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I very reluctantly follow Terry up a set of stairs to a living room I haven’t spent much time in. He pulls out a checker board and tosses me the black pieces. I sit across from him at the coffee table, and he whoops my ass five or six times in the game before Aiden comes upstairs.
When I see him enter the room, I can’t help but grin. Why? Shouldn’t I be mad at him or something? He did just save my life. If he’d been a few seconds later getting home, Crispen might have been stabbing me and not him.
He smiles back, but it’s a sad smile. “Mind taking a walk with me?”
I nod quickly and ditch the checker game. Terry doesn’t seem to mind, surely he was getting tired of kicking my ass anyhow. I follow Aiden out of the room, down the stairs, and out the front door without saying a word.
Finally, he asks me if I’m alright, and I tell him that I’m fine, though disturbed by all of the deaths around here lately.
“I’m sorry for snapping. I thought I had it under control, until I got home and seen all my guards dead. I thought for sure you were dead, and then I saw them all in my room with you, and Crispen stabbed me.
I snapped. They really did pick the wrong time to fuck with me. I almost...I almost took my brother’s soul. If you hadn’t...yelled at me and gotten my attention, he would’ve become a demon, and I’d never be able to forgive myself.”
“Well, it’s over and done with now,” I answer, not sure what to say.
“Yes, you’re right. I’ve lived long enough to know that.”
I let him know I’m glad he’s feeling more like himself, then we talk about small things, happier things. Like the weather and my current favorite song. It’s relaxing and feels nice. We remain outside until it’s dark, then we lie under the stars and talk about our favorite memories. We laugh, we cry, we learn. We talk about our biggest fears and our greatest accomplishments. I find myself opening up more than ever to Aiden and vice versa.
“It’s funny, isn’t it? How fast we can change, and how much something so small can change us?” Aiden asks, getting closer to me on the cold ground and putting his burly arm underneath my neck for comfort. It feels nice to be close to him, safe and right. “If my siblings were ever warming up to me, they’re definitely not any longer,” he whispers sadly when I don’t answer.
“They have major issues. It’s not you, and I don’t even think it’s them really as much as it’s what they are. I think you have a chance with Aria, maybe Mason too at the very least.”
Aiden sighs loudly.
A question I’ve been wanting to ask him pops into my head, and I blurt it out. “That brass didn’t kill you, why?”
He turns his head from the sky and looks over at me. I do the same. We stare at each other, and a muscle moves in his jaw as if he doesn’t want to answer. He hesitates a minute longer before giving me a half smile. “I am a little more important than I’ve let on,” he answers, grinning ever so softly. He props himself up on his elbow and stares down at me intensely as if I’m somehow fascinating to him. “I am a son of Lucian. Do you know what that means?”
I nod slowly, not quite processing. Is he saying what I think he’s saying? My heart skips a beat, as I put the pieces together slowly.
“I can only be killed by hell fire, which means I can’t in any way possible be killed while not in hell for starters. Brass puts me to sleep for a while, but eventually I wake up, and I am able to pull it out if it’s not pulled out by someone else beforehand. The only side effect of this immunity is that afterwards, when I wake up, I’m nearly starving, and I can’t control myself. It takes a lot out of me.”
I interrupt him, asking him if I’m hearing this all right.
He stares at me, taking in my expression carefully before quirking a slight half smile, telling me that I am on the right track.
I am completely shocked by this revelation. I gawk at him like he’s some sort of freak, even though I don’t mean to.
My shocked stares cause him to sit up further. He licks his lips.
“You don’t believe me, do you?” he asks.
I shake my head quickly. “No, I do. I saw the shock on Aria and Mason’s face when they learnt that you weren’t dead. They obviously have never seen anything like it. So you’re...you’re like the devil’s son?”
A smirk emerges on his face. “Sort of, I guess,” he says through a deep chuckle. “That’s not my official title, but calling me the devil’s son kind of makes me feel badass.” He chuckles again, smiling wickedly. I’ve never seen him smile so much.
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. What are the chances that I could fall into the care of the king of hell’s son? Is that a better title?
“Are you scared?” Aiden asks me. When I look back to his gaze, I expect to see humor, but in reality, he seems legitimately worried that I might be scared of him.
I pretend to debate it, but then a smile breaks out on my face, I can’t help it.
He rolls his eyes and shakes his head at me. “You should be. Most people are terrified of me.”
“Well, I’m not.”
“Not even after my earlier display?”
