Acrasia

The Realm.

           How she knew I had made plans to abandon her, I don't know. I laid awake for hours after she had finally slept just trying to pinpoint how she had found out. I'd never tell her, but she's smarter than I realized. Beneath her playful, innocent exterior is a very intuitive and powerful demon wearing the flesh of an alluring woman.

          "Are you sure you aren't going to tell her? Last chance. You could just go explain yourself-"

          "No. It's better this way." Alexavier snorts in disbelief.

          "Fine, don't take my advice. You should know by now that you have zero tact. You're making a mistake. My loyalty lies in my half sister, so don't expect me to cover you. I'll play dumb and let you suffer her wrath."

          "I owe her no explanation."

          "Technically, asshole, you owe her your life. From my understanding Yeomorah was about to gut you. In theory, you should have died."

          "I was handling my own thank you."

          "Then HOW did she die? Did you just let him kill her?" I flinch. I killed her, but I am not about to reveal that to him. So far nobody has taken Sera seriously when she mentioned it, only Nomias knows that Seraphine talks the truth. The others blame her fading mind at the time.

           "She flung herself at him in attack and he got her. Foolish mistake really, her own fault."

           All is silent for a while as we travel farther from grandfather's home.  From Sera. Who was awake but didn't respond to me. I could read her mind though, and it haunts me as I try to bar it from my mind. No. No, I won't. We'll be gone. She plans to leave me, just as she thinks I'm leaving her. She took my abrasive behavior and mixed signals as a sign of parting. Her emotions were all over the place.

         "Alexavier?"

          "Yeah?"

          "Do you think that I've destroyed my chances?"

          "I believe you had done that a long time ago. Whatever fuckery you pulled last night, just iced the cake. I might not be an incubus, and be able to read minds and emotions as you can, but I could feel her fury through the house. However you handled the situation, failed. You should have just told her. I've spent ebough time in the human world now to know that humans place huge value on abstract morals like trust, honesty, appreciation. Those women on the talk shows claim you cannot have love or a relationship without trust. I believe she trusts Yeomorah as much as you now. You might he number two on her shit list, a fitting number really." I growl and shake my head in frustration. I'll kill him long before we ever reach Ezekiel.

          "She knows to trust me. I've housed her, feed her, bought her things-"

          "And lied, manipulated, withheld information, cheated, abused, threatened and basically blackmailed. Not a valid point. Obedience and trust are two entirely different things. All you had is fearful obedience. She fell in line only because of fear of harm to herself or others, not because she trusts you to care for her. She doesn't depend on you, because there's no trust. She complies enough to stay alive while she works out the kinks herself, because she knows you'll let her down. She expects it. Yesterday, she was acting strangely and kept sneaking into Nomias's library. She also was caught trying to get the servants to bring her random things. She couldn't figure out your plan, so I suspect that she's working up something of her own. She's resourceful."

         "Do you think she will be there when we return? I am trying to do what's best here, for all three of us." He sighs.

          "I'm not going to lie, I doubt it. She might have, had you explained to her that you were doing this for her and the baby to be a family." I rub my temples. I'm sick of having my failures repeated to me. I'm aware that I complicated everything.