"Ms. Hastings, I'm going to need you to come with me." Detective Sullivan stated. The disgust on his face was evident as he stared at her, never taking his eyes away as he began to move his hand behind his back. "I am so sick of you worthless humans trying to stick your nose where it doesn't belong!" Isla screeched before throwing her arm to the side, releasing a burst of magic. Detective Sullivan had a brief moment where he looked startled before the blast hit him. He flew through the air, flipping multiple times before he landed on his stomach on the hard ground. My hand flew up to cover my mouth in shock and terror when he did not move. His eyes remained closed, and I could see blood running down the side of his face. "What is wrong with you?" I screamed. "Oh, shut up! You're next!" Isla turned to Demetri and me. He immediately stepped forward, so he could try and block any incoming attacks, causing Isla to smirk. "If you know what I am, then you know I am a king. If you touch

I don't remember much of what happened next. It wasn't until several days later that I woke up in the hospital. Detective Thompson came down to get my statement shortly after I woke up, and thankfully, Kendra joined him. I had no idea what I should or shouldn't say, so I kept it simple.I explained that she admitted to killing everyone, including my grandparents, and had broken into my house, intending to finish me off. Each time I tried to ask about Sullivan, Thompson redirected me, refusing to provide me with any information.The empty hospital room was cold and unwelcoming. People kept coming in and out, poking and prodding at my surgery sight, tilting me from one side to the other every hour or two, or giving me pain meds. They never let me sleep. Then, they would send some peppy bitch in to ask me how I had slept the next morning.I was ready to rip her throat out. All I wanted was to be left alone, so I could sleep and cry in peace. It wasn't just the trauma of the situation. I

The hallway she brought me down was eerie and off-putting. The white walls were bare, and the off-white laminate flooring was scuffed and dirty. We passed several doors, but no people. I continued forward. My anxiety got significantly worse when a man in a lab coat rounded the corner ahead of us before turning off into one of the rooms, only for me to discover it was an office as we walked past. It made sense that they wouldn't keep their patients in the front of the building, but the fact that they had to keep them here against their will at all made me feel nauseous. "Is Detective Sullivan doing okay today?" I asked, and the woman looked over her shoulder at me with a small smile. There was a tightness in the corner of her eyes that told me I wouldn't be able to take her words at face value. "He hasn't been here long but is doing a little better every day." She lifted her hand, gesturing me to turn to the right as we reached the end of the hallway. There was another door we had to

Demetri's P.O.V. I couldn't say what I was feeling when I was ripped away from my mate and brought back to the home I had come to peace with never seeing again. It was true that I had missed my home, but as I was being torn away from Seraphina, I knew I would give my home up in a heartbeat for a life with her in it. I had fallen to my knees in the barren field that surrounded my castle. The loose dirt shifted beneath my weight as I realized that I couldn't help her. Time worked differently here. There was no way of saying if she was still in battle, if it was months later, or if she was even still alive. I could go to her, and visit the human realm again, but it would take time. By the guards quickly surrounding me, I knew I would be stuck here for the foreseeable future. There was no escaping notice now. "Your highness! You've returned!" One of the guards stated. The obvious announcement sent frustration through me. My wings broke free from my back as I took my true form. My nail

One Month Later"I'm sorry it didn't work," Meredith said from the seat next to me as I stared out the window, watching the passing desert to the side as we sped down the highway. "We'll find another way."We had tried everything short of digging a hole down to the underworld. A séance had fallen flat with a minor demon coming through instead, trying to have a little fun in the world of the living, only for them to immediately regret it when both Meredith and I put them in their place and shut the connection on them."It's okay. If he wanted to, he would have come back by now, at least to visit. Shit, he could have even sent Akuji to give me a message, but no. There has been nothing. Maybe I should just let it go." Meredith reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing it."You can still try summoning him back." She offered, but I shook my head quickly."And risk either binding a different demon to me or end up forcing a man back into my life who doesn't want to be a part of it, to begi