“No.” I pull my hair back into the elastic I have around my wrist and sit up beside him. “So do you have an official title? Like Prince of Hell or something?”
He looks at me dubiously and snorts out a quick laugh. “Prince of Hell? You must be joking, really? That’s the best you can come up with?”
“What then?” I wonder, honestly curious.
“I am just Aiden or Mr. Castile.”
Well, that’s boring. No official title? “And let me guess, your father just goes by Lucian or Mr. Castile?” I tease.
“He goes by Lucian. I’ve never heard his last name spoken. I took my mother’s last name.”
I raise my eyebrows in surprise. How boring.
“So that’s why you can do so many cool tricks then!” I exclaim with partial mock enthusiasm.
He nods, smirking a little. “Yeah, that’s why.” He straightens the sleeve of his dress shirt carefully, playing with the cufflink for a moment.
I then ask him about the meeting he went to, and he admits that it was a meeting regarding the future of hell. His father has been murdered, and Aiden is the only surviving offspring of Lucian.
“I didn’t know him well. Not at all so don’t start apologizing for his death or whatever,” Aiden warns me. His expression is unreadable.
“So...you’re...you’re like the king of hell then? Not the prince.” I ask him, trying to lighten his suddenly grim mood. “You are the devil. Oh my god I’m sitting beside Lucifer or Hades or whatever.”
He glares at me. “What religion are you? You’re mixing them all up and putting them all together in a clump you know.”
“I don’t know. I don’t even know if I have a religion honestly,” I admit, twiddling my thumbs.
“Well, I guess you could say that I’m the king of hell, but that title sounds a little tacky, don’t you think?”
“It sounds badass to me.” I giggle. He doesn’t look amused.
“I’m going to have to be there often. I’m not going to be able to remain the man I am. I’m going to do terrible things without any control. Megan, you’re still my responsibility, but I’m going to have to have someone else mentor you. I can’t take you with me there.”
The situation’s urgency catches up with me, and my humor disappears. Aiden was in hell for only hours and look what happened to him, and if he sends me to someone else, chances are they’re not going to be like Aiden. I’m going to be placed in some evil pure blood demon’s care, and who knows how terrible that will be.
“Take me with you, it’s only three months until my choice has to be made, and I’m a halfling, hell won’t affect me the same,” I push, knowing that this too is a terrible idea.
“I couldn’t do that to you, Megan. You have no idea how terrible that place is. You’d rather die than be there, and it’s not safe for you,” he urges.
“But it’s safe for me with someone else?!” I demand, holding back tears. Call me a baby, but seriously.
“I’ll make sure you are put into good hands. I’ll compel them if I have to,” Aiden promises. Compelling other pure bloods is against the law. Then again, isn’t Aiden the law now? He looks like he’s about to crack, and I realize that I’m not the only one that is going through this harsh reality. Aiden is the one who must give up his life, his remaining humanity, to become a leader of something he hardly wants anything to do with.
“Why don’t you just say no and tell them that you won’t do it?”
“That’s not how it works. They need someone powerful to do this job, not someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing and can be killed with a silly brass knife. It has to be me. I was born for this. I was trained for this by my father.”
“But you hate hell!” I whine like a little girl.
“Megan, I do hate hell, and I hate what hell does to demons which is exactly why I have to do this. I can change things. I can protect humanity better than my father, because I’ve felt humanity before.”
“You just said it yourself, you’ll lose yourself. What happens when you go all bat-shit crazy and decide you don’t give a flying fuck about humans or demons? What if you end up just like your father?”
Aiden flinches, and I know I’ve hit a soft spot, but I think that my question is a valid one. He says nothing in return but stands up and begins walking to the house. I sprint after him.
“I’m sorry, but isn’t that something to think about?” I half apologize.
“Yes, it is. Don’t think I haven’t thought about it, but I don’t have a choice. I have to do this one way or another. I won’t let some moron who knows nothing come into power and call war on humanity or something nuts. Hell needs someone who understands the process. Hell sorts the evil souls from the humans who pass away and makes sure they’re not reborn. Hell has a purpose. It’s not just there for wreaking havoc and creating murderous demons. We save a lot more good souls than we take for sustenance.”
I know I don’t know a lot about the inner workings of hell, but I do know that Aiden has a point.
