~Aspen
Both Oliver and I are left speechless.
I try not to look at him, to reveal anything. If Kastriv knows I am a Demon, who knows what he could do...He claims to believe others like me are not dangerous, but that does not mean he can be trusted.
Oliver let's out a choked laugh. "Aspen is not a Demon."
"The spirits information may not always be reliable, however, this I am certain about," Kastriv says lowly.
If Kastriv is so confident in his assessment, what is he going to do? He clearly offered me that job knowing what I am, but is that his sole motivation?
"And why would I marry something I hate so much?" Oliver questions.
His arrogance is slipping away, although he retains that irritating smile, trying to disarm Kastriv, to make the Noble believe him.
Kastriv's eyes narrow. "Because enslaving one is more satisfying then killing them."
I can sense Oliver's panic as his fingers curl up against his palms. He can't physically intimidate Kastriv, so mentally, he is shifting through options, through lies to blatantly spew in hopes he can scramble back control.
"I can prove to you she is not a Demon," Oliver says suddenly.
Kastriv appears more doubtful than me. "How so?"
Oliver grabs my arm in a tight grip, holding it out. "Demon's bleed black, but Aspen bleeds red, like a true Territory One member."
I frown, not understanding what he's saying, until he reaches into his pocket and reveals a small pocket knife, which he doesn't hesitate in slicing down my arm.
"Ah!" I yelp, pushing away from him as pain lances through me, the stinging sensation followed by a powerful burn, bright scarlet blood immediately flowing from the wound.
Oliver looks triumphant. "See? Pure red blood."
"You cut her?" Kastriv tenses, looking so stunned with shocked, watching the blood dribble down my wrists, my fingers and to the floor, where a small puddle is gathering.
My quivering knees give out from under me, as I try to supress the waves of naseua that roll over me.
"I have proven she is not a Demon," Oliver announces.
Kastriv kneels down to my level. "You have proven nothing. That is an old tale that has been disproven numerous times. In fact, it was created by Demon's themselves as an act of self-preservation, although I figure you know that already."
I didn't even know that. It makes sense though, that Oliver would hide such a trick from me, so I couldn't use it against him at any time.
Oliver's eyes widen. "I...No-"
Kastriv seems unbothered by Oliver's excuses, focusing on me and how I'm bleeding out all over the floor. "She needs to be taken to a nurse."
"I can tend to her." Oliver kneels down also, grabbing my good arm. I don't have the energy to pull away.
Kastriv stands suddenly, taking Oliver with him. I watch with widened eyes as the Noble grabs him by the front of his shirt, shaking him a little.
"If she dies, or suffers anymore pain, I will kill you in the most vicious way possible. Do you understand?" Kastriv growls.
For the first time in my entire life, I'm seeing Oliver scared.
"I will take her to the nurse," he insists, failing to hide the panicked edge to his voice.
Kastriv lets him go rather roughly. Oliver stumbles back, rubbing his chest uneasily. When he looks down at me, it's clear he's realising how façade is falling apart, and he can't come back from it.
"Don't come looking for her. She will decide on her own free will whether she wishes to return here," Kastriv growls, grabbing my good arm, helping me to standing, before the world around us suddenly starts to dissolve.
My eyes squeeze shut as my stomach drops, the floor opening up from under me, plunging us into darkness.
All I can do is cling to Kastriv and allow silent prays to fall past my lips, before my feet are touching ground again, and my eyes tentatively blink open.
Kastriv has used whatever strange magic he has to transport me into a small, dark room.
I whirl around, panicked.
"Where's the nurse?"
"I've tended many wounds in my life time. Sit up here and I will stich this up," he murmurs, motioning to the table in the centre of the room.
I stare at it, horrified. He's going to stitch my wound up, which is now dripping onto the linoleum floor?
"Why not take me to a nurse?" I ask breathily, watching him opening various cupboards, pulling out an assortment of medical supplies.
"Questions will be asked, and rumours will circulate. I thought there would be less consequences on you this way, for if you decide to return to him," he explains, back still turned to me.
My eyes flutter closed. That's a relief.
"Thank you, Kastriv," I murmur, hoisting myself up onto the table, letting my legs dangle.
I watch silently as he prepares what he needs. It's easier to worry about how adept he is with his medical abilities, but I'm not in the state of mind to protest.
"Drink this," he instructs, handing me a small cup filled with an unfamilar light blue liquid.
I tilt it around. "What is it?"
"It will take some of the pain away. Drink all of it." Kastriv turns his back again, looking as though he is sanitising something. I shiver. My arm may have been slit, and I may still be bleeding out against the towel he propped under me, but I'm still apprehensive about being stitched up.
"It's not alcohol, is it?" I take a deep breath, noting it smells strong, although I can't determine what it actually is. Oliver has never let me touch alcohol in my life.
