Word Count: 1706

~Tove

I don't take Relm's hand, pushing up to my feet myself.

I steady myself, trying not to panic. If I keep him talking, it may give me enough time to find another way out of this.

"Tell me who it is you trust to rule over the Demon's," I demand firmly.

Relm has the ability to get rid of me in an instance and yet he is hesitating. He clearly doesn't want me dead, I just need him to see that keeping me alive is worth more than killing me in cold blood.

Relm sighs, blinking his dual coloured eyes. "It would be a waste of my breath."

"Why? Because you enjoy taking innocent lives?" I ask, trying not to shiver. My breath billows in front of me, reminding me that if Relm doesn't kill me, this terrible cold soon will.

"Quite the opposite," he mutters, conflict toying in his expression. "But this person...well, you will not find them."

My jaw clenches tightly, but I don't wince. This is beyond frustrating.

"You're Relm. Can you not figure it out?" For someone who supposedly doesn't want to take my life, he doesn't seem to be very interested in helping me out.

"Their power rivals mine, even at my strongest," he admits, rubbing at the frown that seems to be a permanent feature on his forehead.

I frown. "Yet you trust them?"

If I've learnt anything from Keo, it's that powerful people don't trust each other. Especially when the other has the power to take their life.

"The old Demon's were very honourable. It's how they all got killed," he explains grimly. "I've known this person since the very beginning, and I know they are incapable of breaking their word."

I frown, my brain trying to process the information he is drip-feeding me.

"Keo mentioned a completely full-blooded Demon from around the time of the war. Is it them?" I question.

At the time I didn't think much of it. Keo told me there was only one Demon that came from the time of the war and had blood more pure than his. He said he had spent his entire life looking for this person, and yet so far has failed.

If Keo can't find him...can I?

"This doesn't matter. You shall never find them," Relm muses tiredly, his beautiful face solemn.

He steps toward me, flexing his gloved fingers as if he is determining the best way to kill me. I back up a few steps until my back hits the frigid wall.

"I know you know," I blurt out.

He pauses, a hint of curiosity in his eyes. "How?"

"Your power doesn't matter. If you know this Demon enough to trust them, then you know where they are," I scramble. I don't even know if my accusation is true, but I'm beyond desperate at this point.

Slowly, he slides his hands into his pockets, tilting his head to examine me.

"Hmm. And even if I do reveal their location to you, what is to say they will be willing to work with you?"

"They are a Demon. Their entire race is at risk of being entirely exterminated. They will want to help," I insist. I'm only assuming, and Relm knows that.

And yet, he still hesitates.

Relm raises a brow. "They haven't helped so far."

There must be more to this. Why would a Demon lock themselves away to never been seen or heard from in centuries. Keo is mostly untraceable, but even he cannot hide the fact that he is very much alive.

"I have to try." It's that or I do.

Relm is silent for a long, painful moment. Wind howls outside, the windows shuddering. There is nowhere for me to run from Relm, even if my strength has returned. All I can do is wait for him to make a decision.

"You are lucky, Tove, that I do not enjoy taking lives needlessly," he finally concedes. "I will tell you where this Demon is, but I am only giving you a week to convince them. If they kill you for your Angel-blood, that is your burden to bear."

"My blood?" My stomach turns a little, shrouding my relief. Like, does this Demon want to drink my blood?

Sometimes I forget that to Demon's, I am the enemy. This full-blooded Demon I am going to attempt to hunt down isn't going to care about my attachment to Keo. They may see me just as one of those who killed their people...

It is a risk I have to take.

"You better get home. My patience is waning," Relm mutters, giving me a long, hard look. "Next time we meet, I will not be so generous."

And then, he disappears.

I collapse back against the wall, relief rattling through me. I was so close to death, and yet again, I managed to talk myself out of it. The problem is, a new burden now accompanies me.

I manage to transport myself back to my home realm with relative ease. My feet touch down on the rocks outside Keo's home, warmth wrapping around me.