“Yes, it’s become corrupt. Yes, it’s become more evil than anyone could have imagined, but when you spend your whole life in that place, surrounded by the evil human souls from all of eternity, you become a little evil yourself. I will keep the current rules and make sure that demons continue to visit hell on a regular basis so that they can handle their jobs with ease.” Aiden’s face becomes flushed.
He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes before he continues. “You cannot be an innocent little thing like you and get assigned to torturing souls or ripping them from bodies and delivering them to hell. There’s a reason demons are crazy and psycho and evil, Megan, it’s because they have to be. They were created this way for a reason. Believe it or not, I am trying to help humanity. I am trying to ensure, like my father, that humanity stays as kind and loving and soft as possible. We were created to keep the humans this way, and my father dedicated his life to this cause.”
Aiden finally opens his eyes again, and his jaw muscles tighten and relax. “If it ends with me becoming a little evil, then so be it if it saves millions or billions of human lives. My father was a psychopath, but he never let our true purpose out of sight. He couldn’t, it’s in our blood. If I give this position to someone without my knowledge, experience, and wisdom, someone whose blood isn’t as strongly royal as my own, then eventually we will lose our purpose. As a race, we will forget our niche. There is a lot more to this that what you think there is, Megan. The demons aren’t just psychopaths without a purpose or reason to exist.”
And just like that, my eyes finally open to reality. Demons do have a purpose, a big one, and Aiden’s tried to explain this to me numerous times. I’ve read books and listened to him speak about this. How have I not understood until now? Suddenly I feel like a complete moron. A naïve moron. A childish moron. A selfish moron.
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding in and swallow hard. I’m about to say I’m sorry when Aiden speaks up again. “I’m sorry that it has to be this way. I’m sorry that I have to leave, and I’m sorry that I have to leave you with a stranger that’s probably going to be an asshat, okay? But this is bigger than you and me. This is big, Megan, really big.” He runs his hand through his tousled hair, stress clear in his expression.
“You’re right, I get it. I mean, I don’t get it, obviously, but I know what you’re saying, and I understand what you have to do. I’m sorry, but Aiden look at it this way. In a few months, I’m going to have to make a really big decision, and I’m going to pick death, because I don’t know if I’m strong enough to kill innocent people even if it means that I’m saving even more innocent people in the end. I have months, and you are the only person who even gives a flying fuck about me at all on this planet. Take me with you, please. I can’t spend the last few months of my life alone. I won’t do it.” I say these things as my future comes crashing down on me. I have no future. What is staying with him in hell going to hurt if I’m just going to die in a few months anyways?
“Don’t ever say that you’re not strong enough for something, Megan, ever. If you truly believe that you’re not strong enough, then you won’t be strong enough. I refuse to make any decision for you as I’ve told you before, but I very strongly suggest you don’t come to hell with me. That place will tear you apart. It’s not meant for the faint hearted. I will not make you stay here alone, but just realize that coming with me means that you will forever be changed. You will not be you any longer. You won’t see things the same as before. I will not be the same man. It will all be different. Everything will be different. You would be better off dead than in hell. I can promise you that.”
I clench my jaw and fidget with the bottom of my shirt. Death may be better than going to hell, but call me a coward or a wimp, I cannot bring myself to commit suicide, not yet. I am more afraid of the unknown, of death, than I am of hell as stupid and idiotic as that may sound.
“I’m going with you, Aiden, that’s final, you’re all I have, and I’m not ready to end my life just yet,” I explain myself quietly, almost so quietly that I say it in a whisper, but I know he can hear me.
“Think about it some more. I leave in the morning,” Aiden says blankly, as if trying extremely hard to hide his emotions. His stare is empty which causes a feeling of confusion to stir inside of me.
We stare at one another for a few seconds longer, before he turns and heads towards the house, motioning for me to follow him. He walks fast, he normally does this when he’s upset by something. I struggle to keep up with him. His walking speed right now is faster than my running speed. He holds open the door for me, and we find Terry cleaning up the last of the bloody disaster in the house. From the look on his face, it looks like he’s heard our conversation.
“Forgive me, but I overheard, Mr. Aiden, is it true than Lucian has passed?” Terry asks politely, looking mildly nervous or...sad? I recall that Terry used to work as Lucian's servant once upon a time, before Aiden’s father gifted Terry to him.
I haven’t heard ‘Mr. Aiden’ come out of Terry’s mouth before that’s a new one.
