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

“Divine Light,” Greg said. “Aiden, you saved the world.”


Aiden shook his head. “I wanted to save him.” His breath hitched again. “I wanted to save him.”


“I know.” Cassandra put her head on his shoulder, holding him tight. Aiden felt Greg’s hand on the back of his neck, could easily imagine him standing guard over both of them.


They stayed like that until the police came.


The police investigators cleared them of any wrongdoing, once their forensic scrying made it obvious what had happened. Aiden and both his friends were tested for possession, but the medical casters didn’t find anything.


Cassandra needed a new advisor, of course. Dr. Naidu wasn’t a combat magic specialist the way Davidson had been, but her field was magical weapons engineering and she wasn’t secretly plotting to destroy the world, so there was that.


Chapter 60