It takes every ounce of strength I have left to not collapse right there and then, but I manage to climb up the steps and into the main foyer.

Keo appears from around the corner before I can get any deeper into the manor.

There's more relief than I even felt escaping Relm. I'm not sure how long I've been gone, but it must have been long enough that Keo started to worry.

"You did it," he exclaims, pulling me into an embrace.

I let him hold me, breathing his addictive scent, wishing he would just pick me up and take me to bed so everything with Relm can be forgotten.

"Oh...yeah. It wasn't as hard as I expected," I tell him, realising he doesn't know what happened with Relm. He just thinks I went there and came back, clearly alive and well.

"What happened?" he asks softly, noticing my wariness.

I tell him quickly about Relm and our interaction. He doesn't interrupt once, listening intently. Every word I say, his eyes darken, his expression growing more grim.

"I've been searching for this Demon for years. I'm sorry Tove, but I don't think we are going to find them," he tells me gently.

Drawing in a deep breath, I reflect upon a thought that has plagued me since this happened.

"Relm mentioned something about this Demon wanting my blood. Maybe if we can get close enough I can use my blood to lure them out."

I'm not sure if Relm was insinuating that this Demon wanted to drink my blood, but it seems to be the case. If so, I feel entitled to be disgusted.

"Then what? They kill you?" He shakes his head. "There was a time when Angel-blood's started going missing around Territory One. It was such a large amount, I remember Noble's investigating but never finding out what happened."

I flinch. I'm from Territory One, although I don't remember hearing about this happening, which means it must have been before my time.

"You don't think it was a very powerful Demon killing and drinking their blood, do you?" I whisper.

Keo shrugs. "It's possible."

He doesn't seem convinced. He must have chased every possible lead regarding this Demon by now. Of course he would be dejected.

"Will they still be in Territory One?"

"Unlikely, but it is where the Noble's are, and if a Demon wanted both blood and vengeance, I would assume they would hang around there," he theorises.

I grab his hand excitedly, finally seeing the pieces come together. "Then we go there to investigate."

He pulls away, eyes flaring wide.

"No. It's too much of a risk," he tells me firmly. He backs away, sweeping both hands through his hair.

"Why?" I ask.

"Have you forgotten who you are?" he questions. He sounds angry - not at me, but at the reminder of who I am.

I quietly push away the burning sensation of shame knowing there is some part of him that wishes I wasn't an Angel-blood. I know it is not his fault, and that he cannot be blamed, but I still feel terrible about it.

"Don't worry about that," I tell him. If I don't do this, Relm will kill me anyway. "I'll be fine."

There is no guarantee this Demon is even interested in Angel-blood, or even exists in Territory Three. The chances of this going wrong are high. Worrying about my fate regarding the Demon is pointless.

"No. I'll go alone. The chances of this Demon accepting me are far higher, considering I have the second most amount of Demon-blood in me," Keo says.

He approaches me again, grabbing either side of my face so I have to look at him. His touch is so gentle I can hardly fathom the truth of his power, of what he is capable of.

"I want to go. I'm bringing the Demon's to this new realm, I deserve to be there," I say, touching his hands as they press against my cheeks. I refuse to be left out of this plan when I'm such an integral part of its success.

"And what if they kill you immediately?" There is a flash of pain in his expression as he imagines me such a fate befalling me.

"They won't," I breathe. "Relm is going to kill me in a week if we don't pull this off."

He winces. "Come here."

He pulls me in close, kissing my forehead. The feeling of his arms around me, of his body pressed against mine chases away my worries. Nothing can hurt me when I am mated to this man.

"This Demon will be dangerous and vengeful. You need to be prepared to meet someone absolutely terrifying," he breathes in my hair.

I nod numbly. There is no challenge like the one I'm about the face, and yet I'm not scared.

"I'm ready."

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~Midika 💜🐼