“It is, Terry, I’m sorry. I wish you could’ve found out in a more appropriate way,” Aiden informs him. Terry’s expression drops a little, but he picks it right back up. “Take the rest of the week off. You worked for him for millennia, and I imagine you are feeling the pain of his loss deeply. I will find you when I need you.”
Terry opens his mouth as if to say something, but Aiden cuts him off. “No, Terry, no arguments. I will be fine without you for a week. Take some time off.”
I know that it is very rare for a master to give their servants, guards, or even butlers any time off at all throughout their lives, but I am not surprised by Aiden’s kindness. Terry nods appreciatively. “Thank you, sir.” Then he is out of sight in an instant.
“A millennium?” I ask Aiden. I never would have thought that Terry was so old.
“More than one. Terry is the oldest known living changeling. He’s been at Lucian’s side for as long as anyone knows.”
“I’m sorry about your father,” I tell him then, realizing that I haven’t yet said this. He told me not to say it, but I can’t just not say it.
“I didn’t know him very well, but thank you.”
Aiden picks up a vase from a counter. It’s cracked and broken from the earlier fight in the room. It’s large and a pale green colour with white swirls. “What a pity. My wife made this years ago when we first met. I’m surprised it lasted this long.” A look of sadness crosses his face, but he shakes his head.
“I can try to fix it if you like,” I offer. I used to take a pottery class in high school, and I’m sure that with the right materials, I could fix it or at least make it worth keeping.
Aiden smiles. “No, it’s alright, Megan, but thank you. Sometimes we have to let things go when they’ve had their time. Sometimes it’s not just things we must let go, but people. It’s time I move on from her.” He twirls the vase around in his hand a moment longer, kisses it swiftly, and then gently places it into a trash can beside the entrance to the room.
I suppose that after living for as long as he has, he would have to let people and things go frequently. It would suck outliving the ones you love time and time again. You’d think it would harden a person, but here Aiden stands.
“Have you ever been in love?” Aiden asks me then, surprising me.
“Uh...I don’t know,” I mutter quickly. Have I ever been in love? My heart races, and I’m not sure why. I try to steady my breathing.
He takes a step closer to me and brushes a piece of my hair behind my ear. “You would know if you’ve ever been in love. It’s both the best and worst feeling in life. It’s the best because it brings you the most joy a person can feel, and it’s the worst both because you constantly worry about each other and because one of you is quite likely to pass away before the other. You feel their happiness, but you also feel their pain. And although love causes us all such a great amount of agony, we still time and time again fall in love. Why? Because the good in love always outweighs the bad.” I’m not sure where this speech has come from.
“You say that you’re afraid of death, that you’re not ready for it.” Aiden states.
“Yes,” I answer as if he’s asked me this as a question.
“Have you ever felt so strongly about someone that you’d give your life for them?” he asks me calmly.
I shrug. “Maybe. I might have for Crispen. He risked his life protecting me.”
“You should never give your life because you owe someone, but because you know in your bones that it’s something you have to do. Would you have had to think about giving your life for his?” Aiden asks, rephrasing his question.
“Yes, I think so,” I answer. Why is he making me answer all these questions? I feel like I’m being questioned to the death and these questions are hard. They’re making me think.
“You know what I think?” Aiden asks me, but doesn’t give me time to reply. “It’s clear that Crispen loved you, but I think he fell in love with you for all of the wrong reasons. I think he was lonely and even scared. I think it’s because he fell in love with you for all of the wrong reasons, that he fell out of love with you for all of the right reasons.”
“So you think hating me for being part demon is a right reason to fall out of love?”
“No, but I think that your differences far exceed your similarities. You are two completely different people who found each other out of luck and remained friends, because you were both desperate for love and attention,” Aiden explains himself.
The more I think about it, the more I know Aiden is right. When I met Crispen, I was by all means desperate and lonely, and Crispen, well, Aiden could very well be right about him too.
“There’s not one person you’ve ever known that you would’ve been willing to give your life for without even thinking about it?” Aiden asks, making eye contact with me.
I think about how I would’ve been willing to give my life to save the guards when Crispen’s crew showed up here the other day. That’s different though, because they were here for me, not the other way around. They were already risking their lives for me. I was just going to make sure they didn’t. Aiden’s dark irises bring warmth to my body, not just my body, but something inside of my body. I shiver and glance away. He waits for my answer.
I think about his question. I think about my mother and my father and my friends from school who I was never close to. I think about colleagues and bosses and basically everyone that I’ve ever known. I realize that, no, maybe there is no one that I’ve ever felt this way about. Is that bad? Does it make me a terrible person?
