'Often do we hear the song of an angel. Never, do we hear the cry of a demon, whose tears run like crimson.'

***

No matter how hard I try, my thoughts are still the same as they were a few hours ago – regretful and angry. The weight of all that is negative and dark is perching like raven on my shoulders and I can't seem to lift it. I feel like a head floating in the ocean, drinking the same water that I polluted.

To say it hurt is an understatement - his sudden act of retraction left me with a gaping hole in my chest. I wish I could take it all back. The fault is entirely mine, if I hadn't said those words he wouldn't have left.

My head throbs with an intense amount of pressure and feels as if my eyes are about to pop out of my head. By some miracle, I was able to get out of the dreaded room where Valentine had left me. I have not seen him since and do not wish to see him now, we are better off not speaking for now.

My finger traces the decaying leather binding of Scarlett's journal, debating on whether I should just try and look for the key or force it open. My patience is wearing thin; therefore, trying to look for a lost or rather hidden key will be senseless and I have little to no remorse for the owner of the journal, so, invasion of privacy through force would have no impact on either of us.

Valentine loved her with all of his heart and after two centuries, he still could not get over her. What was so special about her that caused a fierce battle between two very powerful vampires?

I sit on the bed with my legs crossed, turning the journal right side up for me to properly examine the intricate lock. It's a beautiful work of art but it's causing an intense whirl of feelings and I don't know how long I can tolerate it. No one knows I have it and no one will need to know that I do.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A voice startles me and the journal drops from my hands. "That lock is full of ink – if forced, it will stain the pages and its contents are lost forever."

"I wasn't my intent to force it open," I reply and sigh.

"That is definitely a first." Vladimir clicks his tongue and walks into my room to inspect the other artifacts that I managed to flee with. "Especially from you."

"There is a first for everything." I point out.

He grinds his teeth and changes the subject. "Aren't you supposed to be training?"

"I could say the same to you." I raised a brow to question his presence.

Vlad picks up the necklace I stole from Datura's collection and he lifts it to accuse me of theft.

"I'll return it," I say ahead of time.

"Sure you will," he says childishly. A small smile creeps on my face in spite of the tension that has built between my shoulders. His enthusiasm and young heart did brighten the room immensely, but I can't shake the feeling of regret and sorrow off my mind. You have to wonder why he truly came to visit though.

"You didn't come here for the artifacts or the journal, did you?"

He shoves his hands in his pockets and takes small steps toward the bed. "His Royal Highness has asked me to fetch you for training with the guard."

"Tell him I'll be down right away," I say without hesitation.

"I'll be sure to relay exactly that," he nods his head and walks out of the door with haste. The training must have started already, conversations with Vladimir aren't usually cut that short.

After a minute of contemplating and planning, I was startled once again. "Vladimir, I said I'll be down, it has only been two minutes since you left."

He doesn't answer and a chill crawls up my spine as I feel an unwanted presence in the room.

"Shouldn't you be minding your own business?"

Augustine takes a few steps into the room and my shoulders tense as his figure comes into my peripheral vision. I don't know why I'm so nervous - it's just Augustine, a vampire I have known for half a century. "As far as I know, you are my 'business.' I own you, remember?"

Despite my desire to kill him and dispose of his body, I remain calm and stay in my seated position on the bed. "How many times do we have to go through this?"

"Until you finally realize that this isn't a game," he starts walking again and I try to hide Scarlett's diary under my bed sheets.

I breathe in deeply and exhale through my nostrils. "Neither is it legitimate."

"You made a binding contract with me, Saphira. One that cannot be broken until it's finished." My body tenses when he mentions just how strong the terms are.

"What if it can't be finished?" I say, risking everything I hold dear.

"Then you stay with me until one of us dies."

"I can easily kill you, so, what's the point?"

He picks up the gun on the desk and checks to see if it's loaded. He looks down as if he is contemplating on something then he walks around my bed with the gun still in his right hand and my dagger in his left. I've never told anyone, but Augustine was the one who introduced me to my life as an assassin. It's also a reason why our relationship ended.

"You've been saying that for decades, but you always hesitate." His voice was laced with doubt.

"Not this time," I say through clenched teeth.

"Well, by all means," he calmly says, while stretching his arm out to give me the gun. "Do it now, it may be your only chance."

I quickly rise up and spring off of the bed and snatch the gun from him. He's right, this is my only chance, without him, there wouldn't be anything keeping me in this world.

Why is he so calm and not stopping me from killing? Augustine is a ruthless vampire willing to do anything to get what he wants.

"Any last words?" I ask while placing my index finger on the trigger.

"Do it." He shakes his head and raises his arms as a sign that he was ready to die. Augustine looks at me with an evil look in his eyes, waiting for me to pull the trigger. Fifty years ago, I would have died for this man but today the story is different. He no longer has a place in my heart.

"Just pull the fucking trigger, Saphira!"

Out of frustration, I pull the trigger several times. The familiar sound of gunshots tickles my ears.

It seems that time has slowed down because I was able to see each bullet come out of the barrel and slowly make their way to his chest. The titanium formed a diamond pattern in the air before stopping six inches from his body. My eyes widen as the metal begins to melt in the air as if it's being hit with the hottest flame.

"Is this some trick?" I exclaim, trying to find out what happened. He doesn't have the power to do all of that, does he? Augustine looks up at me and gives me a grin that could be mistaken for the devils. I panic as he lifts his left hand, showing me that he still has my dagger at his disposal.

