Word Count: 1497

~Aspen

Kastriv stands between my legs as I sit on the counter, wincing every time he presses the damp cloth against the side of my head.

"I hate that he did this to you," he murmurs, rinsing the cloth in the sink beside me.

I watch the blood dilute in the water, flowing down the drain. My stomach turns uncomfortably, knowing that he could have killed me with no effort at all.

"I guess this means I'll never be able to go in public again." I stare down at my hands, trying not to get emotional.

Will I ever know freedom?

Kastriv frowns, shaking his head, although I get the feeling he is trying to make me feel better. "It doesn't have to mean that. We can fix this."

He presses the cloth to the side of my head again, and I wince.

"Ouch." The stinging pain is bearable, but it's frustrating. At least the dizziness has subsided, and the wound isn't bad enough to take a long time to heal.

"Sorry, he got you pretty good." I can hear the quiet anger in his voice. I wonder if he's replaying that man's death in his head over and over again.

"Thank you for coming to get me," I breathe, trying to keep my head positioned so he can access the wound.

Had Kastriv not come to help me, there is a chance I may not have come out of that alive.

"Vadric had heard about you and mentioned it to me. I was moments away from leaving the estate when word came in," he explains.

"I'm lucky."

"I'm sorry about losing control with that spirit again." He winces, remembering the feeling of being touched by them. I can only envision how terrifying that would have been.

"You can't help it. It's not your fault," I assure him.

He didn't ask to be burdened with the sight of spirits.

"I know...It's just becoming more frequent and I'm tired of it," he sighs, gently rubbing some cream against my head. I hiss through my teeth, trying not to tug my head away as the pain becomes overwhelming.

"The mental toll must be a lot." The fact that this spirit looks like his mate is a whole other element on top of it.

I just hope I don't have a connection to this, and that it's just a spirit using my appearance to torment him.

"I've seen spirits my whole life, but nothing like this." He washes his hands, unbothered by the blood.

"Does she still seem desperate?" I ask.

"Yeah. She continues to scream silently and cry like she's being tortured," he exclaims, shuddering.

I watch as his gaze shifts to the corner of the room, and then straight back to me. She is here, right now, and even though I know she isn't technically real, it is chilling, as if I can feel her presence.

"Don't let it get to you. Unless you can do something about it, then I wouldn't give it any thought," I assure him, even if I'm officially creeped out.

Kastriv frowns slightly, but nods. It's hard not to think about something that he can see right in front of him, but I don't want him to start going crazy because of it.

"I saw Keo while you were gone," I say suddenly.

Kastriv physically flinches, his worry melting away to cold anger. "What did he want?"

"He helped me connect to my magic and something weird happened." I swallow tightly, remembering the strange feeling that had come over me.

How long have I been able to do that? Keo would tell me forever, I just didn't have the right people around me...

"Like what?"

"For a moment I was in his head, looking through his eyes." I'm not sure how else to describe it. It was such a strange sensation, like nothing I've felt before, and I'm not sure I ever want to feel it again.

A variety of emotions pass over Kastriv's face as he takes in that information.

"Really?"

"It was crazy. With a little more effort I think I could have taken control of him."

Kastriv doesn't react, and for a moment, I feel like I've frightened him. He's never hated Demon's, but being mated to one probably wasn't what he expected, and now, he has to deal with my terrifying sounding powers.

"That sounds dangerous." He reaches out and grabs my hand, as if to comfort me. My heart melts.

I'm so used to being paired with a lover who sees every part of me as a flaw. I have to constantly remind myself that Kastriv isn't like that.

"I know. I'm not sure I like it."

"Do you want to try it on me?" He asks gently. My eyes widen, surprised he's asking this with no trace of doubt in his tone.

"No! I couldn't..."

"Why not?"

"You're my mate, it doesn't feel right." Being inside his head is the biggest possible violation that I could commit. What if I can gain control of him? What if I don't know how to back out of his head once I am in it?

Kastriv doesn't seem fearful, although I suppose he has been exposed to magic his entire life. To him, this is normal.

"It doesn't have to be for malicious reasons," he shrugs, resting his hands on my thighs.

"You're probably too powerful anyway." At this point I'm just searching for a reason not to, even if I'm curious about it.

Kastriv raises a brow. "And Keo's not?"

"Good point," I sigh.

"Come on. Give it a try," he insists, smiling comfortingly. I shake my head at him, hardly believing he wants to encourage me to use my magic right now.

"Or we could just spend some time together, just you and me," he say sweetly, drawing him closer between my legs.

Grabbing either side of his face, I draw him in for a kiss.

He doesn't pull away, although I can tell he's not about to sweep me up off this counter and take me to his bedroom. Right now, I want that more than I want to be in his mind.

He sighs as he pulls away, holding me by the shoulders.

"I could kiss you forever, and right now, all I want to do is take you to my bed," he murmurs, dark eyes glazed as they trace over my lips

"Then do it."

"If you really have these powers, you should try them out some more, to see how far it can go," he reminds me.

I tip my head back. "Alright, but I don't have Keo here to boost my magic through our bond of both being Demon's."

Kastriv sighs distastefully. Every time I say Keo's name it's like I'm summoning an ancient curse that could plague this world.

"Maybe I can help. We have a mate bond, there is no stronger connection to be had," he offers, helping me down from the counter.

"I'll give it a try."

I'm not sure how successful I will be considering the wound on my head, but Kastriv is right, I should probably try. So gripping Kastriv's hand, I close my eyes and breathe in deeply, trying to rid my mind of any thoughts that don't pertain to the bond between him and I.

Soon enough, I can feel is, strong and alive between us. It's more than I've ever felt with Keo, and once I grab a good hold of it, it practically throws me into Kastriv's mind.

I blink warily, seeing myself through Kastriv's gaze.

My eyes are closed, concentrating, so instead of staring at myself, I shift my gaze to examine the room.

And then I see her. The spirit.

It's like there's two of me in the room. A version of myself sits in the corner of the room, weeping into my hands. It's clear this version of me is the spirit, considering they look fainter, with less of a grasp on this world.

And then, the spirit looks up, right at me. Her face is streaked with tears, looking absoloutely horrified.

"Help me," she pleads.

I flinch, falling from Kastriv's mind in my fright, right back into mine.

The moment I am back in my body, I stumble away, my back hitting the wall as I gasp out.

"Woah, Aspen what's wrong?" Kastriv asks, reaching for me. I let him pull me against him, as my mind rakes over what just happened.

"I saw the spirit," I whisper, fighting my panic. I just saw the spirit, who spoke to me, when only Kastriv possesses that power, which means I may be able to occupy anyone's mind and subsequently use their powers.

Kastriv's gaze roves over my face. "What?"

"This is bad Kastriv. Really bad," I breathe.

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