Read Torn (Demon Kissed #3) for Free Online

happen.
    I swallowed hard, stopping next to Lorren. He looked down at me. I gazed straight at the horror encased in paint in front of me. Golden eyes were the only trace of the boy I knew. The rest of his features were contorted with hatred. “Eric.” My hand reached out to touch the ancient paint. Lorren watched me, but said nothing. The painting depicted Eric confronting me after he turned Valefar. It showed him pressing me against the massive stone with hatred. I was depicted meekly shying away from him with a sorrowful look on my face. There was no fear in my eyes. My stomach twisted as I looked at it. That painting had already happened. Eric was irate when he found me. He blamed me for his death. He was no longer the kind, caring boy I knew. He was a deranged Valefar intent on making me suffer a horrible death. That confrontation scared me so deeply that I still trembled remembering it. I quickly shoved my hands in my pockets so Lorren wouldn’t see. The only reason Eric left me alone was because he wanted to kill Shannon first. She was the one who doused him with Brimstone. I was sure of it. And so was he.
    Lorren watched me carefully. His arms folded as he touched his face, asking, “This already happened? Didn’t it?” I nodded. Turning Eric into a Valefar was the worst mistake I’ve ever made. I closed my eyes and looked away from the canvas, and away from Lorren. A hand gently touched my shoulder, and I looked up at him. His green eyes looked down on me softly, “You did it, didn’t you? You turned him Valefar.”
    Again, I nodded, too ashamed to speak at first. “I found him dying inside here, towards the end of the maze. I thought he wanted to tell me something, but he couldn’t speak. His vocal cords were burned away by brimstone dust.” I spoke in a soft monotone, staring blanking at the painting. “I thought he wanted me to turn him Valefar—so he could tell me. But, I misunderstood…” my voice trailed off. I didn’t know what else to say. This was the first time I’d admitted my sin to anyone. I assumed he wouldn’t care. Most Valefar didn’t care about anything except themselves .
    When I looked over at Lorren he had a stern look on his face. I thought he’d say something more about my demon kiss with Eric, but he didn’t. He stepped forward towards the next painting in the series, and asked, “What about the rest of these?”
    My heart sank. I didn’t want to look at these. They showed a future that I was trapped in, but wanted no part of. Swallowing hard I stepped towards the next horror encased in paint. The first prophecy canvas I saw was happy compared to these. The rest of them looked like nightmares frozen in paint.
    We moved back to a painting that we skipped. My hand floated up to my mouth, and I pressed my fingers to my lips as sorrow overwhelmed me. It was a painting of Eric covered in chains, sitting in a small chair—completely alone. Fierce loyalty burned in his defiant eyes as he refused to answer Julia’s questions. Pressing my eyes together, I shook my head sadly and looked away.  
    Lorren watched my reaction to it and then said, “This has happened already as well, right?” I nodded. “Tell me what happened here. This was before the Martis was turned Valefar.”
    Nodding I said, “Yes, it was.” I told Lorren about Eric’s trial.
    He looked at me in shock, “They condemned him to death?” His tone sounded incredulous, as if he couldn’t believe it. “But that’s not right.” When I looked over at him, he was shaking his head with his brows knitted together.
    I laughed bitterly, “Since when do Martis do what’s right? Eric tried, and look where it got him. He was a dead man the moment he met me.” I stared at the painting for a few more minutes until I couldn’t look anymore. Remorse filled me. I wished he wasn’t the Seeker, and then maybe things wouldn’t have ended the way they did.
    Lorren pulled me to the next painting, recapping what I told