A Demon's Kiss ✔️

TWELVE

Word Count: 2154

~Aspen

Kastriv 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 telling him I am nothing but a burden, and protecting me is pointless.

"Who should I be more scared of, Keo, or Oliver?" I ask, shifting uncomfortably. It's easier to keep talking instead of maintaining eye contact with him, considering how easily it is for my thoughts to stop making sense when we do.

Kastriv laughs, like I just asked a ridiculous question. "Keo. Oliver is no threat. I'll kill him if I have to."

"Kastriv..." I growl.

"What? My word as a Noble trumps his," he notes. I narrow my eyes, watching that smile play along his lips.

I don't even want to ask how murder sits so well with him...

"But a Noble doesn't have a right to take people's wives. And both parties must agree to a divorce," I remind him, tucking my legs up onto the couch, wishing I could relax.

I'm only just starting to feel like I'm not about to implode in Kastriv's presence. This is an unwelcome addition to my worries.

Kastriv's expression sobers, and once again, he has that irritated look about him. "Whatever happens, I'm not letting you leave this house to return to Oliver. I refuse."

I chew on the edge of my nail. Going back to Oliver makes me feel so sick, to step back into that dark, horrifying place.

"I won't go back. I'll fight it," I concede.

Kastriv doesn't bother hiding his relief. Would he have locked me in here like some sad Princess to stop me crawling back to my husband?

It would make quite the scandalous story, were the public to find out...

A highly political man's wife being stolen away from him by a Noble. The wicked, erotic rumours that would arise to make sense of such an event. Most of it would be true, too, if my rampant fantasies went beyond that...being a fantasy.

I open my mouth to mention something about it, perhaps to make a joke, but Kastriv continues to speak.

"We should talk about Keo..."

"He won't hurt me though, because I'm a Demon," I say, even though I'm not entirely convinced of that. I just hope Demon's have some kind of comradery.

"True enough, but I had hoped the band of Demon's weren't related to him. I don't want you to get mixed up in that group," Kastriv mutters, shaking his head hopelessly.