I watched Damien, unable to move.

I couldn't look away from his amethyst eyes.

His eyes scanned me, waiting.

My mind raced a million miles a minute as he watched me and, through it all, I still couldn't form words.

There was no way–no way–that he was telling the truth.

He was waiting for me to say something.

I opened my mouth then shut it again.

I couldn't form words.

"Damn it, Em." He sighed, running a shaking hand through his hair. "Say something."

I looked at his shaking hands. Shaking? Was he nervous? No. He couldn't be nervous from just speaking to me.

The moment was surreal, ridiculous. It couldn't be happening.

After a long pause, I asked the only question that I could come up with. It was the only conclusion my mind could come to with what he just said. "Are you making fun of me?"

He exhaled sharply, shifting in his stance. "Gods." A favorite word of his he'd use often followed by a curse word.

"I-I-Is this some sort of joke?" I stammered but I didn't care. "Because if it is, it isn't funny."

"No!" He sighed. "Gods, Em, I would never-" He stopped, shaking his head. His hands dropped at his sides in defeat. "I'm not making fun of you. I'm telling you the truth."

I shook my head and repeated. "Is this a joke?"

This time, he shook his head. "No, love, I am not that cruel."

Love.

He called me 'love'.

I covered my mouth with both hands. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God."

He chuckled as he gently brushed a piece of hair away from my face. "A man professes his love for you and that's all you can say?"

I almost jumped out of my skin at his gesture, instead I shook my head, trying to clear up the fog. This had to be a mistake. A big, monumental mistake.

"But you're in love with Leah!"

He sighed again-- I'd never heard him sigh so much before. He ran the same hand through his hair. "I-I never said I was."

I blinked as I ran through the events of the past couple of days. He was right, he never said it–I assumed it. But people that loved each other got married. Didn't they?

I shook my head to get rid of the thought. "But you're getting married."

He groaned as if in anger and rolled his perfect eyes. "Don't remind me."

My mind couldn't wrap itself around the concept–I kept coming up against a mental wall. "But you're getting married, Damien!"

This couldn't be happening. The King of the Underworld could not have fallen in love with a meek, normal human. Not with me.

No.

No way.

He gently placed his hands on my shoulders and looked me right in the eyes, making it impossible to look anywhere else. "And I am in love with you, Emylin. You clueless, wonderful creature."

That was what did it, what finally broke through my mental shock. Finally, I could form coherent sentences. "Was it when you kissed me the other day?"

He let me go and sighed, taking several steps back in thought. "No."

He started pacing, something he often did to release anxious energy. He was thinking, his hands in front of his face, his fingers steepled as if in prayer. He wasn't though; as long as I knew Damien, he'd never prayed to any of the gods that he'd often mentioned when he cursed.

I was afraid to ask. "How long then?"

He didn't look at me as he spoke. "A couple of years."

My heart pained. Years? He'd been in love with me for years?

And it hit me instantly, fitting together like pieces of a puzzle I could never put together on my own.

The stolen glances, the remarks, his actions. I'd dismissed them all before as playful banter. They weren't that at all.

He was in love with me.

I'd been so blind.

"Why?"

He chuckled. "Why? I often asked myself that, why you of all people? And I eventually figured it out. It's just you being you. Your stupid jokes, your mannerisms, your sarcasm, the way you dance when you think no one is looking." He laughed. "The way you dance when you catch them looking, you're a pretty good dancer then you get ridiculous. Your heart, your selflessness- " He stopped and laughed again after a moment. "I didn't even realize it at first. I think it started at prom."

I didn't go to my high school prom. He created one for me. Just the two of us dancing on the deck in the backyard of my parent's house. I should have known...

"It was why I introduced myself to your parents. I was desperate to find something however small to just make me stop thinking about you. Anything." He chuckled as he looked up at me. "It didn't work."

I couldn't hide my expression. I was in awe, perplexed. How had this managed to happen?

He laughed. "Then I tried to bed any woman willing. And that worked... for a while.

"But by then, it'd been two years and there wasn't a day when I didn't toy with the idea of just telling you everything. So I stopped." He shrugged then crossed his arms. "And I tried to pursue you instead."

I couldn't hide my surprise–he'd never said anything like that to me. He'd never thrown so much as a hint! "When?"

"The concert. The winery."

My hand flew to my face in annoyance, the face palm echoing loudly in the room. Of course, he had, of course, he made a comment. "The concert," I groaned.

He laughed quietly. "You remember."

He had grabbed my hand, pulled me closer, and asked me if I would want to be with him. And I'd dismissed it, putting it to a drunken stupor on both our parts and never mentioned it again. I raked my hands through my hair in frustration, still loose, probably a mess from the commotion earlier.

He reached for my hand and took it, placing it in both of his. "You weren't interested then."

I watched him with bated breath, watching him gently caress my hand in his.

"So, I waited," his eyes turned back to me, soft and exposed. "I didn't want to force you into anything. I knew better. I could wait until you finished college. You're very dedicated, you know? You don't focus much outside of your school and work."

