All Chapters of Desires And Captivity: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Climbing over Nathan, I set my hand on his chest as I slowly woke from a deep sleep. My other hand was still clasping his, as if the warmth of his body kept the cold of reality at bay. His messy black hair had fallen over his eyes, and even asleep he looked dangerously attractive—as if the demonic edges had gone quiet and only the human remained visible.He was so peaceful in sleep that I couldn’t help myself: my fingers slid to his face and I pressed a tiny, barely-there kiss to his lips. A faint smile brushed the corner of his mouth, but his soft breathing told me he was still deep under. Carefully, I slipped my hand from his and inched away so I wouldn’t wake him. He immediately rolled into the space I’d left, as if he missed the heat of my body, and sank even deeper into sleep.Humming quietly, I stepped into the bathroom. I hadn’t felt this… alive in years. Water ran over me, and it was as if every drop washed away the fear of the past months. When I looked in the mirror, I almos

“I can’t believe I’ve been locked out of my own quarters,” Nathan grumbled, sitting on a bench.My legs dangled over the edge as I watched the demons soaring through the air. My life had changed so quickly—it almost felt like I was one of them now.“No matter how exhausted a demon might be,” he muttered, “he could at least tell me if danger is coming or not…”I glanced down at my hands. Were the changes already showing on the outside? My skin looked paler than ever, and my nails… maybe they were growing faster, darker at the edges—but not claws yet. Not quite. Still, in this light, my hands looked almost ghostly white.“And what if… Abigail, are you even listening to me?” he asked, catching sight of my faraway stare.“Oh… um, of course.” I lowered my gaze quickly. “It’s just… a lot has happened. Too much, too fast.” I looked toward the open air, toward the endless sky.He rested an arm around my shoulders, his fingers finding my hand, lacing through my fingers. The slow, circular move

I’d been sitting on the edge of the opening for about half an hour.My legs dangled into the void, and I was completely lost in thought when a demon began flying suspiciously toward me from above. Out of the shadows, I recognized Regnar—the silent, blond-haired guy. He landed beside me with graceful ease, folded his wings, and sat down on the edge, wrapping his arms tightly around me.Even though my tears had long since dried, his embrace brought up new emotions within me.“What’s up, Regnar?” I kept staring downward, and when I realized he wouldn’t reply, I turned to him in panic. “Oh God, I’m so sorry!”I closed my eyes and shook my head at my own thoughtlessness. His hands slid up to the back of my neck, gently squeezing; I gave in to his touch and turned my face toward him.His wide, closed-lipped smile reached all the way to his eyes, and his cheerful mood slowly started rubbing off on me. He playfully nudged me with his shoulder, then released my neck only to wrap his arm around

He hurried to the door with impossibly quiet footsteps. Pressing the bottom with one foot and gripping the top hinge with his thin fingers, he opened the heavy wooden door without a sound.“We’ve got maybe twenty minutes, then they’ll notice I’m not in my room anymore. Once that happens, everything gets more complicated,” he whispered over his shoulder as he ran ahead of me without a sound. “First we need to get the stone. There are usually two guards assigned to the lower corridors, but they rotate. If we do it right, we can get in unnoticed. If it fails, one of them is yours and the other’s mine.” He rattled the plan out, increasingly excited.From his silent sprint and the detailed plan it was clear he had been plotting his escape from Rodriguez for quite some time. If he’d really thought everything through as thoroughly as it seemed, I might have an easier job than I’d first believed.“I can handle both of them at once… Better go find your crown in the meantime, that’ll buy us tim

If I said I was angry, that would be an understatement.Behind me, I heard Sadira hurry away as I spread my wings; she pressed herself against the wall, taking deep breaths to calm down.“I’m feeling generous, so I’ll give you one last chance—” I began, but the gun went off again, and the bullet buried itself in my wing.I felt the darkness consume me—the demon inside broke free completely. I flexed the aching wing, and the bullet clattered to the floor. Seeing Rodriguez’s arrogant, disbelieving face, a wicked grin crept to the corner of my mouth.“Show time!” I kicked off the ground—and in the blink of an eye, I was in front of him.I wrapped my hand around his throat, lifted him, and slowly squeezed the air out of his lungs. The demon within screamed for me to crush his neck, but another part of me shouted back: Stop.“Jake!” A woman’s scream cut through the madness.The sound snapped me back to reality. I turned—and froze. Sadira lay by the open door, a knife pressed to her throat.