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

Greg’s smile was warm and completely alien on his face. His eyes weren’t hazel; they’d become a bright, sapphire blue.


“Greg?” Aiden knew it wasn’t Greg in there anymore. He’d asked because he couldn’t believe what was happening. He drew his own sword, tossing away the sword belt and backing up at the same time. He wanted to get away from the altar and the inevitable pain, but more than that, he didn’t want to fight his friend. Greg’s sword was a modern version of a kilij, which looked like an extremely curved sabre. He’d told Aiden he’d chosen it because those swords were part of his Romanian heritage, but mostly because it looked cool. He wasn’t especially good with it, which might’ve been to Aiden’s advantage if he was either actually fighting Greg or wanted to hurt him.


Tanner looked at him earnestly with Greg’s face. “I will, I promise. I just need him for a little while.”


Chapter 30