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

The thick, golden leaves brushed against his chest and shoulders, already warm from the sun. He watched Cassandra pass by as she headed toward the path through the forest, her long black hair sliding over her backpack and her hips swinging. It made him smile just to look at her, his smart, kind, witchy friend who had saved his life twice and was still determined to do it again.


At least she would still have Greg, once he was gone.


His chest started to hurt. Aiden gritted his teeth, willing the Crack to stay closed. He didn’t know what had started it. Thinking about his friends? Touching the vines? The sunlight? Everything? It didn’t stop when he moved away from the wall, but the pain was slight, still bearable. Aiden quickly pulled his T-shirt collar away from his neck so he could look down at his chest. There was no black ooze. Yet. And he was only a little chilled.


Chapter 44