Kastriv's expression reveals nothing. "All that matters is it's strong, and it will hit you quickly."
Sighing through my nose, I touch the rim of the cup to my lips, before tossing it back, swallowing despite the bitter taste.
Kastriv approaches where I sit, carrying a short metal tray with him, the contents sitting upon it making my stomach turn. He rests it beside me, before adjusting my arm.
"Will you bite your tongue, or do you need something to bite onto?" he asks distractedly, pouring some clear liquid onto a cloth before running it gently around the wound.
I wince at the burning feeling it leaves in it's week. "How bad is this going to hurt?"
"Hopefully not as bad once the drink kicks in, but it will not be pleasant." He glances at my face, examining my expression.
I sigh tightly. What other choice do I have? "I will be fine."
Adjusting slightly, my head starts to spin, leaving me blinking, coming to terms with the unfamiliar feeling.
"Woah, I can feel it all of a sudden," I mumble, pressing my palm into my forehead.
Kastriv suddenly pinches my thigh and I yelp.
"Hurt?" he questions, gaze darkening as I clear my throat, trying not to become too wrapped up in the intensity of it.
"A little, but less than usual," I mumble. The sting is swallowed by numbness immediately, although I get the sense that it's not going to wash it away completely, as takes his needle between his fingers.
He watches me, the steadiness about him keeping me from wavering. "Alright, I'm going to do a few stiches. Are you ready?"
"No. But do it." I squeeze my eyes shut.
Kastriv doesn't hesitate, drawing the needle through my skin, beginning to thread my skin back together.
"Ah...fuck that hurts so bad." The drink doesn't feel as though it has done anything, so I would hate to know what the pain would be like without, because it's so overwhelming I could throw up.
Kastriv's gaze flickers up, riddled with concern and concentration. "I know, just breathe."
He does it again, brows creasing as he focuses. I grit my teeth, a hiss of pain passing through them. My head is spinning, Kastriv's face starting to swirl in my vision.
"I think I may pass out," I whisper.
"You won't, just focus on anything else," he murmurs.
Blinking to clear my vision, I focus on the fine edges of Kastriv's face, about the subtle lines that form around his eyes and brows as he concentrates on stitching my wound.
I never dreamed I would be so close to a Noble like this...
The needle digs into my skin again, and I jump, other hand coming out to grip Kastriv's shoulder for stability. I don't bother pulling away, either, gripping the tight muscle as I sway unevenly.
Kastriv releases a long, slow sigh, but doesn't say anything.
"That fucker cut me. With a knife," I gasp out, watch the blood streaming down my arm, pooling on the towel.
"I can assure you he will regret it," Kastriv growls lowly, threading the needle through my skin again.
A choked sob forces it's way from my throat, tears starting to stream down my face, dripping onto my shirt. Kastriv appears calm, although his eyes deceive him. It's as if he is feeling this pain with me.
"No, he won't." Oliver never suffers the consequences of his own actions.
"I'll make him."
I summon a deep breath. "I have to go back to him."
Kastriv's jaw clenches as he draws his needle through my skin again, pulling taut. At this point, I'm so numb, I hardly feel the pain, although it still echoes in the back of my consciousness, reminding me it's going to come creeping back.
"No, you don't," he says quietly, his tone dark and rough.
"It's not just about him. It's about my mother too," I remind him. My mother orchestrated my entire marriage to Oliver, and would be more than displeased if I decided to step away from the life she carefully constructed.
The needle glides through my skin again.
"Quiet now. We will speak when this is done," Kastriv murmurs.
~AspenKastriv is methodical and efficient as he continues to sew up my wound."Fuck this," I grit out, stomach clenching. It's odd, knowing I should be feeling more pain currently. My arm is numb, either from adrenaline, or from whatever tonic Kastriv gave me, that is currently making my head spin.Finally, after what feels like centuries passing, Kastriv pulls away.I watch as he turns back to his table, rummaging through the supplies. "All done now. Let me clean it up and bandage it."
~AspenI stare blankly up into those dark eyes of his, wondering, despite his seriousness, if he is teasing me."What?" I whisper.Kastriv lets out a long breath. "I know...I've seen this woman since I was a child, so you can imagine my horror when I first laid eyes on you."I hadn't noticed...Although that attentive eyes of his always troubled me. It were as if he was looking at me like he knew me, knew my secrets.And now this?
