4

~Aspen

Yawning, I wander down the stairs, holding my stomach.

I'm nervous to see Kastriv again, and in this large home, I'm afraid of stumbling into something I shouldn't see. So I head straight down to where we were yesterday, lingering between the foyer and the living area.

"Good morning."

I flinch, whirling around.

Kastriv strolls down the stairs, not much longer after I did. He must have just woken, ivory hair mussed in such a way that has my mouth drying.

"I'm ready to go home," I tell him, keeping my gaze pinned to his, instead of letting it drift down to his low hanging pants.

He brushes past me. "Come sit down, enjoy some breakfast."

I frown. "I'm not hungry."

"I wish to discuss something with you. Something you may be interested in." He continues walking, not bothering to look over his shoulder.

Considering Kastriv is my only way out of here, I reluctantly follow him.

He leads me back outside onto the deck to a set of table and chairs, already laid out with a variety of breakfast foods. There's not much heat to the sun, as I sit down, basking in it regardless.

Kastriv doesn't say anything for a moment, filling a cup with coffee before handing it to me. It feels strange, having a Noble wait on me like this, dining with me as if I am politically, or magically on the same level as him.

"Do you have a job?" He eventually asks.

I shift. "No."

"Why not?"

"I'm better suited to what I do at home." I look away, toward the desert. What a concept...Me working. Oliver hasn't had to tell me that would never happen. He makes plenty of money, so that's no motivation, and I'm far easier to control when I know few people.

Kastriv's eyes narrow. "Speak from your own mind, Aspen. Not what he has told you."

I take a sip of my coffee so I don't have to answer right away. How deep does Kastriv think Oliver's hold on me is?

"I've never had the opportunity." It's not untrue.

"I would like to offer you a job," he offers.

I nearly spit the coffee from my mouth. A job? With a Noble? He must be playing some cruel trick on me. He can see that I'm vulnerable, and any way out of my current life is one I would be desperate for.

Wiping my chin, I set my coffee down, trying not to cough. "Doing what? I'm not qualified for anything."

"You are more than qualified," he murmurs, fingers drumming against the surface of his mug. "I want you to help me find these Demon's."

"I'm confused...Why not ask Oliver?"

"I don't want these Demon's dead, but I would like to locate some of them," he explains. I blink, still confused. I understand that he doesn't despise Demon's as Oliver does, but what purpose could someone have for Demon's?

"What for?"

His tilts his head from side to side. "That, I cannot say."

"I know nothing about Demon's. What you told Oliver yesterday was all the history I've ever learnt about them," I say carefully. He doesn't need to know who or what I am. It would only complicate things, and infuriate Oliver.

He appears to think for a moment. "I suspect you will know more than you are aware of now. What do you say?"

"What if I fail?" I whisper. I wouldn't even know where to start. I'm not a seeker by nature, but the sound of having my own job, whatever it may be, is exhilarating.

"You won't," he says simply.

It's not an insinuation that if I failed, there would be a price to pay. He merely suggests that there is no way for me to fail, and if I did, it would be no fault of my own.

"You'll pay me?" It feels wrong to even ask. If a Noble asked me to do something for him, I wouldn't have much choice to do otherwise.

"Yes. And I will offer boarding here, or elsewhere in the city." He gestures around him, and I'm not ashamed as my mouth falls upon in surprise. Live here? In such a magnificent home? Oliver and I's residence is nothing to be ashamed of, but to live out here would be unimaginable.

Shifting in my seat, I sober from my initial shock. "But I live with Oliver."

"That may change. I'm giving you an opportunity to be your own person, to belong to no one but yourself, Aspen."

His eyes stare into mine with renewed intensity, the sable void of his burning irises appearing to strip me of all my outward defences, revealing my vulnerabilities for him to sift through at will.

I can't believe he just suggested that Oliver and I may come to live apart. He's essentially telling me he predicts my divorce, which would otherwise be socially deplorable, but the way he says it makes it sound less offensive and more...convincing.

"Can I think about it?" I ask softly.

