I had only made it one step out of the doorway when I found myself stopping. That lingering feeling in the back of my mind forced me to take stock of everything I had just seen. Between Eva's frantic decisions, and Nora's inability to look me in the face for longer than 5 seconds I was struggling to comprehend leaving without answers.

I could not be content with walking out of this door until I knew exactly what was causing my Nora's head to spin in such a way. In every look she gave me there was something in the back of mind that caused a slight twitch; her face scrunching ever so slightly; anyone else would have passed it off as a momentary itch or their own imagination.

But I knew that subtle change meant something. It meant something about her that I needed to know.

While a multitude of thoughts had whirled in my head, the decision to turn back was a quick one. So quick, in fact, Nora didn't have the time to compose herself when I'd whipped around and began to walk towards her. There wasn't a second lost in my stride, unknowingly allowing my face to drop to a scowl as I met her face to face. Her amber eyes looked back up at me; even the golden shimmer that often shone through seemed to be dulled down behind the warm confusion, "What are you doing, Nika?"

That confusion-laced voice rang in my ears in a tone I was accustomed to; the 'you love me and would never hurt me so what are you doing' tone that I forced myself to ignore. I was genuinely mad and would not allow her to run away from that at this moment - her back pressed firmly against the solid surface of the wall behind her. I remain silent for a moment as I take in her features, drinking up the expression on her face as I stare down at her.

She had quickly gotten comfortable underneath me. A comfort level that put me on edge enough to abruptly slam my hands onto the wall beside her head. The force of the action causes pieces of plaster and paint to come away in a flood of dust particles, some floating onto her clothes and hair. I couldn't help but be pleased with the fact Nora hadn't moved an inch, she hadn't even flinched. She trusted me enough that nothing I could do would force her to run from my arms.

I lowered my head down so it was mere inches away from her face, her eyes widening as she began to lose her cool. I can't help but smirk as I whisper, "Did you really think I was just going to leave without getting to the bottom of this, Nora?"

One of my hands slowly lowers to her chin, my fingers softly caressing the skin as my body moves to prevent her from escaping my grasp. I watch as she begins to bite her bottom lip hard, lifting her chin up to get a good look at her expression change.

Then there it was. That intense blush vividly took over her cheeks and forced her to lower her head and look at the ground. She was going to try to keep her composure for as long as she possibly could, just as I expected from my Nora.

I had always thought, if I went into hiding and people were looking for me, she'd certainly be in the top three people I'd trust in keeping my location hidden; she'd withstand at least a sizable amount of torture before releasing it. Though, right now, she was against me; not a stranger putting her in danger - it was me, pleading with her.

"What are you suggesting here? I'm not hiding anything from you, Nika." She retorts, almost sounding exasperated at the very suggestion she could be. I might have believed it if she hadn't continued, sounding like she had forced herself to choke out, "Nothing important anyway."

Her hands had gone to my chest, pressing them firmly in a weak attempt to push me away. She wasn't putting a lot of effort into it because she knew fine well I was stronger now; she'd need a spell or potion to put me down, and her head was ringing far too much to think either of those was a viable solution.

I placed a hand on the side of her neck, gently caressing her clavicle as she breathed out deeply. I watched as her eyes began to water, her fingers tightening around my shirt. I took this moment of weakness as an opportunity to get closer, leaning in next to her head and speaking quietly, hoping to reassure her, "I know you better than I've ever known myself. I can tell when you're upset, I can tell when you're angry and I can tell when you're holding yourself back,"

Her face had twisted into an expression that just screamed of disagreement; like she was about to argue but didn't quite have the words yet, but they were coming, and I couldn't let her get started with them yet. So I forced myself to bite the bullet and speak with the snark she was used to from a less controlled, angry version of myself, "Don't discredit me by lying to me."

Her head had dropped back towards the ground, avoiding eye contact with me to refrain from giving me any more context clues to how she was feeling. That I couldn't handle. I needed to solve this. Now.

So I found myself taking hold of her chin again, a little more tightly than before, forcing her to look straight at me and listen, "Look into my eyes and tell me there isn't something you're holding back from telling me. I won't believe you, but I can at least pretend to."

"You don't get-"

My free hand had slammed into the wall on the other side of her face to cut her off. Once again, she refused to flinch, simply, staring at the plaster that began to flake off the wall as I repositioned my hand nearer to her head.

"No." I said through gritted teeth, pressing myself into her frame, "That's not what I said to do, now is it, Nora? If you're going to lie to me, do it sincerely. If you're going to tell me the truth, do it now."

Seeing her tremble underneath me made me take a step back, removing my arms from surrounding her and letting her drop to the ground. I squatted down in front of her, folding my arms over as I spoke a little more sincerely, "There's something you're not telling me about what's going on Norie. You've got this look on your face like it's the end of the world and you're never going to see me again. Now explain it to me. Slowly. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I can't tell you," She said shakily. I didn't believe her even now as she sat near crying in front of me. That seemed to be clear to her; because she had watched my face drop into a scowl and eyes roll into the back of my skull.

So her own face had begun to glare, a slight bark in her tone, "Don't you look at me like that."

She had gained more confidence as I removed myself from her; realising that she wasn't exactly powerless in this situation. There wasn't a single part of me that would ever even consider harming a hair on this woman's head, and she knew that. It had taken her a while to remember that was the case, but she'd gotten there eventually.

