A Demon's Wrath: Part II (Peachville High Demons) by Sarra Cannon Page B

never ask such a sacrifice
from you.”
    The tears she had been able to hold back in front
of her father escaped onto her cheeks. “You should know by now
that you would never have to ask,” she said.
    Her hand slipped from mine.
    “Do you want to say goodbye to your
parents?” she asked.
    I shook my head. “If Aerden is dead to them,
then they are dead to me, too.”
    “Gather anything you want to take with you
and then get some rest,” she said, wiping the tears from her
face. “We’ll leave at dawn.”

The Love She Deserved
    We arrived at camp of The Resistance three days
later.
    We’d taken our time getting there since I
still hadn’t fully recovered from my injuries. Lea was also
concerned that her father might have us followed, so she led us on a
strange path, taking detours across swamps and into the forest,
making it difficult for anyone to track us.
    Andros and the others were very happy to see us
and they welcomed us into their village and their lives with open
arms.
    As soon as we were settled, our real training
began. Andros took charge of our battle training, sparring with us
from early morning until mid-afternoon every day. It was obvious
right from the start that we both had a lot to learn.
    Everything I thought I knew about fighting was
incredibly basic. Beginner stuff that was practically useless in a
real battle. But Andros took me under his wing and taught me how to
fight like a true warrior. Over time, I improved.
    Lea, however, excelled. She was a natural fighter
with an affinity for ranged weapons.
    At times, I worried that she had followed me here
out of loyalty. Or love.
    But other times, especially during our training, I
saw her anger come through. I recognized her pain.
    She had looked up to her father as the perfect
example of a ruler and king, but now the veil had been lifted from
her eyes. She saw him for the coward he was. And I could see that the
truth had changed her. Hardened her. I tried to get her to talk about
it, but any time I mentioned her father, she clammed up and refused
to speak.
    “I’m not his daughter anymore,”
she would say.
    As part of our daily tasks, I took on the job of
watering the crops while Lea helped with the cooking. Sometimes after
dinner we would walk together, hand-in-hand, and talk about the day’s
activities.
    Sometimes we sat around the fire telling stories
of our loved ones and remembering the happier days. Lea curled close
to me on the colder nights and I began to like the feel of her warm
body pressed against mine.
    And I hated myself for it.
    Every touch became a betrayal of the worst kind.
    It should be Aerden here by her side, not me.
    One night, when everyone else had gone to bed, Lea
and I stayed up talking by the fire. She ran her fingers lazily
across my arm as she began to talk about the future. Our future.
    I had no problem talking about the past.
Remembering was how I stayed close to Aerden.
    But the future she was dreaming about was
something I couldn’t see. She talked about what we would do
after we won the war against the Order of Shadows. How someday we
would become the leaders our people truly deserved.
    “He cannot deny me the throne,” she
said of her father. “The people will still accept us as their
rightful King and Queen.”
    She spoke of restoring peace to the land and
building a safe home together.
    And in time, her talk turned to children.
    I stood then, my stomach tight. I walked away from
the firelight, my back turned.
    She came up behind me, wrapping her arms around my
waist and pressing her face against my back.
    “I know it’s difficult to imagine a
future when we’re preparing for battle, but I need this,”
she said softly. She sounded so vulnerable. “I need to know we
still have this hope of a real life together that doesn’t
involve humans or swords or dark magic. I need to know that the light
of your love still shines for me.”
    I stiffened, unable to return her affection. “And
what about