Word Count: 1665

¬Aven

Nightmares haunt me from the moment I close my eyes.

It starts off as a blanket of darkness that shrouds me vision, my legs burning with pain as I battle through what feels like thick mud that I can't see. And then a light explodes around me, and suddenly I'm standing on the beach with Eryk...and Stace. I stare at them, opening my mouth to speak, but no words come out. They are staring blankly ahead of themselves, and when I follow their gazes, I see a crowd of people staring back at us.

And suddenly, they all alight in a burst of fire. I scream, and then I'm awake, sitting up in my bed, rubbing my eyes frantically, trying to wish away the image of all those people burning...

Now I sit at breakfast opposite Stace, Eryk at the other end of the table.

"Have you ever killed before?" I ask absently, staring down at my plate piled with fruit and granola that I haven't yet touched. Everywhere I look I see those burning people, and at this point, it feels like I experienced less of a nightmare and more of a premonition.

Stace pauses his eating, looking up at me with a hooded gaze. "Plenty of times."

"What about a lot...at once?" I ask warily.

"At once? No," he comments, raising a skeptualtive brow. I can feel the heat of Eryk's questioning gaze as well. It's a strange topic to bring up over breakfast, especially when it's so early that even mother and Lei, who have been brought to Stace's estate as well. "Why do you ask."

"I had a strange dream that you and I were standing next to each other, right in front of a pile of dead bodies on fire," I explain, shuddering having to recall it.

Stace frowns, exchanging a look with Eryk before he looks back at me, summoning a smile, although it's icy cold. "I imagine your mind is having a hard time processing this new realm and everything that is in it."

"It felt real, like a memory, or maybe a future event," I say distractedly. Each person had their own individual look, like I've seen them before, even though I know I haven't. I've never had the most expansive imagination, so it can't be possible for me to conjure up so many unfamiliar faces just like that, can it? "I sound crazy, maybe you're right."

"Do you have any questions about this realm? I would be happy to answer any." I try to ignore Stace's blatant change of subject. Maybe he just doesn't want me to worry, or maybe he thinks I'm losing my mind and doesn't want to break it to me.

"Will you ever take me to the other territories?"

"With time. I think you should become more familiar with this one first," he claims, taking a sip of his coffee. "It's a confusing mess of different politics, beliefs and general ways of doing things. In some places half-Angels like me lead, whereas in others, humans dominate."

"Strange..."

"Like I said, it's confusing," he notes. "Anything else?"

"Are people going to know I'm different?" I ask warily. I feel out of place here, and I haven't even met anyone in public. What if they are all tall, tattooed and intimidating like Stace, or quiet and judging like Eryk? And the mention of Angels and Demons, something I have no experience with...I mean, Stace looks more like a demon then an Angel, which means my perception is completely off.

"No, you belong here, remember, and you bleed purple," Stace smiles, as if it should make me happy. What if I'm half-Angel or something? I could very well be nothing more than human, but if my father was powerful, then he can't have been anything normal.

My tone falls flat. "Do I have to listen to everything you say because you're my ultimate leader?"

"Absolutely not," he replies with a shrug, although a smile plays at the corner of his lips as he quietly examines his empty plate. When he raises his eyes back to mine again, I shudder. "Unless of course I give an executive order."

My eyes narrow. "Funny."

"Once you've settled here, is there anything you would like to do?" Stace asks, shifting the conversation elsewhere. I swallow uncomfortably, trying to push away the haunting thoughts of what it means to stay here...Forever.

"Like a job?"

"You do not need to work if you don't want to," Stace reminds me. His tone suggests I probably shouldn't think about getting a job, not with the amount of danger that I'm in. It's clear to me now that me being in danger also puts Eryk in danger. "Maybe you want to study."

I think about going back to studying again like I was in the mortal realm, and the thought does nothing back make my head hurt. "Travel...I want to see more of this realm."

"Once things are safer, I would be happy to take you anywhere you please," Stace affirms.

"Wouldn't it be safer to keep on the move? I doubt anyone would want to track me all the way across the realm, right?" I say. If I see the rest of this place, then maybe it all won't feel so permanent, and maybe I won't feel like I'm waiting for someone to kill me. And to see this place would make it so much less terrifying, the unknown looming over me like a dark veil.

"Perhaps," Stace exclaims uneasily, not convinced by my logic."I get the feeling you're trying to run from your worries...Your mother leaving, Leilira."

I look away from him, the intensity of his state. He may as well have stripped me down to my barest thoughts, exposed them to Eryk too. Getting away from this estate, and all the other's Stace owns means also escaping the fact that mother and Lei are going to be leaving me, and I'm going to be alone here. The perfect distraction would be to see other's things, let them consume my thoughts.

And it would stop me thinking so much about Stace and our mate bond.

"Eryk, what happened to those men?" I say instead, turning my attention to the man sitting at the other end of the table. He pauses his eating, looking between both Stace and I as if answering may jeopardize his employment.

"I killed most of them and had one sent back as a messenger," he responds quietly.

I try not to let that frighten me. "What message are you trying to convey?"

"That if they try that again, they will all die." He looks again at Stace, who nods slowly. I should be grateful for that, but it scares me to know what lengths these men will go to in order to ensure my safety. Who else will they kill in my name? And does that transfer their blood to my hands?

"Do we know who they are?"

"Just a random group who don't like the idea of you being alive. It's nothing to worry about," Eryk says dismissively, although there's an edge to his tone, a tension in his shoulders. It was a relief seeing him alive this morning, part of me expecting to see him bloody and bruised from combat, but he doesn't look any different, like he caused all the damage and sustained none.

"Fine, I'm not going to worry about it," I mutter, concentrating on eating my fruit and oatmeal. If I think about it too much, I'm going to panic. "But only if as soon as my mother goes back, you take me travelling."

Eryk's cutlery clatters on his plate. "No Stace...Don't."

"It's what she wants," Stace claims, frowning at the man he hired to protect me, not to talk back to him. Eryk is shaking his head. I wonder if it would make him happier if I were just locked up in this estate with no where to go, with no friends and a man who is my mate, but also the most terrifying man in this territory.

"It's dangerous."

I rest my palms flat against the table, looking at both men in turn. "You can either come with me, or I'll figure out how to go myself."

"It's fine Eryk, you know I can protect her," Stace responds calmly.

"Okay," he finally relents, leaning back in his chair, giving up on the rest of his breakfast. I commend him on how seriously he takes his job, since I don't think I've ever committed to something so whole-heartedly in my life. "Are you coming back to your home?"

I shrug, motioning to Stace.

"No, she's going to stay here now, it will be safer," he murmurs, watching for my reaction. I'm willing to be a more compliant person here since Stace has agreed to take me travelling. Him not wanting to keep me here, trapped in this cursed place means he cares about me enough to not want to keep me from anything.

"Fine. Then I'm staying here too," Eryk says, giving no room for negotiation.

Stace's tone is solemn again. "Your mother goes home tomorrow, okay?"

My heart aches, but I nod mutely. I'm not ready to say goodbye to her, especially since I don't know when I'll see her again. And Lei...She's practically my sister, and now she is going away, likely to replace me in the mortal realm. Here, I have no one. I don't even have the prospects to make other friends.

I sigh. "And then I'm alone with you two?"

"I have a feeling you're going to like it here, with us," Stace assures me, gaze light. And maybe for a moment, I can believe him.

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If you guys want to read more of KISSING DANGER you can find it 10 chapters ahead on Radish (:

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