AspenI'm forced to walk all the way across the city to the only place I know I'll have refuge.I keep my head down and my hood up as I weave past people, trying not to draw any attention. If one person recgonises me from the alert Atari put out, I'll probably be killed in the middle of the street.Eventually I make it to the apartment building in question. I've been here only once, when Oliver was out of town.Stalking up the stairs, I look for the hidden key. This place belongs to Kaia, who should be out of this Territory with her family, safe and away from my monstrous husband.Finding the key, I make my way inside, tensing as I hear voices floating from the kitchen.Frowning I listen closer. It's Kaia, she's home, accompanied by the silken voice of a man.Opening the door, I still. Keo is leaning back against the kitchen counter, dripping with seduction as speaks softly to Kaia, whose back is to me."I just don't get why you think people hate you," I hear her say, pushing at his s
~AspenI don't want to go out today. But I don't exactly have a choice.Kaia has returned back to her relatives in another Territory today, and I've been left in her apartment while I wait to hear something from Kastriv.I've officially run out of supplies, and although it's dangerous for me to go out in public, I don't have any other choice, unless I want to sit in this tiny apartment to starve.So, I slip into a thick jacket and tug the hood over my head.People know who I am now. They know I'm a Demon, and if they recognise me, they will kill me without hesitation.I choose a market close to the apartment, keeping my head low, avoiding eye contact with people as I weave through them. Thankfully, none of the shopkeepers seem to notice my shadiness, giving me my goods with no question at all.Quickly, I make my way back, until someone steps in front of me.At first, I try to dodge around him, not wanting to draw any additional attention to him, but when he makes to step in front of m
~AspenKastriv stands between my legs as I sit on the counter, wincing every time he presses the damp cloth against the side of my head."I hate that he did this to you," he murmurs, rinsing the cloth in the sink beside me.I watch the blood dilute in the water, flowing down the drain. My stomach turns uncomfortably, knowing that he could have killed me with no effort at all."I guess this means I'll never be able to go in public again." I stare down at my hands, trying not to get emotional.Will I ever know freedom?Kastriv frowns, shaking his head, although I get the feeling he is trying to make me feel better. "It doesn't have to mean that. We can fix this."He presses the cloth to the side of my head again, and I wince."Ouch." The stinging pain is bearable, but it's frustrating. At least the dizziness has subsided, and the wound isn't bad enough to take a long time to heal."Sorry, he got you pretty good." I can hear the quiet anger in his voice. I wonder if he's replaying that m
~AspenI stare at the Demon across the table from me, and then at my mate beside me."We didn't know who else to talk to," I say after what feels like decades of silence.Kastriv wasn't happy when I brought up Keo and how we should meet and talk to him. Eventually he reluctantly agreed, letting Keo visit one of his many properties.And now, we all sit in the same room, the tension palpable.Keo looks at me. "Not when everyone wants you dead.""How can you help Aspen?" Kastriv demands. He doesn't want Keo here for any longer than he needs to. I can't blame him, Keo does have an infinity for making situations uncomfortable.Keo sighs, tipping his head back. "Look, I don't know much about spirits. It's not my kind of thing.""You must know something." I'll beg him if I have to.He sighs, tilting his head from side to side. He was very dramatic when I asked him to come here in the first place. Apparently he has far more important things to deal with, forcing me to remind him of his obliga
~AspenIt doesn't take time for Keo to locate Kastriv's parents.We gave him a day to return home, filled with the knowledge of everything Kastriv could impart about his parents to him. It's not much, since they were taken from him so long ago, but Keo seemed convinced he 's capable of tracking them down.He's returned today, looking both determined and wary.Seeing Keo unsure of himself isn't a good sign. He seems to know the result of everything that happens across these lands. It's uncanny, quite frankly."It's simple, in theory," Keo exclaims, stalking back and forth in front of Kastriv and I.Kastriv sighs. "Go on.""Your parents are in Territory One, not far from here," he announces. Kastriv sits up a little straighter, a dulled down version of his true shock crossing his face.He doesn't want Keo to see how much that information pleases him. He doesn't want him to know how desperate he has been over the years to hear that. To know he is one step closer to seeing his parents aga
~AspenKastriv is in shock. Serious shock.So much so that I've booked us into a ancient inn in the centre of the village, because there is no way he's going to transport us out of her."I think we should leave soon," I tell him, looking out the window at a storm is rolling in.Thick, dark crowds crawl through the sky, casting ominous shadows over the village. This inn is hardly clinging to life, so the sooner we get out of here the better."We can't leave yet. I can't leave them," Kastriv mutters.He sits on the end of the rickety bed, head in his hands. I can't even begin to imagine what thoughts are passing through his head. His parents, who he has spent his whole life protecting, don't even remember him."Let's go now. Maybe they are still in the field." I motion stupidly out the window, knowing they would have been chased off by the nearing storm by now.Kastriv's eyes are torn apart by emotion as he looks up at me. "What are we going to say? Atari has shredded apart their minds.
~AspenI explain it all to him as fast as I can manage.The entire time he stays silent, his expression grave. Doubt starts spreading across his face the more I detail the spirits plan, making it clear that he already isn't on board with this."I'm not going to let Atari hurt you," he insists, grabbing my hands, as if to prove to me that nothing to do with the spirit matters...that I don't need its help."I don't think you can stop her. I don't think anyone can, even Keo," I tell him firmly.She's a Demon, her powers unknown. She has managed to manipulate seven powerful Angel-bloods...if she can do this, then she is very capable of using magic to kill all Demon's in an instance.Kastriv looks sceptical. "But this spirit can?""Apparently." I shrug.He frowns, rubbing the back of his neck. "You should know that spirits cannot always be trusted. They don't abide by a moral system as we do."I nod grimly. I know that, but this spirit has spent far too long trying desperately to get in co
~AspenEverything hurts. Everything.Groaning, I lift my head up, blinking my wary eyes open.I’m in a room, dimly lit with not a window in sight. When I go to move, I realise quickly that my hands are tied behind me.And even more grimly, it comes to my attention that I have no feeling in my legs. I stare down at them, willing them to move, but it’s as if I can’t remember what it was like to ever control them.I’ve been stabbed in the back. By my own mother. Literally and figuratively.I’m going to die…I can’t feel my legs or even where I’ve been stabbed. Clearly it’s damaged me forever, that there is no coming back from this.I want to scream, but like my legs, my mind is entirely numb.The door in front of me opens, a bright light assaulting my vision.Someone steps into the room, the door closing behind them.“Mother?” I ask, my voice croaky and raw.“Ah. You’re awake. Good.” She clasps her hands together, pulling a chair from the shadows so she can sit in front of her.I haven’t