I turn to Aiden again and look into his deep, soulless, black eyes. Aiden. If Aiden were in some sort of trouble and my life could save his, would I do it? Would I give my life for his? Yes, I would, and I’m sure he would do the same for me. I swallow hard. What does this tell me? That I love him? No, not after I promised myself that I wouldn’t fall in love with him. No way.
I swallow again, finding that there’s too much saliva in my mouth. A revelation hits me. I’m not going to hell with him, because I’m afraid of death and being sent to live with someone else. I’m going to hell with him, because I don’t think that I can die knowing that I’ll never see him again. I’ve been lying to myself. I’ve been lying to myself for a long time about Aiden. I’ve always known, I just couldn’t admit it. I still don’t know if I want to.
Half of Aiden’s mouth turns up in a smile as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking.
“Is that silence because the answer is yes, or is it because the answer is no?” Aiden asks finally.
“I...I need a minute,” I stutter and turn. I race towards my bedroom and hope he doesn’t follow. I have so much to think about. Is it really possible that I’ve unknowingly and accidentally fallen in love with Aiden? Yes, it’s possible. Now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense. It’s why my heart always skips beats while I’m around him, and why I think about him so damn much. I haven’t only been staying here because I feel like I sort of belong here, but because Aiden is here.
Crispen isn’t just pissed with me, because I chose to stay with Aiden. Crispen knows me better than anyone, okay, besides maybe Aiden. Crispen is also pissed at me because he knows that I love Aiden who is not only his worst enemy but his brother. I picked Aiden over him. I chose the Aiden, who played a part in my kidnapping, over him. Crispen knew about my feelings for Aiden before even me.
I spring onto my bed and lay on my back, staring up at the white ceiling.
A slight movement of the bed causes me to look to the foot of it. Aiden sits on the end of the bed. “I guess that answers my question,” he murmurs.
Yeah, his sneaky question. Then again, if he’d just asked me if I loved him, I’d probably have denied it, because I wouldn’t have had to think about it.
“For how long?” he asks, a small smile playing at his lips. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s amused or because he’s just happy.
I nervously bite my bottom lip and throw my forearm over my eyes. “Too long apparently.” I’m not sure why, but I’m embarrassed. It’s probably the déjà vu of the situation. The last time I confessed care for someone had been when I accidentally kissed Crispen, even if I didn’t mean it, and I was rejected.
He chuckles softly. “There’s no need to hide or be embarrassed.” The bed moves again. I remove my arm from my eyes so I can see again, knowing that hiding isn’t going to fix anything.
I’m surprised to see Aiden lying next to me on his side, his arm tucked under his head. He’s staring at me as if inspecting me. He does this sometimes, and it makes me wonder what he’s thinking. A chill runs down my spine. We’re no strangers to being physically close whether it be while in training or while lying outside under the stars on evenings.
I don’t understand how I didn’t see this before. These acts weren’t such of merely a deep friendship and nor were they acts of a mentor-trainee bond. Surely Aiden doesn’t act this way around all of his lady friends. I recall the kiss that we shared, even if it happened out of a wrong situation. I remember how warm and soft it was. I’ve thought about it many times since. Who am I kidding? This whole time, I’ve known that I’ve been in love with Aiden. I just haven’t been able to admit it to myself, as if admitting it would make it somehow more real.
Aiden licks his lips slightly and rubs them together, like he does sometimes. This movement sends a chill down my spine. The pull towards Aiden that I feel now is far, far stronger than any pull I ever felt towards Crispen. It feels like a cord has somehow strung us together, and I know there’s no escaping this. I’ve finally allowed myself to fully feel the extent of my feelings towards him, and to my surprise, they’re not scary and they don’t feel wrong, in fact, it all feels right.
Aiden beams and something I’ve never seen in his eyes before appears. Is it contentment? Relaxation? Happiness? I can’t tell, but I know that it’s good that he feels this way.
Learning from my past mistakes, I don’t lean in and plant a kiss on him. I just stare at him. There is no way that Aiden could ever in a million years feel the same way about me. He’s a demon for heaven sakes. In my eyes, he’s practically a god. He is the leader of hell and the demons. The thought is just insane. I have fallen in love with the fricken boss of hell. Holy crap on a cracker.
