Unsure of what to do or think, I sat there alone in the darkness.

'Falling in love with a demon'? I wasn't falling in love with him. Why would he think that? I was terrified of him, not head over heels.

A moment later, my mind began to process everything, and I realized he hadn't been talking about himself.

He'd been talking about-

"Chrystal?"

I glanced up and saw a pair of dark eyes shining in the dim light. But these eyes did not hold amusement like the previous pair had. These eyes were worried.

"What happened? Did the fire go out? Are you cold?"

I couldn't respond. Sebastian. The demon thought I was falling in love with Sebastian.

I glanced away. I couldn't be falling in love with him. He was going to be taking my soul away from me in less than a year. He would be the one to end my existence. How was I supposed to love my future murderer?

The demon was just trying to mess with my head. That had to be it. I wouldn't love Sebastian. I couldn't.

I glanced up at Sebastian as he entered the cave and sat something on the ground. I couldn't see what it was, but I assumed it was food. That was the only reason he ever left me alone.

I took a deep, shaking breath, and told him about the visitor. I kindly left out the part where he told me that I was falling in love, but included everything else.

Sebastian relit the fire a moment later, and I could see the concentration on his face. I thought I could see something else as well. Worry? I wasn't sure.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, and I wasn't sure what was going through his mind. Was he trying to figure out who it had been? I hadn't seen what he looked like, just his blood red eyes. He appeared to be about as tall as Sebastian, but weren't most demons tall? There was no way for me to know, of course. The only ones I had ever seen were my demon and the visitor.

Finally, Sebastian spoke up. "I apologize for leaving you alone in the middle of the night. I thought it would be best to take care of something while you were sleeping."

"What did you have to take care of?" I asked, suddenly curious. I hadn't really minded the fact that he had left while I was asleep. If the demon hadn't come, I never would have noticed.

"Just a few simple preparations." He changed the subject. "The police are still guarding your home. It might be simpler to negotiate with them before saving the others."

"We have to save the others first!" I raised my voice, suddenly not caring if someone outside heard me. Sebastian would protect me, just as he had before. "I won't let them stay in that prison any longer than they have been. When are we going to free them? We've been waiting for days!"

"Is your wound completely healed?"

"What?" I asked, taken aback slightly. "Of course it hasn't! I was shot straight through!"

"Exactly. We are not leaving until I know that you will not be in pain to fight. It could distract you, and that would be an issue."

He was joking, right? He'd had me training while I was still bleeding. That wasn't to teach me to deal with the pain? "Then why on Earth were you making me train so much?"

"Because I feared something happening to you."

I stared at him, waiting for him to tack on something about me being his next meal, and that he didn't want to lose that, but it never came. He left the sentence there.

"I can defend myself just fine, wounded or otherwise. And if I can't, you're there to protect me." Don't worry, I thought. You'll get your meal.

I'd wanted to say it out loud, but I knew that saying it would make the contract seem so much more real. I'd rarely talked about the deal we'd made, and I wasn't going to start now.

"I have begun to doubt my ability to protect you properly," he admitted.

What? "Why?"

"In case you did not notice, Chrystal, you got shot. Luckily you were able to move quickly enough that it didn't kill you, but still. I should've stopped that bullet, and I didn't. I fear something like this may happen again."

Sebastian? Scared? I almost laughed, but then realized he was being serious. "Sebastian, it was an accident. It could have happened to anyone."

He shook his head. "I do not want to risk your life."

This was getting ridiculous. I had to do something to snap him out of this. I stood, still clinging to his jacket, and walked over to him. Then out of everything else I could've done...

I slapped him. Hard.

When I pulled my hand away, it was stinging from the impact. Sebastian, other than some mild shock, seemed pretty much unfazed.

"Stop thinking that I'm just some doll that might break!" I screamed at him. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, and I know you'll be there to save me if I can't. What's gotten into you? Are you suddenly scared I'll die before you get a chance to eat me?"

I hadn't meant to say it, but the words flew from my mouth before I could stop them. I meant my question, so there was no taking it back, and it took a lot of willpower to keep from clamping my hand over my mouth.

"Well?" I asked. "I'm well aware I'm just another meal to you, Sebastian. And I promise I'll uphold my end of our deal. Now stop acting like I'm made of glass and start planning to save my family."

He didn't say anything. There was a look on his face I had never seen before. Was it hurt? Guilt? Some sort of mixture between the two? I couldn't be sure. But as soon as I began evaluating it, it was gone, and it was hidden behind a smile.

"Then you feel prepared to find the others?" he asked. "Once we move on from this cave, there is no turning back."

I hesitated. Was I ready? This was what I'd been preparing for, but what if something really did happen to me? Or worse, what if something happened to one of the others, and it was all my fault?

I glanced up to give Sebastian my answer, and found that he was extremely close to me. He was probably trying to read me, to know if I truly thought I was ready. I glanced away.

"I don't know."

Sebastian pulled away. "I thought as much." The next time I glanced up, he was giving me a sympathetic smile. "There is no need to leave until you feel you are ready. No harm will come to them."

I sighed in relief. I didn't have to be ready. Sebastian knew where they all were, and that their captors had no intention of hurting them. Besides, it was me he wanted. Not them.

"Go back to sleep," Sebastian said, gently pushing me back to the spot I had designated for my bed. "It is still very early, and you need your rest."

I complied, lying back down on the hard ground. Sebastian lay his jacket back over me, and I felt myself immediately fall asleep.