Word Count: 1678

~Aspen

Kastriv didn't get his wish in getting us as far from the ball as possible.

We need to stay close, in case anything changes with Oliver. So instead of returning to our sweet, flower surrounding cabin, we are stuck on the ground floor of an old motel in Territory One.

I haven't wasted any time telling Kastriv about the agreement I've come to with Keo.

I figured I shouldn't keep anything from him, and he's going to find out eventually...

He stares at me. "This is a terrible idea."

"It's all I have." I rub the back of my neck, trying to avoid sitting down on the unstable double bed in the centre of the room.

I've seen the state of those sheets, and it's disturbing.

"I know you think you can trust him, but what benefit does he get from this?" Kastriv questions, trying to make sense of Keo's motivations.

"He's going to train me to get a firmer hold on my magic." Kastriv knows this by now, he just doesn't want to admit it.

Were it anyone else, he wouldn't mind. I know that. It's Keo that is the problem, and after being enemies for so many years, I don't blame my mate for having reservations.

Even I sometimes wonder if I'm being used Keo to get to Kastriv.

"Maybe I can train you," he rasps, pacing back and forth. "I have magic too, remember. Not like what he has, but it's powerful."

"It's different. He's-"

"A Demon. I know," Kastriv sighs.

"Trust me, I don't want to work with him. But what choice do I have?" I don't want to be in the dark anymore. Not after everything I went through with Oliver controlling my life.

Kastriv shakes his head, the city light streaming in through the window, drenching him in golden light and shadow.

"No one has found a way to communicate with the spirits I see. I'm the only one," he tells me softly. "As hard as Keo may try, it is unlikely he is going to find a solution."

"There has to be someone else. Keo can track them," I insist. Otherwise how else will we find out the truth about this spirit?

Knowing it may be present at any time is a horrible feeling.

Kastriv steps toward me, gaze softening. "What if we get an answer you don't want."

I shudder. What would that be? What would be the worst outcome? Anything that would draw Kastriv and I apart would be bad, but we are mates...we are destined to have nothing come between us.

"I'm sure we will. I doubt the reason you're seeing me as a spirit is a good one," I say with a shrug.

I can only hope he isn't seeing me as one because death is knocking on my door.

"Do you see that spirit often now?" I ask tentatively, not sure I actually want to know the answer.

When I look into his eyes, so warm and soft, I sometimes forget he is cursed to see spirits for the rest of his life, that he cannot escape his face. No wonder Keo thinks Kastriv is dripping in darkness.

Kastriv winces, leaning against the window sill. "Everyday."

"That must be hard."

He looks down at his feet, frowning. "It's like I'm watching you suffering. I know it's not you, but...what if you're connected to it and you will feel like her one day?"

I step toward him, taking his hands in mine. His fingers are ice cold, despite the Territory One heat.

"I'm not that spirit. It's probably using my appearance to deceive you," I assure him softly, brushing my thumbs over his skin rhythmically.

He draws in a deep breath. "It's working."

"What other spirits are you seeing?" I try to keep my eyes pinned to his face, instead of letting them drift as if I can see them all around us, listening in to our conversation, probably whispering about me and how a Demon shouldn't be with an Angel-blood.

Just like Atari.

"There's a young boy, who tells me incoherent stories. He likes to gossip, to tell me what others are saying when they are out of my earshot. He's one of the only ones I can communicate with," Kastriv explains slowly.

He glances to his left, and I shudder. I know this boy is here, watching us, probably saying something to Kastriv as we speak.

"What do they say about me?" I stare into the space where Kastriv was looking.

"Nothing much," he mumbles, looking down at my hand still in his.

I pull it away, noting his refusal to look in my eyes suddenly. "You're lying...they talk about me."

"They say nothing, Kiva. Why would I lie to you?" He questions.

He doesn't look offended that I'm accusing him, but there is a tinge of sadness in his eyes. I get the feeling he feels obliged to keep these things from me, for my safety or something...

Deciding there is probably no point in pushing him more about it, I change tact. "What was your childhood like?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

I shrug casually. "I'm curious..."

Keo's warning still haunts me. What if Kastriv isn't who I think he is? What if there is more going on behind his kind smile and gentle demeanour. He has acted so expertly in front of Oliver before....

What if he is doing that to me?

"I don't remember much. As soon as it was revealed I was an Angel-blood with a lot of power, people came and took me away." He looks out the window, city light glittering in his dark irises.

"How did they prove your powers?" They seem so subjective. Almost nobody experiences it aside from Kastriv.

He takes a long time to answer, thinking.

"Atari can sense it."

My mouth falls into a grim line. Of course she can. It's how she chooses her precious Noble's that she can bring into her life and manipulate.

I swallow despite my dry throat. "How long have you been bringing spirits to life?"

"Kiva..."

"Be honest. Otherwise I'm walking away," I tell him firmly. If he cannot even admit that part of his powers to me, then how will we ever find a solution to anything?

He sweeps a hand through his hair. "Since I was a kid. It started innocently enough, brining some to life to be my friend, to keep me company. But it's never gone that far...I mean, they only live for as long as I want them to, and it's hardly living, it's just a gentle grasp on reality."

"That's bad, Kastriv. Really bad," I whisper.

This changes the way every see's the world. If normal citizens knew that Kastriv was capable of bringing spirts to life...well, there would be riots, I'm sure of it.

"I got so angry at the ball. The spirits fed off my anger and misread my intentions," he explains, stepping forward as if his proximity could convince me.

"Your intentions were to hurt him. I know that." I'm scared of that, that he is capable of hurting people without so much as a flare of angry emotions.

His brows furrow. "Does it not make you angry, hearing them talk like that?"

"It doesn't matter. I wouldn't ever get that angry," I insist.

I've spent so much of my life already trying to reign in my anger. It would have taken little planning for me to walk down to the kitchen in the middle of the night, grab a knife and drive it through Oliver's heart.

I thought about it...even when I was in tears, injured from what he had done to me, I still knew I would never be able to bring myself to do that. That it was wrong.

Kastriv looks down, takes a breath and then looks back up at me.

"You're my mate," he breathes.

He sounds so broken, so hurt that my heart sinks a little. I'm being hard on him, I realise. He cares about me, he will do anything for me.

I've never had that...it's strange to know I have that now.

"I know..." I break off.

He grabs my shoulders, shaking me gently. "You don't think I'm capable of hurting those who hurt you?"

"I know now you are." That's what I'm scared of.

"Anyone who comes between us will die. Do you understand?" He says it with such coldness, such darkness that a chill shudders through me.

I believe him. All the way in the darkest depths of me.

"Nothing will. Not unless you don't stop bringing them to life," I murmur, pushing on his chest firmly.

He closes his eyes, lowering his head so his hair falls down, covering his eyes. He looks so beautiful, even when he is in pain. He's like an Angel in the purest form.

"I won't. I'll stop," he promises.

He looks up again, but pauses before he says anything. Turning his head, he looks toward the door.

"What is it?" I ask shakily.

"Something isn't right." He stalks to the door, throwing it open.

Outside the door, in the dead of night, there is no one to be seen. The street is entirely empty, aside from an odd breeze billowing down.

Kastriv stoops down, picking up something that was plastered to the door mat. Looking over his shoulder, I note that many others on the street have a similar piece of paper outside their homes.

Turning, my mate holds it out for me to see, his shoulders going stiff.

It's a picture of me, at the ball, dancing with Keo. My blood goes cold, seeing the large wording printed below it.

A Woman You Thought You All Knew, Is A Demon.

I swear I don't know how to breathe anymore.

"This is bad. Really bad," I whisper.

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