~AspenI stare at the large wooden door, a dark feeling of dread curling up in my stomach.I've stepped through this door many times in my life. I've been dragged through it, I've been pushed through it...and it was never home for me, even if Oliver swore I would never leave here again, after I married him.I can feel Kastriv looking down at me, monitoring my expression as rain dribbles down my face."I really didn't think I was ever going to be back here again," I murmur.We have come here first thing in the morning. I didn't sleep last night, plagued by new reality. I can never exist in this society again. People hate Demon's so deeply, they won't stop until they have hunted me down and killed me.There is no going back for me. And it's all because Oliver decided he hated me enough to tell the whole city.Kastriv's gaze softens. "I can do this alone, if you need me to.""I know...I should be here," I say, more so to assure myself than him. If I allow him to confront Oliver alone, wh

~AspenKastriv's hand squeezes mine as we face the towering entrance of the Noble's manor."I'm not going to leave until she affirms this mate bond," he assures me gently. I nod numbly, overcome with the desire to turn and run for my life.I never want to see Atari again."Or she agrees to back out of our lives," I mutter. I couldn't care less about whether she accepts us as mates, I just want her to stop trying to ruin my life.Kastriv breathes in deeply, pushing the door open. "Exactly."There are no Noble's around today, which is a relief. Last time having eyes on us, even if they were trying to help, only makes this more difficult.And none of them will truly stick up for me. Not when I'm a Demon, and not when Atari has something over all of them.I'm hoping today that whatever she is using to manipulate Kastriv is revealed.I hear her approach before I see her."Ah, I was wondering when you two would visit again," she exclaims, clasping her hands together.I've forgotten how beau

~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

~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

~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.