Aiden Lobo is a graduate student in a world where magic, gods, and demons are part of everyday life. After a terrible betrayal, he is cursed with a Crack in his heart, slowly turning him into a living doorway for an ancient war demon. If Aeshma breaks through to Earth, he will kill millions.<br><br>But before Aeshma can open the Crack, Aiden is rescued by his guardian angel, who uses his own Light to seal Aiden's heart. As a servant of the divine, the nameless angel was supposed to kill Aiden to avert the growing cataclysm inside him. But he loves Aiden too much to end his life, even to save the world.<br><br>It's impossible for Aiden not to love his warm, generous guardian in return. He names the angel Eskandar, but then learns to his horror that because Eskandar was created for him, when Aiden dies, Eskandar will too. The angel has long since accepted this fate, but Aiden refuses to. He will do anything to keep his beloved angel safe. But with no other recourse than to sacrifice himself to prevent the apocalypse, there's only one way for Aiden to save Eskandar: a terrible betrayal of his own.

A Crack in the Heart

Tanner kicked another cat out of his way and stalked toward the warrior, his free hand moving as if performing a spell. Some kind of summoning spell, because all of a sudden, Dark Things began boiling out of the woods.


The warrior glanced at them all, and Aiden could see him grimace almost comically with distaste. Then he lifted his sword to meet the vicious arc of Tanner’s maul as he heaved it toward his head. The warrior’s aura blazed white as the weapons met, making all the Dark Things cry out and slap their scaly doll-hands over their eyes.


Chapter 12