"You can't ki-" I start to say, but he cuts me off with a skillful and powerful throw of the dagger. I didn't have time to react, or so I thought. The blade, which came toward me at a blinding speed, disintegrates into ash. I blink my eyes multiple times. I didn't do that and neither did he.

My calm breathing turned into pants, as I was trying to wrap my head around what just happened.

"Was that clear or do we need a second round?"

"I-I don't understand," I muttered, letting the gun fall to the floor in a loud thud.

He sighs exasperatedly and sits at the edge of the table behind him. "Of course you don't," he complains. "The contract, we both agreed to, prevents us from killing each other until the task is complete."

"We can't kill each other no matter what," I reply, finally understanding why he was always threatening me. It doesn't mean he's good, it just means that he knows how to cover every loophole to make sure he gets what he wants.

With an unbreakable contract, it means I am bound to him until everything is done. It means he has my soul and I can't breach the contract myself. I can't kill Valentine, not after all we have been through.

"Precisely."

"Are you still true to your word?" I need to know if he still wants his brother killed or if he has finally accepted the fact that Valentine isn't meant to die, especially under his hands.

He hesitates for a second. "No, as much as I hate the competition between me and my brother, I don't think we need another rift in the family."

I cross my arms. "And you expect me to believe you after all this time?"

"No," he says in a low tone. I can tell this is all forced out.

"Why not just revoke the damn contract?" I spit out, wanting to strangle him.

"Because no one, not even I can break or void it. It's irrevocable."

I squeeze my fists tightly and bite down on my lip. I gulp and prepare for an onslaught of words and resistance. "Then it will have to remain unfinished."

Augustine lets out a ferocious growl and lunges to me. I take an attempt to dodge him but he is much faster. He places a cold hand around my neck with a sharp nail pointed right at the hollow of my throat.

"You will complete this assignment, Saphira," he roars.

"When this is over I will fucking kill you," I force out, unable to speak or breathe with the amount of pressure he had on me. His eyes have turned dark red, indicating his wrath and hunger.

His body was uncomfortably pressed against mine and I try to kick him but he has me pushed against the bed frame. His free hand lowers to my side and a sharp pain shoots through my spine and around my lower back. I writhe underneath him and my arms flail around me trying to pry him off.

"Get off of me, you lunatic!"

"Is this what you want, to be eternally bound to me with no freedom or control?" He makes it sound like he doesn't want me yet he does.

"I'd rather spend an eternity knowing he's alive than living every day without him," I confess in a choked whisper. Tears well in my eyes from the pain he's causing within my body and upon realizing that Valentine means more to me than anything.

He stops and loosens his grip around me, allowing me to breathe air into my lungs. "You love him," he says in a flat tone.

I don't respond – Augustine knows me well enough to know the cause of my actions and motives.

"I do," I croak and I would have loved him too but his heart has been corroded with vicious elements. He releases me and even helps me up. His sudden and bipolar actions make me think twice. No one, not even the devil can be convinced that quickly.

"Well, then, till death do us part," he says with a smile. With suspicion, I turn to study his face then catch the way his eyes flick toward the door. I follow his movements and jerk my head to the side.

A gasp escapes from my mouth and my heart drums so ferociously that I can feel it in bones. My hands shake as Valentine gives us a hard stare. The veins in his hands and neck are visible and his jaw is clenched with anger. He briefly closes his eyes then opens them to reveal nothing but darkness – his iris and sclera have turned black as night.

"Valentine," I croaked through my aching throat.

"Am I never to have you?" He says in a broken whisper. His shattered voice carries to my ear and it stimulates an emotion deep in my heart. My knees begin to buckle underneath me. I don't know what to do or what to say.

The room starts to shake but not for long and once again my heart feels threatened. The frenzied vampire suddenly disappears from the room leaving us in a dead silence. My gaze falls back to the empty doorway and I scowl at the culprit of this horrid event.

"You knew he would walk in here," I say, interrupting both the silence and the smug look on Augustine's face.

"He came at his own will," he babbles on. "He just has bad timing, as always."

My fangs break out of my gums due to my heavy distress and this time it was my turn to curl my hands around his neck. A laugh escapes from his mouth and throat as I push him down to the ground. If I can't kill him, then I will just drain him until someone else can do the job for me.

"We can do this all day, love," he says with too much enthusiasm.

"Are you sure about that?" My last words hung in the air as I allowed my powers to overtake me. All of my emotions and rage coalesced in a powerful rendition which helped wake the destruction hidden under my skin. I could feel myself growing stronger as the energy transferred from his body to mine.

"What are you doing to me?" He sounds weaker and less tense. His shock and confusion has me smirking and I can't help but tap into his abilities to steal a few his supernatural powers. Augustine looks up at me with half-lidded eyes, still trying to figure out how I was able to borrow all of his energy to power my own body. He was even more befuddled when I let him taste a portion of his bone breaking ability.

I rise from my crouched position and take one final look at the miserable vampire. If we didn't have a magical contract he would be dead by now, but apparently, fate has a different plan for him.

"Don't you ever lay your hands on me again."

I leave him curled on the floor with no intention of doing anything but finding Valentine. The only problem is that I have no idea where he could have gone.

*** 

I honestly did not like this chapter at all. 

I feel so sad for Valentine! 

Where do you think he went off to? 

Leave a comment and vote!

LOVE YOU. Seriously. :)