I'm non-committal for a few reasons. Mainly because of Oliver, and his inevitably explosive reaction. If he doesn't like Kastriv now, I hate to think about his feelings were I to broach the subject of a job with him.

But I'm also hesitant because...could I really work for a Noble? And finding Demon's doesn't sound like my ideal job.

Kastriv smiles tightly. "Absolutely."

"I should probably go home, shouldn't I?" I murmur. Oliver will be pacing at home, wondering about what horrors occurred to me last night, purely concerned about what his standing will be with Kastriv.

His expression goes cold suddenly, casting a look outward. "My urge is to keep you here and ask you why you said what you did last night, but I suspect you will not relent."

"There is nothing to say," I merely exclaim.

Nothing that won't incriminate me, at least.

"I'm not going to push you beyond what you are comfortable with. When you want to tell me, you will," he concedes. I could collapse in relief. The further he digs into the nature of my relationship to Oliver, the more horrors he will uncover.

Like the burn, he so keenly picked out, despite my covering. My hand feels relieved today, improved vastly from the ointment he supplied.

"Thank you, Kastriv."

He stands swiftly, leaving the untouched breakfast unattended as I join him.

"Write to me, once you have decided. Or come visit in person," he offers. I nod, knowing Oliver will never let me in sight of this man ever again, if he can help it.

"I will."

I couldn't rush from the home any quicker, hopping into the awaiting transportation without a single glance back.

As I suspected, Oliver is waiting for me in the foyer of our home the moment I return. He doesn't appear angry, although I've quickly learned that he conceals his anger the best when he is moments away from exploding.

"Well, how was it?" He demands, watching me as I casually hang my coat, hoping to give away little. I owe Kastriv nothing, but sustaining the ruse that him and I slept together last night only benefits me.

"Fine," I murmur.

His eyes trace over me, looking for marks, for the bruises Kastriv promised to inflict upon me. "Did he please you?"

My cheeks flush convincingly. "Oliver, please..."

When I go to brush past him, he steps in my way, his silent fury becoming increasingly more obvious. "Answer me."

"He was a selfish lover. He found his pleasure, but I did not find mine," I blurt out, just to sate him, and his overwhelming ego. It doesn't feel wrong to lie either, at least to him. But it does feel wrong to paint Kastriv in such a light.

I can only imagine what kind of lover he really is...

"How many times did he have you?" Oliver questions. His nose scrunches up slightly at the thought, seeing me now as used, dirty.

I exhale through my nose. "I lost count after the third time."

He has the audacity to laugh, as if he was not the one who supposedly inflicted this upon me. "Impressive. Noble's huh...or maybe it's the magic."

"I'm going to rest, I'm sore." I can't bear to stand here and speak of this any longer.

"Wait, Aspen." He steps in front of me again.

"What?"

"Thank you for this. Your own kind will be wiped off this earth shortly, but you shall remain," he tells me, as if I should be grateful. I've never felt inclined to mingle with other Demon's, but I most definetely don't want them dead.

Regardless, I bow my head. "Thank you."

He goes to walk away, but I wince, knowing that there is no point bringing up my conversation with Kastriv, and what that may mean for my future.

"Hey, Oliver? Would you mind if I were to get a job?" I ask gently. There's little point telling him Kastriv has offered me one. He will assume he is being bested, once again.

He frowns. "No one would hire you."

"Maybe not. I'm just asking-"

"Your only job is to remain under this roof, and be my wife when I need you to. Got it?" He demands, the curtness of his tone suggesting that any more talk of such a notion will have terrible consequences.

My throat dries, the painful need to cry echoing through me. "Got it."

"If I hear you're searching for a job, you will be punished." With that he turns, heading out toward his office.

I run my hands back through my hair, beginning to pace. Just like that, the smallest glimmer of hope within me has been snatched away.

My pace up the stairs is slow, the letter I have to write not one I want to.

Kastriv.

I want to thank you for the opportunity, but I must decline.

My job is to remain here, a doting wife to my husband before anything else. Were I to get a job, I fear his needs would not be met, therefore, I must not take your offer.

Thank you anyways.

Aspen