eyes flicked to mine, and then stared at Julia. “Yes.”
The gasps in the courtroom were so loud that it took a few minutes
for Julia to restore order.
    Another Martis sitting next to Julia
spoke out. His voice resonated through the remnants of shocked
whispers, “Then answer, boy. Why did you betray your own kind and
let her live?”
    At that second I understood what was
happening. They didn’t call Eric back for his testimony; they
called him back to condemn him—for sparing my life. They were
asking him about a different night; a night that happened so fast
that I wasn’t sure what happened at all. They were questioning Eric
about the evening that I saved Collin. I never would have said I
gave him a demon kiss. A demon kiss rips the victim’s soul out of
their body through a kiss. No, that wasn’t what happened at
all.
    That night was a flood of images
forever burned behind my eyes. Eric’s face contorted with rage when
he saw me emerge with Collin. He thought I was bound to Collin. He
thought I turned Valefar. Eric’s sword swung and slashed through
Collin. There was so much blood. Collin’s limp body lay in my lap,
as I cradled him in my arms. Tears blurred my vision. And before I
knew what happened, I kissed him. I gave him my blood…my tainted
angel blood. But that wasn’t the craziest thing I’d done. No, I did
something more insane.
    And that was what the Martis found
out. That was why they were enraged. Someone told them that I’d
saved Collin. Someone had told them that my kiss with Collin worked
like a demon kiss in reverse. Instead of stealing Collin’s soul, I
gave him a piece of mine—a piece big enough for him to
live.
    I saved a Valefar. And not just any
Valefar. The leader of the Valefar—Collin Smith.
    And Eric…he did nothing to stop it,
which was equally shocking since he was the golden boy of the
Martis warriors. Martis came from all over the world to learn from
him. There was no one better than him. But, he let this
happen.
    My eyes widened, and I felt myself
leaning towards him. Why did he let that happen? I never realized
what he did. There was a second when I was vulnerable, but Eric
didn’t strike. He sliced through Collin, but hesitated when it came
to me. I always thought that the dark mist that swirled around
Collin and I had protected me. Maybe it hadn’t. Maybe Eric
faltered.
    My opinion of him shattered. I had no
idea what to think. Eric hated Valefar. He detested everything
about them, and I was half Valefar. But he saved me. He spared me
when he thought I was a full Valefar? What the hell? Why would he
do that? Did he really do that?
    Stunned, I stood there with my mouth
hanging open. I had no idea what I thought of Eric at that moment,
but I wanted him to stop speaking. He was damning himself. His kind
wouldn’t forgive his actions.
    Not for this. It appeared to be beyond
an accident. Sparing me was beyond a colossal failure.
    It was mutiny.
    Before I realized I was moving, a
strong hand clamped down on both my shoulders. I looked back at the
guards, and they shook their heads indicating for me to remain
where I was.
    Eric swallowed hard. A vein on the
side of his face was throbbing, and his temples shined with sweat.
He unclenched his jaw and spoke calmly and evenly, not apologizing,
“I cannot say.”
    Julia shot up from her seat enraged.
“You can say! And you will! Why didn’t you kill them? You had the
Prophecy One in