Daughter of Stars and Nightmares (The Eternal Bond Saga book 1)

Kicking down the door.

Almost a week had passed since Damien kissed Julia in the woods. After the incident he'd disappeared without a trace, but returned on Wednesday. Much to Julia's relief he acted like the whole thing never happened. Even though he was putting up a good front, she could tell he was still hurting and the guilt of her actions weighted heavily on her heart. Julia knew she was being a coward by not talking to him about it. But between the voice inside her head screaming at her to stay away from him and training for Thorsen's impending attack she just didn't have it in her to confront him.

Knowing she had to finish her homework before training, because she'd be too worn out in the morning to even bother with it. Julia sat at her desk, surrounded by textbooks and a stack of papers, wrapped in what looked like concentration. Her alarm beeped letting her know it was 9pm, almost time for training. She didn't even look up as her hand shot out and turned it off.

Her mother had granted her parole from house arrest the day after the incident with Damien. She still had the binding on her wrist but now she could go anywhere within the borders of Havenswood. With this new freedom, Alex and Ren stepped up the training and moved it outside. They had decided they would train in a different spot each night; doing this to keep the adults who patrolled the woods from getting suspicious. They also enlisted Ella, Abby and Kuro to help. Of course Véronique always showed up.

Véronique's animosity toward Julia had grown every day since their duel in the basement. Alex didn't want to take any chances of giving Véronique more reasons to hate Julia and sill hadn't talked to Véronique to set her straight. Because of this Julia thought it was best if she and Alex were extra careful to hide their relationship. Therefore, Julia told Alex he couldn't be the one to walk her to the training sites. Abby and Ella had been taking her to the sites while Damien was away. When he returned he'd insisted on doing it, to make up for what he did and she was grateful that he and Alex had worked things out.

Julia's mind was elsewhere as she stared at her textbook. Lost in sweet thoughts of Alex, she could feel his soft full lips kissing her, and his toned arms holding her against his chest. She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't even hear Damien crawl through her window. When he placed his hands on her shoulders, she yelped and jumped out of her chair, knocking it over.

Gulping huge a lungful of air she clutched her chest, her heart trying to pound its way through her ribcage. When she turned around she was greeted by Damien's beaming smile.

"Why so jumpy, Jules?" he teased her.

She scowled at him and caught her breath. "Is it your goal to scare me to death?"

Damien snickered. "No. I much prefer the, kill 'em with kindness approach."

Hearing that and the soft look in his eyes, which told her he still very much loved her, tore at her heart. Knowing that she'd hurt him was like an iron vice on her heart. She reached out and laced her fingers in his hand giving it a squeeze.

Looking down because it was easier, "Damien," she said in a tiny voice, "I'm sorry I hurt you. In a lot of ways I wish my feelings were different. My life would be so much easier." She looked up at him letting those words hang in the air between them.

He sighed pulling her into a tight embrace. "I know, Jules. You would think I would've learnt my lesson by now," he said those words with such pain in them it made her wince.

Pulling away, he fished two bottles out of his jacket pocket and handed her the one filled with a fizzy green liquid. "It's cold out tonight and because you don't have your full dark faerie powers yet. I thought you could do with some extra help."