"Like the woman I love isn't keeping something from me?" I said quietly, unsure of how I was meant to proceed. I had tried compassion. I had tried force. What was left for me to use against her? "I can't ignore the fact you look like you're going to lose me all over again, Nora. It's clearly not just because I'm going to the surface, is it?"

She had leaned forward to adjust herself to her knees, looking right at me as she spoke with more passion than I'd seen in a while, "You don't know anything, Nika. You don't understand how difficult it is for me to sit here and learn everything that I know and not be able to prevent it. I have sat here looking over you, ignoring your half-baked flings with others and putting my heart and soul into keeping you safe no matter the consequence, but that means nothing to you. You're still in front of me, doubting me."

"I don't doubt you," I murmur, my eyes firmly on the ground. I couldn't look at her until I heard her step forward and place a hand on my arm, "You have my heart. Body and soul. I'm ready to accept a demonic witch of a lover who likes to torture me with the known unknown, I just want to know what I'm in for before then, Norie."

She sighs, "I need you to understand that I am trying. Just trust me. Please," She was pleading with me, but I was struggling to give in to it. She was asking something of me that I wasn't sure she'd give back.

"Do you trust me?" I ask in retort, trying to hide the worry in my voice.

I was expecting her not to respond. I was expecting her to bluff her way out of answering the question because, with all that she knew about me, there was no way she could fathom trusting me. But then she speaks softly, arms coming around my waist to allow her to snuggle up to my chest and look up at me with big doe eyes, "I've been inside your head, you know. I know what you did and how you feel about what you did. And I still love you. Is that not trust enough?"

I couldn't respond, the words clouded even as I thought of them. I was simply left embracing the hug she'd wrapped me in. Letting several moments of unfounded bliss pass me by before she gently nudged me towards the door with a sickeningly sweet smile.

"You have things to do, handsome." She said, a breath of relief leaving her mouth as she spoke before she sauntered back to the sofa, not turning back as I stepped out the door and back out of her life. Back into the cold, I felt without her next to me.

Even the corridor that was once full of golden warmth from the glow of the sun has dimmed, leaving the walkout a shadowy reminder of my choice to abandon her as she had previously done me.

I didn't expect to see anyone as I left the townhouse, quietly closing over the door and allowing myself to breathe in the warm air, lowering my head and pressing hard on the wall by the door. It was taking all of my strength to actually leave the relative safety of the witches. I didn't have a lot of fight left in me for another war, so I had to wonder whether Kara was worth that.

But that was a dangerous thought. I couldn't leave that girl to die. Not yet anyway. If she died now it'd be all my fault. Not a single per cent could be laid on anyone else. I just had to hold onto the belief that Adrienne was keeping her by her side, and she wouldn't let anything happen to her.

But that wasn't a thought I could dwell on here. When you are faced with unimaginable beauty you must put aside your doubts of survival for a moment or two to simply bask. In a more put together state, I could appreciate the place that the witches had built far more. Every nook and cranny was designed in such a way it could only belong here; from the pavement cracks being filled by the roots from trees that filled every space between the buildings to the flower vines that hang from different roofs - the colour of which syncing with the colour of the brick as though they were made for each other.

Not that that was surprising in any which way. It was clear to me now that in the time I had been here the witches had excelled in the mundane yet brilliant arts; the creation of objects and botany that could fuel their personal society and witchcraft without the necessity of visiting the surface.

The courtyard in the centre of the plaza was still as beautiful as before; a large purple-coloured cherry tree standing impossibly tall in the centre; its blossoms covering the grass beneath. Underneath this tree were three figures, clambering together frantically, one of which was slumped on the grey coloured bench that was pushed against the trunk.

Eva was one of the figures standing, her hand tilting the others face in every direction trying to find fault. As I got close enough on my walk I had enough clues to figure out this was a less than composed Violet, completely out of her element.

It now made sense that Eva had darted away from Nora in this instance; Violet was the only other person on this earth she would hold any light for. As soon as I was told Violet was their sister, I realised I would have to change my attitude towards the temptress; she had a family of magic behind her, keeping her safe, and willing to sacrifice themselves for her. That's how they were.

The vampiric sister was hovering over someone, shielding the figure with her own body. With a quick tilted glance, I understood why; the woman's face had been mutilated horrifically; a long noticeable scar beginning at her forehead and working its way down her face. What wasn't touched by the wound was covered in a mixture of blood and tears. There was something vaguely familiar about her, but I couldn't quite put my finger to it.

Whoever had done such a thing had done it with gruesome intent; a tortuous action meant to tell either her something or someone who was to lay eyes on her. Either way, it was something I'd take great pleasure in dealing with personally. If not just to remove the option from the older sisters of my own love. For now, though, I had a long list of issues to deal with, and Violet was fretting enough for four planets worth of people. I had never seen her in such a state.

She was a woman that lived for a challenge; she thrived in harsh circumstances, hit her stride while others would crumble. Her entire facade was based on the idea she met everyone and everything with an enviable composure. Yet here she was, a look of genuine fear plastered on her face as she looked down at this girl with eyes of concern struck between beauty and devastation.

I tore my eyes away from the trio of women; there was nothing I could do for her now that Violet and Eva couldn't. Which left me with the only remaining option; turning away and finding the nearest exit that would allow me to get within Eastern. I needed to get as close to the Central gate as I could before something bad happened. The sooner, the better, really.