Pray for the Wicked | ATEEZ

14.

Unlike when Hongjoong had held me against the wall with his own hands closing around my throat, fighting off every attempt at struggle from my side, I only got to choke him for all of about five seconds before he managed to turn us around.

Straddling me, the son of Lilith leaned closer to my face, the look in his dark eyes still sympathetic, though, now, restless as well. "Don't start a fight you can't win, angel," he said, the hint of a smirk lacing his voice as he studied my flaming cheeks, "Especially not against a demon. Especially not against me."

I didn't even have it in me to come up with suitable retort, a response which would keep the fight going, keep the irritation and tension between us alight as I felt tears well up in my eyes.

Tears of humiliation and anger and so many other things; hot and salty as they spilled over and began to trail down my cheeks in trails that burned against the flushed skin. The look in Hongjoong's eyes visibly wavered.

"Why is it always like this with us?" I asked, my voice low and barely more than a breath as the question left my lips. He felt heavy from where he was sitting on top of me, heavy and real and just as dreadful as the realization that what we had done, what we had seen, could get both of us killed.

"Is it because we're too different?" I continued, my breathing irregular and slightly labored as it rattled through my chest, as he just continued to look at me with those dark eyes of night and regret and something else I couldn't make out, "It it even our fault?"

I watched as the son of Lilith gathered himself a little, straightened himself. He neither offered a response to my questions nor broke eye contact. I sighed.

"I don't need to hate you, Hongjoong," I said, and it was true, "I don't want to despise you," and it was almost true, "But I will not risk my life for you. I will not put myself or my loved ones in danger because of you or any other demon. You had your fun, you embarrassed me, fully and thoroughly, you have seen Illenium and you hate it, which is why now you have to-"

My words faltered as the door suddenly swung open, and my eyes widened just as my jaw dropped, the sudden realization that I had forgotten where we were, who could see us, that we weren't alone, dawning on me.

Hongjoong immediately, instinctively, reached for the dagger in his belt and unsheathed it, moving to cover me once more despite everything that had just happened.

He wrapped his legs tighter around my waist as he unsheathed the weapon, unknowingly digging his knee into the side of my ribs which forced a cry of pain from my lips as I immediately grabbed his thigh in an attempt to push him away.

"Dahlia?"

My eyes widened at the sound of Jungwon's voice as both Hongjoong and I turned to face the heir to the Court of Patience with mixed looks of horror, hostility, and panic painted on our faces.

The dark-haired angel stood frozen in the doorway, sword raised, as he looked back and forth between the son of Lilith and me, and, despite how I had felt just a flicker of relief wash over me at the realization that it hadn't been my mother who had walked in on me, my thoughts immediately went back to my hand which was still grabbing the demon's leg.

I immediately pulled away, eyes widening as I realized just how bad this undoubtedly looked ot the Son of Azrael who had now turned his full attention to me, "Get off me," I hissed under my breath, loud enough for Hongjoong to hear. He hesitantly, slowly, did as I told him.

Jungwon cleared his throat, ears slightly red although he was obviously trying to ignore it, and I felt more than grateful for that until he said, "We have, uhm- problems."