Things stay roughly the same for the next fourteen days. After our return from the breeding centre, Cain held an ice pack to my spine for an entire hour while I tried to pretend that the anger of seeing my parents' killers wasn't eating me up inside. I have no idea what happened with them, he won't tell me, I asked him a hundred times and he ignored it. The first few days were spent in agony, the ice helped though.

Every day has been torture, not just physically but mentally I am as close to depressed as I can be. I spent most of the days just sitting in the chair or laying in bed. I've been sleeping a lot.

A few days ago, Cain did something that I wasn't expecting. He had a television brought into my room, along with DVDs of all my past favourite movies and a few that his 'souls' recommended. I've been watching them on loops as I lay in the bed eating snacks tiredly. Cain occasionally looked up from his work and smiled at something on the television, even though he pretended to not be listening he was. He listens to everything.

The movies were a good distraction for a while but then I would think of Jackson and Christian. My sadness became overwhelming. It filled the room and made it duller. I can dress myself without Cain's aid now and I can tolerate having a shower without squealing. I am healing but at the same time I'm not. As my bruises become less dark, as my wounds become more invisible, my mind is getting pulled into a dark world of loneliness.

I lay on the bed today wearing a bathrobe with my fingers grabbing at the popcorn in the bowl. I'm watching a movie about two women that met when they were kids on a sandy beach, they grew up writing letters to each other as their lives took different directions. It's one of the saddest movies I've ever seen and it probably isn't a good idea to be watching it but I'm that numb that I can't even react properly.

I stare at Cain as he rises from his chair, he gathers his papers up and leaves the room. I take another handful of popcorn and I bring it to my mouth slowly. I replace the movie with something else. This was exciting the first day, now I'm just sick of it. Sick of being stuck here. Sick of being treated like I have no emotions. Cain won't allow me to take more than two painkillers every four hours but it's the only thing I look forward to because it allows me to finally feel something.

It's around two hours later when he returns. My head is down and ready for a late afternoon nap but the arrival of Blake makes me more awake. I push myself up, eyeing Blake as he walks around the bed.

"May I?" he says, stretching his hand to me.

I nod.

Cain observes us from the foot of the bed, he folds one arm and rubs his finger against the top of his lip. Blake takes my hand and focuses for a few seconds; he drops it and steps backwards.

"Well?" Cain says.

"She's still the most incredible thing I've ever touched," Blake says. "But it's not like it was. It's not as powerful. If I was any other guard then I'd be able to resist her. The isolation worked."

Cain smiles at me. "Leave us. You know what to do."

Blake nods and exits the room. I keep my eyes on Cain, wondering if this might finally be it. The day he lets me out.

"I am so sorry for the way I've treated you," he says, walking to stand beside me. He drops down to the bed, turning to look at me. "I can see how devoid of life you are and it has been hard to watch it."

"You still can't read me?" I whisper.

"No." He covers my hand with his, the touch is so warm that I can't reject it. "There is a flicker, a flash of something, but it's not clear. I didn't tell Blake the reason why but I imagine he's beginning to suspect a lot of things that he'll never say out loud."

"Okay," I say, dropping back down against the pillow.

"I don't understand," he says. "I thought you'd be happy. You can go outside, I'll escort you."

"I don't want to."

"You don't want to see Jackson?"

"More than anything," I whisper. "I just feel a little lost right now and I need to find myself again. I don't expect you to understand that."

"Why can't you just be mad at me?" he says. "If you want to yell at me then do it. I am responsible for this and I hate myself for it."

I smile up at him. "Why would I be mad at you? You were just trying to keep me safe."

"That's the connection talking, Aurora."

"It isn't," I say. "It's something else."

"I need to tell you something," he says. "You have a choice to make." He turns and pulls the blade from his pocket. I swallow as I look at it, sitting back up. "I couldn't tell you this before, I had to make sure the depression worked first. I killed them." He looks at me. "The ones that killed your parents."

"What?"

I stare at the blade so hard, tears streaming down my cheeks. Their souls are inside of there. I place my hand out to touch it, hoping they can feel me somehow.

"They were the law-breakers," Cain says. "They tried to negotiate their way out of it before my law enforcers beat them here with the evidence. They were so arrogant, they honestly believed they could talk their way out of anything. It was an honour to kill them. For you."

"What are you going to do?" I say, still touching the blade.

"That's the choice you have to make," he says. "I have released the other souls but your parents are still inside. You can choose to let them go too or I can keep them safe for you. My worlds are so beautiful, Aurora. I know you view them as trapped but I promise you that they will be happy. They'll finally be together."

I take my hand back. I'm suddenly not so sure what to do. I want them to be free and I want them to be at peace but I feel as though I'm taking their choice from them. What would they want? I don't know if I'll ever be fully consumed by Cain, if I follow Marina's plan carefully then he'll have to transfer those parts back to me. If I ever do ring the bell and he somehow survives the extinction then he could retaliate by punishing my parents.