Aiden uses his free hand to fix my necklace so that it’s not on backwards any longer. He picks up the small pendant and pinches it between his thumb and forefinger. It’s a necklace that I bought myself a few years ago. He once asked if there was a story behind it, and I explained to him that no, there was no story behind it, I just bought myself a gift. He found that humorous and asked why I don’t leave gift buying to those who care about me. I went on to explain that no one in my life ever really bought me any presents and that no one really cared enough about me to get me anything. The next day, he came home with a velvet box and had me open it. He told me that he cared enough about me, and a girl should never have to buy their own jewelry. I cried. I cried like a little baby, but I don’t think he realized just how much his gift meant to me. I think that was the day that I really fell in love with Aiden. Not because of the gift by all means, but because he’s cared enough to listen to all of my sob stories and listen to my fears and goals. The gift didn’t have to be the beautiful bracelet he got me that day, it could’ve been a paper origami bird or a cookie. It was the fact that he truly cared for me and my thoughts. No one in my life, not even Crispen, has shown me so much affection, except Aiden.
Aiden’s hand then moves down to my bracelet where he moves the chain around my wrist so that the silver pendant with the word ‘strength’ engraved on it is facing up. He runs his thumb over the word carefully.
I get lost in his eyes. I don’t even know who leans in first, maybe it’s him, or maybe it’s me. It doesn’t matter. In that moment we are one person as our lips meet. This kiss isn’t like the last we shared a few days ago. It’s much more tender and soft, yet it’s urgent. Unlike when I kissed Crispen, neither of us pull away, I don’t think we have the strength to. He pulls me closer to him and our bodies touch. I’ve never felt such a strong connection to anyone, not even close. It makes shivers run through my body and makes my heart pound hard in my chest.
A short, gruff moan escapes his lips as he presses them harder into mine. The sound makes me shiver. I become dizzy and my head woozy. I wonder if this is normal.
The palm of his hand finds the back of my head, and he manages to swiftly pull me on top of him. He pulls back a moment, resting his forehead on mine, eyes closed. His breathing is deep like he’s out of breath. It should take much more than a bit of making out to have a demon lose their breath.
He kisses me one last time, lighter, and then carefully pushes me off of him.
“I’m sorry that got a little out of hand. You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do that,” Aiden pants, opening his eyes.
“Don’t be sorry,” I encourage. The thought that he’s been waiting to do that to me for a long time makes me jittery.
He sits up and uses his fingers to brush his tousled hair back into place. “I must be. I could’ve hurt you if I got too carried away.” That’s right, when demons get all hot and bothered they tend to unintentionally suck out souls. I swallow hard at the thought. What if he did go too far and ended up accidentally turning me into a demon? “I can control myself, I promise.”
A part of me wants for him to not control himself. The other, the more rational part, warns my heart and sex drive to calm the hell down and think this through thoroughly.
We stare up at the roof. “How long have you known?” I ask him, referring to how long he’s known that I’ve had feelings for him.
He doesn’t ask for clarification; he knows what I’m asking. “Since before you knew yourself obviously. I really wasn’t sure, but I began suspecting it a few weeks ago. I have a knack for picking up emotion. It’s not something I can control. It just happens now and again. The emotion has to be strong.” I know he’s talking about a demon ability he has. “I first felt it when we were training, and I landed on top of you. I thought maybe it was just lust, but then I felt it again and again off and on for the last few weeks. Then tonight while we were lying outside in the grass...I just knew.”
I feel a tad embarrassed, but I push it away. Now is not the time for embarrassment.
“When you got out of the vehicle that dropped you off here for the first time, I knew something was different about you. I don’t believe in love at first sight, but I was definitely intrigued by you when we first met.” Aiden straightens his clothing. He grins wickedly like he’s never been so happy in his life. Then his smile fades. “I never fell in love until I met my wife, because I didn’t believe that anyone could ever love a demon not even another demon. She didn’t leave me because of her demise. She left me before then, after she found out what I was. She then grew ill and passed afterwards, leaving me my daughter who then later was murdered. Anyone I’ve ever cared about has run from me upon finding out the truth about me. Crispen, Mason, Aria, my wife, my step father and his wife. Even the halflings I’ve mentored all chose death before the end of their training because of the monster I am. Thankfully, my daughter didn’t know what I was or she would have run too, I’m sure. Everyone except you has fled, Megan, and after all that you’ve been through while living with me, after all you’ve learnt about me and what I am, you still are able to care about me. I don’t get it.”