~AspenI shiver, pressing deeper into the couch, clasping the hot cup of tea between my hands.Kastriv sits on the coffee table in front of me, our legs basically intertwining. He has had the same grim look on his face since I came in."I'm sorry, Aspen, but I'm not letting you return to him," he murmurs lowly, brows furrowed.I swallow thickly.The thought of going back to Oliver now has my heart racing to the point of pain, leaving my limbs trembling and head spinning. It feels different this time.This time, I have a way out."I'm not going back. I'm done," I say over the rim of my cup, sipping the hot tea. I'm still shivering, my clothes and hair soaked through from my trek in the rain, but the blanket Kastriv draped over my shoulders earlier has helped.Kastriv leans forward, reaching out to brush his thumb along my cheek. When he pulls away, there's dried blood on the surface of his glove from the small cuts along my face."How could anyone do this to you?" He says it less like
~Aspen"Kastriv!"I'm at his side in an instant, shaking his limbs. He's alive, but barely. It was as if something overcame him, turning him into a monster.He's completely limp as I shake him incessantly, trying to bring some life back into him. His breathing remains faint, while he is entirely unresponsive.And I'm out here, somewhere in Territory Ten, alone."Please wake up...Please," I beg, groaning with frustration. He's my way out of here, with his magical abilities...And once it gets dark, who knows what creatures will come out of the forest to tear me apart.Eventually, I gather resources to light a fire, which is almost impossible, considering how damp the material is, but by the time night has officially fallen, I've created a spark that grows into a healthy fire.Kastriv remains unconscious. The best I can do for him is sit close, and keep an eye on the fire.Soon enough, my eyes become tired and my body grows wary.I need sleep. But can I really sleep out here? In the dist
~AspenWe return to the same area first thing in the morning.The same internal tugging feeling has me leading Kastriv through the forest. The difficult terrain has it taking a while, but Kastriv insists it's part of the test for me to lead him there."Can you sense it?" he asks after a while of walking.I wipe sweat from my brow, squinting to look through the trees. "It's around here."It feels like I'm being drawn to something, that there is a tether between it and myself, that is pulling taut with each step I take in the right direction."I go where you go, Aspen," Kastriv says from behind me."Do you really not know where it is? Or are you testing me?" I question, looking over my shoulder, giving him my best accusatory stare. He's told me he's testing me, but how much of this is really necessary?"Genuinely, I don't know exactly where the site is. I just have a general idea," he tells me.He hasn't made any comments that I've been heading in the wrong direction, so I continue."Gre
~AspenKastriv helped me tend to Kaia wounds, before allowing her to rest upstairs while we came down to talk.I barely get to sit down before Kastriv starts speaking. "You can't go back.""I don't want to make this difficult for everyone...What if he seriously pursues this?" I question.Would Oliver kill me? Absolutely, and he would get away with it as well, once he exposed me for being a Demon.Or worse, he could hurt Kaia again...Kastriv settles into the couch next to me. "He likely will, but that doesn't mean you can go back to him. He was abusive.""I don't want to go back. But what about Kaia?" I sigh, trying to press down the fear rolling around my stomach, although it's impossible. I have to face this, not run away."I'll protect her," Kastriv assures me. "Just like I'll protect you."I turn toward him, feeling the power flowing off him, a consequence of his risking anger. How many spirits are around us now, whispering in his ear? I wonder how they feel about me, if they are t
~AspenAs if he can sense me, his eyes draw up, pinning me through the window.I freeze, unsure of what to do.Slowly, his lips turn up into a cruel, dark smile.There is nothing for me to do. I can't run, I can't hide...But I can face him.Stalking to the door, I snap the lock off, opening it a crack. With purposeful steps, Keo comes toward the door, stopping on the short wooden porch."It's you..." I whisper, clutching the door tightly.He's far more striking in person than I could have ever imagined. His eyes are so green, so absolutely pure they knock my resolve back a bit.But it is quickly reconstructed, as I consider how terrifying he is. A true, almost pure Demon is a sight to behold, and it's clear by how he holds himself, he knows it."Of course it's me, who else would come into the middle of nowhere, where you just happen to be?" he says, that smile telling me more than just blatant amusement.He is not to be trusted."What do you want, Keo?" I question. My voice wavers, bu
~Aspen"I can't believe Kastriv is being so nice. I never expected that from a Noble," Kaia says.I stare down at her arm, winding a bandage around it slowly. I've dressed many wounds before, although never on someone else.Seeing the gruesome graze Kaia now sports from being pushed down by Oliver makes my stomach churn.He did this to her because of me..."It's because he wants me to do this job for him. Don't confuse it with anything else," I mumble distractedly."Consider me confused then, because I don't think that's his single motivation."Sighing through my nose, I raise my gaze tentatively. "Don't say it..."It's the last thing I need to hear. The more Kaia talks about it, the more she encourages my own thoughts, which have a tendency to sabotage me."What? I think he may feel bad that you've been abused all this time. But I'm sure he wanted to do more than just save you," Kaia muses, wincing as I accidently press upon a tender area on her arm."He may have wanted to save me, b