1843

~Tove

The moment my feet touch the ground, I fall forward onto my knees.

Keo merely strolls past me, brushing lint off his black jacket. I scowl up at him.

"Murderer," I growl hatefully.

He looks down at me with that sick, sadistic smile on his face that I want to wipe off. All of this is amusing to him, it's fun.

"We knew that already." He holds his out to me.

Ignoring it, I stumble up onto my feet, looking around. We aren't in the hellscape I thought we would be, considering everything I've been told about this Demon.

This is Territory Two. It's dark, but I can hear the sea roaring outside the large, open balcony doors. I can taste the salt in the soft breeze that ruffles my clothes and hair.

And it's so wonderfully warm, despite the hour.

"Fuck you," I hiss.

"Calm down," he orders firmly, which only fuels my anger. How can he be so infuriating without every trying?

"I just watched someone die!"

It feels as though a rock has settled in the pit of my stomach. Watching that person lose their life like that...I'm never going to be able to shake that image from my mind.

"Are the dramatics because you're Angel-blooded, or just because you're you?" He tilts his head to the side, clearly taunting me.

My entire vision is red. I'm done.

Stalking forward, with no care of the hurt he could inflict upon me, I rear my arm back and slap him with as much force as possible. But before my hand can get close to striking him, he grabs my wrist and forces me back.

He doesn't stop until my back is pressed up against the glass window. Below, there is a perilous drop down the cliff and to the sea below.

"Do you have any idea what I could do to you, Tove?" He murmurs lowly.

My stomach tightens as fear grips me. He sounds like a lover trying seduce me, but the hidden meanings beneath the words fights through.

He can hurt me if I don't comply. But I don't feel like submitting to him yet.

"Kill me already," I snap, training my eyes on his so they don't start drifting down his face. "Take away my pain of having to be in your presence."

His grip tightens on my wrists, but he doesn't move, seeming to enjoy me simmering in my anger, ready to explode at any moment.

"There are many terrible things I would take great pleasure in doing to you," he purrs, looking down to trace his gaze over my body.

He's trying to anger me, I can sense it. And it's working, because I can't control it.

"Kill me, or I'll kill you," I growl, fighting to free myself. Dax is right. He isn't going to use me for my magic, he's just going to torment me endlessly until I lose my mind.

Keo smirks. "Uh huh. Sure you will."

He reaches into his pocket, pulling a knife out. I still as he hands it to me, then guides my hand to his neck.

I stare at the blade as it presses against his skin, at my hand wrapped around the hilt.

He leans closer into the knife. "Kill me."

He makes it sound so tempting. I could slit his throat and be done with him. There would be no cure for Mary, but I may save many lives in the future if I took his life now.

And I'm angry...I'm so overwhelmingly angry that my hands are trembling, causing the knife to drift across Keo's neck.

Keo seems to sense my hesitation, wanting to provoke me some more. "Kill me, Tove, or I rip your clothes off and fuck you against this window for the whole world to see."

My breath catches in my throat, as I force my expression to remain unchanged.

"Oh, it's not a hard choice."

His smile is dripping with seduction. "Oh I bet it's not."

I squeeze my eyes shut, before throwing the knife across the room.

It's not because I want him to carry out his sinful promise. I can't bring myself to kill someone. Not when it was so easy for Keo, and being anything like him is a fate worse than death.

Keo laughs as I shove him off me, trying to shake the feeling of his strong body pressed against me, of that heady scent of his that has invaded my senses.

"You will not touch me," I growl.

He doesn't concede, remaining where he stands in close proximity to me.

"Do you feel that, Tove? You're pulsing with life, with power. It's consuming you, threatening to spill over if you don't release it," he notes, as if he can see it under my skin.

I don't want to admit it, but he's right.

Beneath my skin, I can feel something familiar building up, desperate for release. It's similar to what I feel when I'm just about to transport myself, gathering up for my use.

But this time, it's far stronger, within my grasp...

Keo takes another step forward. "You're angry, you're feeling something, and instead of that dull, lifeless magic deep inside you, it's aching to burst out now."

I wrap my arms around myself, frightened of that feeling that Keo so easily provoked. He is so infuriating...I've never felt such anger like that until now.

"I don't want to feel that."

"Yes, you do," he exclaims. "That power belongs to you, I can feel it. You can capture, use it. It can take you anywhere."