It takes me a minute to gather my thoughts. “You didn’t choose to be what you are, and you can’t change it. You were born the way you are, and as you explained to me earlier, you aren’t a monster, Aiden, you actually save many lives when you look at the big picture. I know you, and you’re far from a monster, I promise you.”
“My step parents Anna and Thomas were told by the demons who came to take me what I was. They didn’t believe it at first, but then they thought about some of the strange things that they’d seen me do, like accidentally move too fast or heal too quickly. They turned on me, and I was going to let them kill me. I just sat there waiting for it. I had no idea that I couldn’t be killed in such simple ways. My biological mother never told me much about me, just need to know stuff. The two demons who came to take me, had no patience at all. One of them had the ability of telekinesis, and with a flick of his wrist, my parents’ necks snapped like twigs. It’s my fault that they died and although Crispen, Aria, and Mason don’t know this truth, I’m sure they’ve assumed it. I don’t blame them for wanting me dead honestly.”
“It’s not your fault. You were young, and you knew next to nothing about what you were let alone who you were. What were you supposed to do, find an entrance to hell or search out other demons? How were you going to do that?
“I don’t know, but I could’ve tried a little harder. I was twenty-six and still living with my parents. Back then, that was very strange. I should’ve been married with kids by that age.”
I look at him and cock my head to the side. “Yeah, but if that was the case, then it would’ve been your wife and kids that got killed.”
“A few minutes earlier or later and it could’ve been my siblings,” Aiden reminds me. “I should’ve done something.”
“A few minutes ago weren’t you talking about accepting things and moving on?”
He goes silent, obviously catching my drift.
“It was like three hundred years ago, Aiden. Time to move on.”
“Let’s talk about something less depressing, shall we?” he offers and repositions himself on the bed. He lies down beside me again and uses his finger to trace my jawbone. “Have I ever told you that you’re beautiful?”
I giggle. Only a million times.
“Maybe we should get in one more training session before tomorrow,” I suggest and nod to the bedroom door. I’m pretty tired, but I feel like if we’re going to hell tomorrow morning, I should probably practice my right hook or something, not that one more practice is going to make me a pro. I also really don’t want to get out of this bed where there’s the chance that Aiden might kiss me and make my head spin again, but reality is a little bitch.
Aiden is normally the one pushing that we train, but when I mention training this time, he makes a pouty face.
“What?” I ask him, squinting as if looking at him through squinted eyes will help me read his mind.
“Nothing. Let’s go.”
We both reluctantly get off of the bed and head to Aiden’s massive training room. I’m in pajamas from this morning, but I don’t really care. Aiden doesn’t seem bothered by this either.
He carefully removes his expensive cufflinks and unbuttons his shirt. There’s no point in ruining a shirt that probably cost more than my car. He tosses it into the corner of the room. Seeing Aiden’s bare torso isn’t anything new. Each time it takes my breath away. He has the most perfectly sculpted body that I’ve ever seen.
Before I even have the chance to stretch, because I’m momentarily distracted, Aiden throws me down onto the mat. Even though the mat is soft, my head still hurts from the blow. I look up, and he smiles over top of me.
“Ow!” I shout playfully and jump up. “I wasn’t even done stretching!”
“Do you think that a crazed hunter or demon is going to give a crap if you’ve stretched?” he asks me teasingly.
He’s right, no, no hunter or demon or anyone with the audacity to attack me is going to give me time to stretch. With my slow reflexes and snail speed, I know I have no chance against a demon or a hunter, but this training is so that I can protect myself after becoming a pure demon. That’s what it’s meant for anyway. I won’t be becoming a demon, but I find relaxation in sparring with Aiden. It takes my mind off of all that is going on around me, and maybe if I’m lucky, if it ever comes down to a fight against someone with super speed, I’ll at least be able to stall them for a moment so that Aiden can reach me and save my ass. That’s what I tell myself anyway.
Aiden instructs me to come at him, so I lunge for him. He plays along, pretending that his reflexes are as slow as my own like he always does. He still catches my arm and throws me around. His arm wraps around my neck in a headlock and he says, “Crack, you’re dead.”
Our training sessions always go like this, for hours of the day. There’s no reason that someone as old and experienced and fast as he should ever let me actually land a significant blow. It’s not plausible. I think back to when I stabbed Crispen with the ruby knife that day at his house. That was a complete fluke. He was distracted, and he never thought I would stab him in the back...literally stab him in the back.