"Apparently," I mumbled.

He smiled softly and continued after a moment. His next words were pained, very different from the tone he'd used. "And then Father died and when I ascended the throne- " He cut himself off and sighed heavily. "When I learned of the law, I knew I could never have you. As a prince, I could spend a lifetime with you, but now-"

He spoke cooly, but I could sense the pain in his voice. "I would never do you the disservice of being a mistress. It's beneath you."

He placed a hand on the back of my neck and moved closer to me, his lips grazing my ear as he spoke. My breath caught in surprise at the sudden intimacy. "You deserve a crown of jewels, more magnificent than your mortal mind can ever imagine. I'd give you anything, Em, just to make you happy."

My heart broke. It felt like it was in a vice with every one of his words twisting and squeezing it even tighter. I couldn't believe his words. These words could not be meant for me. I was no one special, no one worthy of it.

It had to be some sort of mistake.

Without warning, he planted a small kiss on my cheek.

I froze. "What are you doing?"

He pressed his cheek against mine, but didn't let me go. He was conflicted, I could feel it in how he stood against me. He was fighting himself, pulling and pushing, unsure of what to do.

Finally, he spoke his voice was a soft whisper. "Ask me to stop." He planted another kiss close to the first.

My heart broke for him.

His sweet words, his actions, they moved me, and yet...

I didn't feel the same way he did.

I never had. It was why I never noticed how he looked at me and why I brushed his comments aside.

He was my best friend, almost a brother to me-- I couldn't force myself to feel for him the way he did for me.

And then there was Leah...

I was so sure, so sure that he had fallen for her.

I was also sure that he would never feel this way for a human...

This was wrong.

So wrong.

He pulled away, his fingers trailed my jawline and cheeks as he watched my expression. He was testing, gauging how far he could go without me stopping him.

His eyes flitted to my lips then back to my eyes. He leaned closer.

I placed my hand firmly on his chest. "Stop."

Confusion creased his brow as he pulled away and watched me.

I shook my head. "I can't do this to you, Damien. I'm sorry."

He closed his eyes firmly, but didn't pull away. It was like he didn't want to believe what I was saying.

"You're my very best friend, but I don't think I have those kind of feelings for you. I'm sorry."

He stepped back placing distance between us. The pain on his face said more than any words could.

I just broke his heart.

"I'm human and you're marrying Leah in two days," I swallowed the lump in my throat again. "I can't do this to you or her."

His expression changed in an instant. It was no longer one of pain or defeat.

It was one of pure anger. His eyes darkened as he looked back at me. "I understand."

I tried to be gentle regardless. "Does Leah know?" I asked softly.

He looked away. "No."

"She adores you, Damien, you must know that." My voice was soft, even as he looked away and gave me his back. "Are you going to continue to lie to her? Are you going to be in a loveless marriage? Won't you be miserable?"

He turned suddenly, his jaw tensed. "I don't seem to have a choice in the matter, Emylin. Sacrifices have to be made."

"Sacrifice?" I almost whispered, disbelieving. I'd always thought that people that loved each other would marry. That marriage wouldn't be a sacrifice.

"Yes. Sacrifice. Something you know nothing of."

His words stung. "I don't know sacrifice? Are you serious?"

He crossed his arms but didn't budge. "When have you ever had to sacrifice anything? You have everything you want. Family, friends, career. Isn't that what you've wanted? I've barely seen you sacrifice anything for it."

Tears stung my eyes, crowded my vision. My best friend --the only friend I had-- couldn't be saying this.

I knew he was hurt but it was no excuse for his words. I stepped away from the doors. "You need to leave."

He scoffed, a small smile hinting his lips. "What? You don't like what I'm saying?"

"So what is this?" I asked him feeling tears crowd my vision. "I hurt you so you intentionally hurt me?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

I exploded. "Do you know what it's been like to keep your secret, Damien? It's damn lonely. I have to keep people at arm's length to keep you a secret from everyone else in my life. I can't even tell my parents where we go when we hang out. How do I explain a sudden trip to California and back within a couple of hours?" I was on the verge of hysterics finally putting into words what I'd felt all along. "No one hangs out with me because I've been labeled as a loner. Do you think that was on purpose? And it's not like I can tell you everything that happens in my life either! I was always so afraid you'd retaliate or something! Get found out for what you are because you can't control your damn temper! Did you know that most of my teenage years were spent avoiding people because I was bullied? They broke my glasses, my books, tossed my backpack in the mud all because of-"

I stopped. I couldn't tell him it was all because of Leah. Among other things.

"Now I have to be away from home, away from my family, away from school, because this guy thinks I'm one of you, which doesn't even make any sense!"

I turned away from him and took a deep shaking breath. I wiped my eyes as tears freely flowed down my cheeks. "Just leave me alone. Just leave."

I heard the door creak open then close.

When I turned, he was gone.