"I don't know," I say. "I wish there was a way I could ask them."

He leans back, deep in thought. "What if there could be?"

Cain drags the blade along his arm and I widen my eyes in disbelief. "What are you doing? I didn't choose!"

Cain smiles. "Trust me, okay? This is going to be the strangest thing I've ever done. I don't quite know how to. . . wait. Okay, take my hand." I have no idea what's happening but I just go with it. "Focus on your mother or father."

"Just one?"

"Yes. Both might be a bit too much. I'll give you as much time as I can but I've never done this before so I don't know how long it will last. It could be minutes or it could be seconds."

"I don't understand. What are you doing?"

"Close your eyes and focus," he commands.

I close my eyes. I can't choose between them so I focus on the first face I see; my father's chirpy, enthusiastic face that lit up an entire room. His bright blue eyes, his charisma that had everyone he ever met laughing at his jokes.

"Aurora?" Cain says, it's more of a confused statement, not like he's calling for me.

I open my eyes. Cain looks at me strangely, leaning back with shock. I cover my mouth with my hands as a cry escapes my lips. "Dad?"

"What's going on? Where am I?" He wanders his eyes around the room, finally focusing back on me. "How is this possible?"

I don't answer his questions, I throw my arms around his shoulders and I cry against him. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," he says, patting the back of my head. "You're so much older. Let me look at you." He swipes the tears from my cheeks as I lean back. He chuckles. "It's like I've time-travelled. I was so worried about you."

"I'm okay," I say. "I think Cain has lent you his body but we don't have much time."

"Cain is the being that has just reunited me with your mother," he says. "I just saw her moments ago and now I'm sitting in front of you, this doesn't seem real." He laughs again, touching my cheek. "You are so beautiful, so strong. What happened to the rest of the world?"

"They took over it," I whisper. "Cain is their leader, he's different. You were in one of his worlds that he builds for souls. You can stay there or he can release you. He gave me the choice but I couldn't make it for you."

"His world is incredible," he says. "But we don't belong there. There is something else out there, I have felt it. It has called to me so many times but I could never reach it. You don't belong there either. Cain will come to realize that."

I'm startled to hear him talking about Cain as though he knows him, as though they're trading thoughts back and forth. Maybe they are. Maybe this is just another one of those magical things that I will never understand.

"Tell mum I love her," I cry. "Tell her that I've been as brave as you taught me to be."

"We never doubted that," he says. "I know how hard this world must seem to live in right now but I promise you that there is hope. Just promise me that you won't ride another motorcycle, okay?"

I laugh. "How do you know that?"

"I can't explain how I know, it's not very natural. Cain cares for you, that is the obvious thing. I have to go now."

"No," I cry, squeezing my hand around his. "I don't want you to go."

"Aurora, I'm dead. Do you want to try a spell to raise my corpse?"

"Stop doing that," I growl, laughing through my tears. "Even in death you never change."

"What's the point to anything if you don't make fun of it?" He grins, pulling me against him for one last embrace. "Do I really have to spend eternity with your mother now? I probably should have dumped her before we died, huh?"

"Dad," I groan.

"I love you," he says, his eyes falling serious as we distance from each other. "Wherever this life takes you, we will be there, watching over you. Unless there's beer in the afterlife, then I'll just try and make it on weekends."

I smile. "I love you too."

He closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Take care of my daughter."

Cain's eyes snap open. He's back. We look at each other in silence but something's wrong. It's not as though he's looking at me but rather straight through me. His eyes glaze over with a serene whiteness and he collapses sideways onto the bed.

"Cain!" I say, crawling over him.

I place my hands to his face, gently slapping him to wake him up but he doesn't move. I press my ears to his chest to try and hear or feel his heart but I can't get a reading. They breathe every few minutes. He remains passed out for a short time, he finally wakes up and the first thing he does is grip my wrist. He gasps.

"I can taste you again," he says in wonder. "The possession disrupted something."

"It disrupted a lot," I say. "You passed out."

"What? That's impossible." He sits up, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Then again, who am I to say what's impossible anymore?"

"Thank you for what you did," I say, resting my head against his arm. "It was amazing. I'm so emotional." I wipe my cheeks.

"I'll give them some more time together before I release them," he says. "We'll do it later."

"You heard everything we were saying?"

He nods. "The other souls often say they can feel something calling out to them too. I never understood what they meant until now."

"So are you going to release them all?" I grin at him.

"Don't push it."

I sit the other way to him, my legs grazing past his arm that he stretches out to keep his balance. "My soul hasn't changed again, has it?"

"No," he says. "You're safe. I think just one thing caused that."

I frown, knowing what he's talking about. Does that mean we won't ever do it again? That he won't ever touch me like that again?

"Maybe it was just a one time occurrence and won't happen again."

"I knew you'd say that," he laughs. "Maybe."

I smile, looking down at my fingers. "I feel better after talking with my father. I needed that."

Cain glances at the clock. "Get dressed, I've got a surprise for you."