While Ace tells me his version of what happened in the woods earlier, I scan his first layer of thoughts to catch signs of lying. He seems like someone who lies well and easily and since I won't go deeper into his mind, I can never be sure... But I'm not crossing the first layer. Not ever again, not after the incident with the maid...

     " I went into The Forest to chill, I saw you and your friend. Then, as I was walking around, I saw her body ripped open on the ground. That's what triggered Darkness. You know what happened after that... "

     " But, did you see anyone else than us?! " He stares at me and sighs.

" You can't know what I was really doing, plus it was all an accident. "

I snap. " Tell me! "

His eyes darken and he puts his hand through his hair, looking down.

     " DO I NEED TO REMIND YOU THAT HEATHER DIED?! " He raises his hand abruptly, as if to slap me. I step back, astonished, as he tells me in a low tone:

     " Do you have to scream it so loudly ? I thought you were supposed to be smart. "

     " I AM smart..! I think so... That's not the matter here! If you can't be honest with me, I'm going to the cops with this. "

     " Swear you won't tell anyone. "

     " I don't make promises... " Ace gets closer, then whispers.

     " Promise me. "

     " No way... " I feel my heart beating furiously and try detaching my eyes from his lips.

     " A deal's a deal. I'm not my father and you're not selling your soul or anything. "

     " Alright, I promise. You're secret is safe with me. " He flaps his wings, startling me and I feel a burning sensation on my tongue. I whimper and bite it. He snickers and I get slightly worried. I did just make a deal with Satan's son... The weird burning on my tongue goes away.

     " I was supposed to meet up with a girl from my Demon Language class... "

     " Who ? "

     " Iris... And don't interrupt me again. Our meeting point was that clearing where your friend's body was. Iris was late, so I sat behind the trees surrounding, you know, the clearing, to smoke. That's when this random girl came running and Heather was following her. The blonde threw herself onto Heather, pinning her on the ground. When she started opening her up, I decided it was time to get outta there. "

     " If I understand correctly... You stood by and watched as my best friend was murdered!? "

     " Kinda. "

     " Wait. Does this mean Iris will..!? "

     " I guess. Except if she bailed on our meeting. "

     " I have to go back! And find Narbeth..! "

     " Why? "

     " To tell him Winnie's a murderer! "

     " You can't do that... "

     " Why not?! "

     " He'll ask how you found out... Your only evidence right now is information you swore to never tell. Also, you're pretty beaten up. It's a miracle you're not dead yet, with all that purple blood you lost. "

     " No offense, but it's not like I can just waltz into the nurse's office and expect she'll heal me without asking how I got all this. And I'll probably pass by at least 20 people on my way there. "

Ace smiles in a way that makes me slightly worried, looking almost like The Grinch for a second. He takes a step forward and brings his face closer to mine. We kiss in a less passionate way and I feel my wounds disappearing one by one. I back away slowly, confused. I flutter for a couple of seconds, amazed that my wings are just as they were before this whole mess.

     " How..? "

     " Our kiss made me snap out of my demon metamorphosis... Why wouldn't it heal? "

     " ... You do realize this is insane, right? "

     " Is it though? "

I don't answer him. What the first fragment of the curse did, or will do, to my twin and I is still a mystery and I never really got a chance to explore the abilities of being part-dragon. This could have something to do with it. It wouldn't be likely for Ace to have healing powers, so it's probably coming from me or a combination of his magical strength with mine. I sigh.

     " What now ..? "

     " We make sure to get rid of any evidence that we were in The Forest this afternoon and wait for someone to find her body. " His calmness is reassuring yet freaky.

     " Have you ever been in this situation before..?! " He grins.

     " Of course I have. You take care of Narbeth, I'll handle Iris. "

     " ...what about Winnie? "

     " She won't say a word, trust me. " 

I should probably reevaluate how much of a good decision trusting him is, but right now I gotta make sure Narbeth won't tell anyone about Heather's death. I make my wings fold back and we leave the dorm room. I take my cellphone out and text Ice's best friend to learn his location. He takes a while before sending the message, like he's hesitating. Finally, I know he went back to the library. I get there as quickly as I possibly can. He's waiting next to the large doorway.

     " Narbeth! We need to talk. "

     " You found your witness? " His tone is filled with sarcasm. He never acts like this, he's never rude with people, just annoying. I guess finding a dead body didn't help his mood...

     " Let's go someplace more priv... " I can't finish my sentence and feel my lungs running out of air. Winnie. Coming over here. A murderer... Just like me... But she killed Heather. It's different... Maybe the maid had best friends too. I still killed her. But it was an accident. You can't rip someone open by accident. Only Darkness could make anyone into an accidental murderer... Darkness or a curse. Maybe it wasn't her fault after all. There's only one way to know.

     " Narbeth, Diamond... H-hi... " Her hands are shaking and she looks like she cried quite a bit.

     " Come on, I know somewhere we can talk. Only the three of us. "

     " The four of us ya mean. " I groan in exasperation, spinning around to see my twin coming into the library.

     " Ice... Hey. "

     " You know her?! " Winnie exclaims quietly, surprised. The two guys exchange an amused look and my brother answers.

     " You could say that... "

We leave the library and take some hallways that aren't commonly used to avoid raising suspicion. It's not every day that a popular bad boy hangs out with only his closest friends and a complete loner. They follow me into The Forest. We walk for a while before reaching our destination : the Tent. Deep in the woods, there's this strange tent. It's never in the same place, but if anyone wanders around long enough and pictures it, it might just appear. The Tent knows when it's needed. It pops up out of thin air. Narbeth and Winnie jump. We enter it, luckily it's empty. A bonfire lights up in the center and four blankets roll out on the ground around it.

" What the..?! "

" Don't worry, you're safe here. "

" Can we trust her? "

" Kind of. "

I sigh and snap at my twin:

     " Will you stop talking telepathically in my back like I can't hear you?! " Narbeth cocks an eyebrow in surprise and mutters:

     " Wait, what?! "

Ice scoffs at my reaction, then says. " Damn, sis, calm down. I thought you didn't delve into minds anymore. "

     " I don't, but your thoughts are so loud Father could hear them from the castle! "

     " Is someone gonna tell me what's going or..? " Winnie asks, seeming more confused than The Little Mermaid when she learned what forks were really for and they weren't called Dinglehoppers. I sigh, again.

     " I'm Ice's twin. We have the same powers, including mind-reading. "

     " Oh! Why didn't you tell me, Ice?! "

I answer instead of him.

     " He's ashamed that his sister is an outcast and a loner. Plus, we don't get along all that well. "

     " I'm not ashamed of you! "

Narbeth facepalms and cuts our argument off. " I get you got some family issues to sort out, but I don't think that's important right now! "

     " Oh yeah, how come we're all here? "

I repeat his sentence in a low voice, mockingly, then reply.

     " Because, Ice, Heather was murdered an hour ago and Little Miss Perfect here was there when it happened! " My voice is filled with harshness, Winnie flinches and looks down.

I never told Ace I wouldn't try to get a confession out of her. It might not be her fault, but it still might. Anyways, my best friend died and I almost just did, so I'm not big on compassion right now. She sighs and, locking eyes with mine with tears running down her cheeks, she mumbles.

     " It was an accident... "