My friends and I looked at each other, then they began to sit on the bed with me.

"Actually," Lisa said suddenly, "Sarah, Jasmine, maybe you should sit over here. This is merely a precaution, but if something I say sets Chrystal off again, I know it would much easier to calm her down if you aren't in the way. We can't let her be thinking she's hurt you."

They glanced at me, and I gave them a small smile and nodded. Lisa was right. It would take a long time to get me out of that again if I thought I'd hurt my two best friends.

After another moment, they nodded and went to sit on a couch in the room closer to the door. Lisa stood near them, and I knew they would be safe.

Lisa smiled. "Good. Now Chrystal, if I say anything that angers you, upsets you, or triggers a memory and you feel you need a moment, tell me and I will stop."

I perked up at that. "Are you finally going to tell me the truth?" My gaze turned to Sebastian. "Are you finally going to tell me who I am?"

They both looked at each other, then turned back to me and nodded. I felt a weight lift from my heart. Finally, they were going to tell me everything.

"But you'll do as I just told you, yes? I want to prevent you from losing control of yourself, and I want to protect you. If you even feel slightly uncomfortable-"

"Lisa, why are you so worried? Sure, I've had headaches, but you seem more concerned than you should be."

She froze, her expression falling. She looked as though she'd been found out. What was she so worried about? Was she hiding something from me?

Eventually, she sighed. "I simply have theories about why you've been acting the way you have. All the sleeping, and amnesia, the lack of control. It isn't normal, even for someone as powerful as you are."

Sebastian turned to Lisa, his eyes narrowing. "You believe her to be cursed, don't you?"

My eyes widened, as did Sarah's and Jasmine's. Lisa looked down at her feet, nodding.

"It's the only explanation I can think of. Someone is trying to suppress her powers. We already know by the attack earlier that there are people who do not side with us. One of them is trying to make sure she is weak so she'll be an easier target." She looked up at me again. "I do not know if this will help to break it, but I'm going to tell you everything. Once you know, you can train yourself accordingly, and hopefully we'll be able to help you break free from whatever curse binds you."

I gulped. "But I might not be cursed... I might just have amnesia, and sleep a lot for a demon. Maybe I'm just lazy-"

"Chrys, you are the farthest from lazy I have ever seen in my life. You hate lying around and doing nothing, and you always are the first to jump into action when something happens or someone needs help," Jasmine said. "Either Lisa is right and you're cursed, or you have some sort of demon disease..."

"Those don't exist," Lisa told her quickly. "We do not become sick like humans do. The only thing that could make us 'sickly' would be magic."

Everyone stared at me, as if they could tell from examining me if I was cursed or not. Uncomfortable being the center of attention, I looked down at my hands, at the mark on my wrist.

"Start with this," I said softly, holding up my arm and lifting my gaze to Sebastian. "I feel like this is what started everything that's happening here, and I would like you to start from the beginning."

And so they did. Sebastian, with some help from Sarah and Jasmine, told me about how we met, what the mark we shared meant, and everything that happened over the four years of our contract. As he spoke, I would see flashes of images from the past. I saw him saving me from kidnappers, hiding me in a cave, taking care of me for a month as we hid from the police and my attackers. I saw the first time he kissed me, and I remembered all of the emotions I'd felt during those four years.

They paused after he told me about how he'd refused to end our contract. "Anything?" Jasmine asked anxiously.

I didn't respond right away. My brain was still sorting through memories, processing what I'd been told. Another headache was slowly forcing itself upon me, and I was desperately trying to keep it at bay. The last thing I wanted to do was pass out again.

Eventually, I slowly nodded. The others made delighted noises, but I couldn't share their excitement. I held my head tightly in my hands. "I need a minute..." I told them quietly.

Sebastian was beside me before I even finished my sentence. He wrapped his arms around me comfortingly, as I closed my eyes and sorted through lost memories.

As the images slowed, the headache began to ebb away, and at some point, the memories I'd been seeing had been replaced with that which I had never seen before.

The demon from the attack, the one with the fiery red hair, was making his way down the halls. His face was contorted with fury. He clearly had something on his mind.

He stopped moments later in front of a sealed door with an elaborate lock. He scowled, then slowly smiled.

I gasped as the room that had been my only home for the past several months came back into view. Lisa, Sarah, and Jasmine were watching me with great concern, while Sebastian was still holding me tightly.

"That man..." I whispered. "He's coming..."

Lisa turned toward the door. "Sebastian."

He nodded, then stood. I grabbed his arm.

He looked back at me. "What is it?"

"You weren't done. Tell me why I'm here. There's still almost a year you haven't told me about, isn't there?"

His shoulders slumped slightly. "Chrystal, we must prioritize your safety at the moment. We will finish telling you everything once Lisa-"

"And why is Lisa suddenly in charge of everything?" I shouted. "You've never taken orders from anyone but me, so why now?"

I didn't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't for him to kneel in front of me, smiling softly.

"You are beginning to remember. That's wonderful. My Love, I do only take orders from you. Lisa and I simply have the same goal. It is in my best interest to work with her in order to keep you safe. Now, I advise you to stay here with your friends while we check outside. Your visions about oncoming threats have never been wrong. We need to apprehend this man while we can."

I sat motionless for a moment. I didn't know what to say to that. Slowly, I released my grip on his sleeve. "Be careful." I told him softly.

He smiled and stood. "I will be back soon." Then he turned and followed Lisa out of the room.

In that moment, I knew he would return. He's never broken a promise to me, I remembered. He'll be back.