Aiden releases his hold, and I turn around to face him again. He crosses his arms and raises his eyebrows, waiting for my next attack. I come at him but at the last minute, I swing my legs up to hit his jaw. I use so much force doing this that when he backs up, missing my blow, the force sends me flying over backwards onto the mat. I curse and again stare up at his grinning face.
“I suck,” I groan.
“Nah, I’m just skilled,” he fires back, his grin widening in a teasing way. He reaches down and helps pull me up.
“Yeah, no kidding. I’ve seen you kick ass,” I mutter as my head spins. He lets go of me, and I struggle to stand up straight.
His lips twitch. “Are you talking about me taking down my siblings? That was nothing. You wouldn’t believe what else I can do.”
“Speaking of which, I watched you fling Aria across the room like she was a piece of candy,” I accuse, remembering his display of what appeared to be magical powers or something.
“Like a piece of candy? What? That’s what comes to mind? Candy?” he wonders, amused.
I nod, waiting for his answer and ignoring his jab at me. I’m having a sweet craving.
“Telekinesis. One of my...super powers as you tend to call them.” Aiden chuckles. “I’m not much of a show off. If I don’t need to use them, then I don’t.”
Not much of a show off? Ha! Maybe he doesn’t mean to be, but to me he’s like some sort of god.
“So you can just move shit around with your brain?” I ask, mouth sagging open a bit.
He smirks and trouble fills his eyes. “Yes.”
“Show me,” I plead. I’m still not sure if what I saw earlier really happened.
Suddenly my feet are not on the ground any longer. I’m hovering nearly a foot off the ground. I’m sure my expression contains both astonishment and fright. I scream. Then when I realize what’s happening, I kick and yell for him to put me down.
He laughs deeply and sets me back down. I warn him that he better not do that again, or I’ll kill him. He laughs at my threat. We both know that I can’t kill him.
“Sorry, but I had to,” he says through another laugh.
“You had to?” I ask, crossing my arms. My heart rate begins to slow down, and my anger starts to dissipate.
His humor fades. “Sorry, Megan, I shouldn’t have done that. It was rude.” His playfulness begins to fade, and his usual, more serious attitude returns.
“You just scared me is all,” I mutter, almost embarrassed. God, I’m such a baby. All he did was lift me a foot or so off of the ground. Yeah, with his fricken mind! Okay, a little freaky, but I’ve dealt with a lot of strange things the past few months. Why I am freaking out over something as small as this, I don’t know.
“Sometimes it’s too easy to be myself around you, and I forget that we are more different than we are alike. I didn’t mean to scare you,” he apologizes again.
His words sound almost sad, and I feel bad for getting upset. He was just being himself, and can I really be angry about that? No. I want him to be himself. He shouldn’t have to tone himself down for me, because I’m faint at heart and ‘breakable’, as he never fails to remind me. He puts on a human persona for me, and I know a lot of it is tough for him. How terrible would it be to have to slow yourself down for someone and hide a huge part of yourself from them at all times, just so you didn’t scare them off?
Aiden sometimes seems embarrassed by his true nature. He never wants to talk about himself and what he is. He avoids the conversations at all costs. When he does talk about these things upon my questioning, it’s very reluctantly. He likes to leave all the demon lessons to books and not lectures.
Now, he finally acts like himself, and off I go freaking out like some child. No wonder he looks hurt. He thinks that he can’t even be himself around me without scaring me off.
“Don’t apologize. It just caught me by surprise is all,” I try again. “Aiden?”
He makes eye contact with me.
“You don’t have to pretend you’re human around me, you know. You’re not about to scare me off. I’d rather you be you than pretend to be something you’re not. I’m going with you to hell tomorrow. I think things are going to have to change.” After today, everything is going to be different. Even more different than it already is. I’m going to be thrown into a whole new world again.
Aiden smiles softly, the smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “You can’t come with me tomorrow.”
My heart sinks.
“I can’t have that place tarnish you, Megan. You have no idea what it’s like. Please stay here. That light I see in your eyes, hell will extinguish it like nothing.”
I shake my head sternly. I thought we already made an agreement about this.
“I wish you would change your mind. I really do. Sleep on it okay? I know we didn’t get much training in, but you need your rest. Tomorrow is going to be a big day.”
I don’t argue. I’m tired, and I can tell that Aiden is done with training for today. Demons don’t sleep, so I wonder what he’s going to be doing all night.
I head off to bed, knowing that tomorrow is going to be a crazy day.
