I wake up, dazed and dizzy. My head aches, my arms are numb.

Where am I? I remember sneaking about in some dark alleyway, then shoving my power at—

I jerk up, glaring across the way to see if he survived my blast of power.

Sure enough, Az sits up, too, looking as confused as I feel.

"What did you do?" I seethe as I hop to my feet, gulping down the nausea. Whatever he sent at me knocked me out real good; and what I shot at him surely didn't leave him unscathed.

He tries to get up as fast as me, but his huge body deceives him. He grunts, rubs his forehead, then manages to stand somewhat, though he appears unstable on his feet.

Perfect moment to finish him.

I pull out the dagger in my boots and point it at him. "Nice try, but I'm ending this, now."

As I storm up to him, unbothered by his size and how easily he could scoop me up and toss me against a wall, he doesn't budge.

Screams echo in the background, in the avenues surrounding us. The world is darker, drearier, grayer than before we knocked each other out.

I ignore it all. The only way to fix this is to kill him; then I'll focus on helping the goddesses restore the world.

I hurdle forward. Soon enough, the tip of my dagger presses into his chest, and still, he doesn't move. Doesn't manifest the urge to stop me.

I grimace up at him. "Why aren't you defending yourself?"

"Because I deserve this," he says, his voice low, gravelly. He still doesn't move.

"You do, but you're a demon. Demons don't die easily, from what I heard." I push the tip a tiny bit further; he winces, but doesn't try to push me away. "Didn't you just try to take me out? Why the change of heart?"

"I didn't try to take you out," he says, his expression shifting. He pulls away now, but instead of running off or dodging me, he crumbles to his knees before me. "All I did was block your attack, barely. Wasting time so I could talk to you before you slit my throat."

"I'd rather stab in the heart," I say, staying where I am. "You know, so you'll suffer the same pain you inflicted on me."

He puffs out a breath, dipping his chin. "I earned that." He's so large, even kneeling he's almost as tall as me. His bulky frame trembles as he peers up at me, his black eyes watering. "If you have to kill me to fully soothe your heart, to fulfill whatever your goals are, so be it. But I beg that you hear me out, first."

I scowl at him. "You want me to kill you?"

"I want you to do what's right, but not before I've said my piece." He shrugs a few stray hairs behind his ears, remaining on his knees. "I seek redemption. I must explain myself to you."

I motion at him with the knife. "Fine, then get on with it. I have things to do."

"I don't want this world to fade," he says, so fast he almost cuts me off. "I never wanted this."

"You're a demon," I say with a snarl, amused that he'd pretend to be so good on the inside.

I know what he is. I've known for a while. And like a fool I let him take advantage of me in exchange for one steamy night.

Very steamy. Probably the best of my life.

But that doesn't change anything.

"Yes, I'm a demon, but I also got a taste of this world in ways I don't think I was supposed to." He gulps, drops his chin. "I succumbed to this place's appeal, and I don't want to see it destroyed. To know that hearts all around me are suffering."

The word hearts prompts me to remember something he said earlier. "How do you know about hearts? How are you able to...read them?"

He looks up. "I'm a demon of heartbreak. In every way, your complete nemesis."

"Demon of heartbreak?" I quirk an eyebrow, jut out a hip, tap my free finger to my chin. "Never read about you in the goddesses' annals."

"That's because I'm a new breed." Az shakes his head. "Created to spread discord and turn the world to negativity."

I chortle dishearteningly. "Well done on that."

"I know what I did," he says, sounding defensive. "But I didn't know the full extent of my goals when I was sent up here. Crafted to bypass the veil between our worlds, to hunt down hearts and make them impure. And I didn't know you, the embodiment of love, were to become my target."

"You truly had no clue what I was," I say, sensing my arm lower slightly. My blade is still poised to slash into his gut, but I'm not ready to end him yet.

"I didn't, and I regret it. Had I known..." Something dark flashes over his face, and he growls, keeping his gaze lowered. "My king purposely omitted certain facts to better rope me into his plans. I consented to breaking hearts, yes. And I knew he wanted to escape his prison. But to destroy the world in the process? I don't agree with that."

I freeze. "You...work for the King of Hell directly?"

Not that I'd read tons on demon-kind, but I was under the impression there were factions and supervisors, like for the goddesses and us angels.

But as it turns out, this king has direct underlings that he's been creating to send up to us to spy and dismantle?

"Worked," he says, frowning as our gazes connect. "I can't abide by him anymore. I'm not a normal demon; not what he wanted me to be, at least."

I snicker. "But you're still a demon. And you're still responsible for all this."

He starts to rise. "Yes, and so are you, Druvena."

A chill darts down my spine; he knows my full name?

He nods, as if reading my mind. "I'm Azath, by the way. The name that monster gifted me."

My arm is shaking from holding the dagger up. Or from the revelations; I'm uncertain. "What do you mean I am responsible for this?"

"It's your heart that started the process," he says, adjusting his cloak, brushing it off. "Yes, I wounded you, but you...ignited the situation, so to speak."

"What are you getting at?" My mind is racing, and I'm eager to plunge my dagger into him to shut him up.

But at the same time...I recognize he's right. I've already taken responsibility in front of Drenaris. I did enable all this, and it's my task to repair it. She asked me to. She healed my heart for that purpose.

I thought killing Azath was the solution, but...perhaps there's another way?

"That you and I are both in this. And we could both fix it."

I nearly shove into him. "You're a demon. Never would I work with you towards a common goal."

"Yet you wanted to fuck me?" He dares a sly glance at me, and when I slither forward with intent, he raises his hands in surrender. "Sorry, sorry, you walked into that one. Yes," he sighs, "I'm a demon. I should crave violence and blood, but...I don't. Not like this. Not when it means the end of the world."

I narrow my gaze, my shoulders tight. "So what exactly do you want, then? What are you suggesting?" I guffaw. "Peace on earth? Don't make me laugh."

"Perhaps not peace," he says, perking up, "but not destruction. I..." He flinches, then dips his chin, fiddling with his hands. "I don't truly care about anything, because I still...only want you. My heart, black or red or whatever color it is, only beats for you. I seduced you, stomped all over you, used you to further my master's sordid goals, but...in the end, fuck him. You're my goal. You're everything I've ever wanted without even knowing it. Druvena, I...I love you."

The dagger drops from my hand.

Wordcount: 1,328
TOTAL: 35,066