Chapter 04 - Damon

The man stood up, causing Echo to swallow hard. She hid her emotions behind a poker face as the man walked to her side of the bed.

"Damon," Echo said, staring at the man standing next to her. The window behind him made him look like a silhouette from a picture. Echo squinted her eyes, as tears began to well from the bright light splashing into the room from the window.

"Could you close the curtains?" Echo asked, she tried covering her eyes with her hands, but the shackles made it impossible.

Damon turned, looking at the window. Heaving a low sigh that turned into a growl near the end, he walked to the window, and pulled the curtains across it. He walked back to Echo, with his hand in his pocket.

"I thought you'd look more terrified," Damon said. He bent closer to her, and began taking off the shackles.

When he bent to unshackle her hand that was near the centre of the bed, Echo could not help, but stare at him. He was so close to her face, but he was so focused on getting the shackles off that he did not even notice this.

After he had unshackled her hands, he continued to remove the shackles on her feet. Echo rubbed her wrists that were bruised.

"You're a demon?" Echo asked. It was more of a statement that she wanted to get into her brain instead of a question for him.

Damon untied her, and crouched beside the bed, he looked at her and simply said the words, "And you're supposed to be dead."

Echo nodded. She did not seem astonished, and then nor did he.

Sitting up, Echo dangled her feet to the ground. Damon simply stood up, and stepped back. Finally, she looked at him. He looked different, he had his black hair messily laying across his face. His face looked emotionless, and his outfit all just added to his look… he looked like a handsome, demon prince that was shown in fantasies.

Echo popped her own dream bubble she made over her head, 'Stop staring at him you idiot. Ugh.. Why did you have to be a demon? You were already perfect enough being my brother's best friend.'

She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts, it took Echo a while to realise the man in front of her was staring at her.

Damon raised his eyebrow, and smiled. Echo felt her heart almost leap out of her chest. She couldn't help but wonder what was happening to her.

"Did you not hear me?" Damon asked, his smile vanishing behind his emotionless face.

Echo opened her mouth, as she stared at him, "Huh?"

"Of course you weren't listening… You never do," Damon walked past her.

Echo turned her head in confusion, "Where are you going?"

"To see your friend," Damon tossed his reply, walking out of the door.

"W-wait!" Echo jumped off the bed, regretting it right away. The sharp pain was back, breathing calmly, she rushed after Damon.

Damon stopped, and turned to Echo. His expressionless face looked anxiously at Echo, who gave him a shy smile, he then whipped his head back walking looking ahead as he continued on.

Echo walked beside him, "Is the commander okay? Did you hurt him?"

Damon gave Echo a cold stare and kept walking. Echo sighed, and followed him.

"What even makes you think that I'm walking to where the commander is?" Damon asked, he couldn't help but smirk as he looked away from Echo.

"Huh?" Echo turned to him in confusion. He gave a small chuckle, as he looked at her.

"Why do you trust me so much? You just found out I was a demon, and I hurt you," Damon said, tilting his head a bit while looking at Echo's stomach covered by her t-shirt.

Echo thought for a while, she was fascinated by his question. Why was she trusting him? He had just shackled her to a bed… but he was her brother's best friend, he even promised her brother that he'd never hurt her.

Echo turned to Damon, and replied with a question, "Are you saying I shouldn't trust you?"

Damon turned to her with a small heart-melting smirk that soon vanished, "You're smarter than I expected."

"Says the guy with mush in his head," Echo said, without a smile. Damon walked on without saying anything, but he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

Damon eventually led Echo to a dungeon in the basement of the large mansion they were in. Echo casually walked past several people.. or so she thought.. without a single expression running across her face. She stopped once she saw the commander.

Echo immediately turned to Damon, who had a cold look on his face, "He's my friend, let him go."

A wicked smirk washed on Damon's face, he turned to Echo and gave her a cold stare. She couldn't help but feel goosebumps on her body, while the hair on the back of her neck tingled.

"What makes you think I won't put you in there?" Damon asked, he looked at the commander who was calmly sitting inside the dungeon, and back at Echo.

Echo looked at the commander, and then at Damon, she gulped as she answered him, "Because you won't, right?"

What followed next disturbed Echo. A short mocking chuckle left the lips of Damon. In a cloud of black smoke he rushed to her, grabbed her wrist, and pinned her to the wall.

Echo looked at the demon in front of her. His eyes were completely black, and there was black smoke surrounding him.

"I'm not the person you remember," Damon said in a cold, deep voice, as he stroked the back of his palm across her cheek.

"Damon," a female voice called out. Echo couldn't take her eyes off Damon, to glance at who was talking. He looked even more mesmerising in her eyes. The thing was that even Damon couldn't take his eyes off Echo.

"Did she try to escape?"

"Kaia, let the commander out of the dungeons," Damon ordered the woman.

"But-" Kaia's argument was cut short when Damon glared at her. Without uttering another word, she followed his orders.

Damon glared back at Echo, "Get out of here.. the next time I see you, I'll kill you."