I grit my teeth, pushing away from the window and out onto the balcony, feeling the rising breeze wrap itself around me, cooling my anger.

"You're purposefully making me angry," I mutter. He's testing me.

"You've been doubting your magic, believing it's nothing for so long," he says, strolling out to stand beside me, resting his hands on the railing. "I've proven what I suspected. Your magic is far deeper, far more palpable than you realise."

I frown, looking at him. He stares off toward the dark sea, the breeze ruffling his dark hair. When he isn't talking, he has such a dark, cruel beauty about him.

"How do you know?"

"It's part of who I am. I sensed it the moment I saw you, before we met, that you would save me," he murmurs. He doesn't look at me, and force once, I get the feeling he's being honest.

"I don't know how to use what I just felt..." I stare down at my hands.

Keo shifts his gaze to me, frowning a little. "I'll teach you."

I rest my hands back down, thinking. What would it be like to have a full handle on my magic? I can't trust Keo, I know that, but being able to transport myself wherever I please does sound tempting.

"And you'll save Mary?"

He nods. "That's the agreement."

"Don't do that again...don't push me like that," I snap, turning to him. I'm still angry, fighting off the remnant feelings of him pressed against me, muttering such filthy promises in my ear.

"You need to be pushed, to harness the magic you've spent your whole life hiding. So expect far worse," he insists.

I tip my head back. "Great...."

"We won't be staying long in one place, so don't become attached." He turns to walk away, my heart jumping into my throat.

"How long will this take?" I question.

Mary may not have long, and Keo doesn't sound like he has any plans to release me any time soon.

"Depends. Now go upstairs and rest. Tomorrow, we will talk again," he exclaims coolly, motioning toward the stairs in the centre of the room.

I doubt I'm going to get anything more out of Keo, so I move to brush past him, until he clears his throat.

"Wait."

I pause, slowly turning to face him. "What?"

"Did Daxen say anything to you while you were in that estate?" He asks softly, tentatively, as if he's afraid of what I'll divulge.

I look out toward the sea, thinking. I was so consumed in my desperation to get out of that estate that I didn't take much of what he said into account. Although there was one thing that still bothers me.

"Only that you were an evil, murderous monster who..."

I break off, not sure if I should say it or not. Especially after what just transpired between Keo and I against the window inside.

"Who what?" he presses.

I roll my eyes. "Never mind."

Turning toward the door, I'm ready to be done with this conversation, however Keo appears in front of me, leaning lazily against the doorframe.

"Tove..." he purrs, his smile pure seduction as he dares me to admit what I'm holding back.

"He said that I was foolish for thinking you would want to date me. That I would only be so lucky as to get one thing out of you," I mutter uncomfortably, figuring Keo will keep me out into the cold until I'm truthful.

His gaze darkens. "Sex?"

"I don't want that, to be clear. To have sex..." I say quickly.

He raises a brow.

"To have sex with you, I mean. Sex in general is great, just not with insane mass murderers," I say, talking so fast and stupidly that I'm stumbling over my words.

That night on our date, I had thought about what it would be like to have sex with him. Now, the same thoughts haunt me, although I'm quick to shun them away.

"Did you think I wanted to date you?" He isn't mocking me. He sounds curious.

"Well, when you whispered you're a murderer in my ear, no, I figured that was off the table," I mutter sourly, sweeping my hands through my hair.

A smile plays at his sensuous lips. "And now you hate me."

"That too," I add.

Keo finally steps back, making way for me to walk past. "Goodnight then, Tove."

"Goodnight, Keo," I grumble.

Ignoring the presence of his body, I shimmy past, but once again, he grabs my arm, leaning in close.

"Just so you know, hate fucking is an incredible thing," he whispers in my ear before letting me go.

I shake my head at him, seeing the amusement in his eyes, how much he enjoys toying with me.

I rush upstairs, not letting him see how much his words affect me. When I find an bedroom, I fall onto the bed, eyeing the door.

He wouldn't come in here, right?

He just said all that to taunt me...He knows I'm going to spend all night thinking about it.

Groaning, I pull myself from the room, close the door and set a chair beneath the handle.

Not that it will make any difference. There is no escaping Keo.

Ever.

💛••💛

~Midika 💜🐼