2065

~Amolet

I stand amidst the snow, staring at Aven's home from the paddock next to it.

"Alright, I'll go in and speak to Aven, while the rest of you stay out here," I instruct, turning toward the pure bloods. Cian, Sinful, Ira and Hale are present, all anxious to lure Stace here to kill him. I am too, although I'm wary about keeping Aven safe and completely uninvolved in this process. If she gets hurt, I won't be able to forgive myself.

"Amolet," Sinful says curtly. I look at him, noting how he looks completely unbothered by the snow. He lives atop a mountain, according to what Cian has told me. "If you're not able to do this, you need to tell us now."

"I will be fine, Sinful," I mutter.

All of the pure bloods doubt that I am capable of this. It's not like I can blame them, I've only my powers against them, and their power doesn't compare to Stace's. I'm worried myself that I will freeze up and won't be able to do it. But if I don't, he will always be a threat to me and Cian, and even Aven, who despite not knowing, I feel the urge to protect.

"You're killing someone," he says frankly. He's trying to read my reaction, to see if even the mention of killing would be enough for me to back off.

"I'll be fine. There is no guarantee that any of you will be able to do it, suicidal or not," I remind them. Hale rolls his eyes, still irritated that it's fallen to me instead of him. Both him and Ira are the most sceptical about my powers. It's tempting me to use it on them first, just to diminish any of the doubt.

"Stace will be able to sense that we are around, and what about her personal guard that you brought up?" Sinful questions, brushing some falling snow from his shoulder.

"Ira can deal with Eryk. Don't kill him, just keep him out of the way," I tell her firmly.

She sighs dramatically. "If you insist."

Instantly, she disappears, leaving only her footsteps in the snow as evidence that she was ever there. The rest of us look between each other, realising this is really going to happen, and that now that Ira will be with Eryk, we are going to have to be quick before Ira loses patience and kills the man out of sheer boredom.

"So I go in, speak to her, and Hale, you go cause a diversion upstairs that lures her up there, and make sure you lock her in the room without you seeing her," I instruct, gesturing toward the manor.

"Got it. And if she sees me, I'll take her memory," he notes, backing up a few steps.

I turn back to the other two as Hale disappears to go do his part. "Sinful, Cian, you wait until Stace arrives. If he tries to kill me, cause a distraction."

"We will do that," Cian murmurs, stepping toward me. Part of me just wants to collapse into his arms and hope all of this can go away without me having to have any part in it. But I can't do that. I have to be strong enough to protect everyone in this realm, and use the powers that have come upon me for something good. "You'll be okay."

"I know. We will talk again when he is dead," I breathe, reaching out to rub his arm tenderly before backing away.

"Good luck," Sinful calls out with an obvious smirk, before him and Cian vanish.

Summoning a deep breath, I cross the paddock toward the manor, thinking through what my excuse for being here is going to be. My plan is to go in, where Stace will hopefully sense our proximity to her from wherever he is, and appear. I will then lure him outside, and kill him. With Sinful and Cian there, nothing should go wrong...I hope.

Aven comes to the door not long after I knock, looking surprised to see me standing at her door again, this time clad in far more weather appropriate clothing.

"Oh, Amolet, you're back," she exclaims. She sounds surprised, but not in a bad way. I left her after Cian came to collect me with a brief farewell and a hope that our paths would cross some time in the future. I doubt she would expect for that time to come so quickly.

"Hi Aven. I'm so sorry to come here again, but Cian had to return back to the Immortal Realm for an emergency, and I was wondering if I could stay here the night until he is back?" I say, hoping that my lie is enough to be granted entry. The lie doesn't really make much sense, but at the very least, she smiles, and motions for me to come in.

"Of course, get in here."

"Thank you so much." I step into the home, grateful again for the warmth.

"I still can't believe you mate is an immortal," she notes as she walks towards the foyer's fireplace, as if she can see me shivering. I may be immortal now, which mean I can't die from anything as trivial as weather, but I can still feel the cold.

I almost laugh. "Neither can I, honestly."

"Can I get you anything to drink?"

"That would be great..." I say, glancing up the stairs. Who knows where Ira has taken Eryk for the mean time, but I'm sure she is tormenting him regardless. Hale should be upstairs by now, finding a way to make a diversion to draw her into a lockable room. Which means Stace could be around here anywhere, ready to confront me.

"Wait, Aven?"

She turns. "Yeah?"

"You're very kind, for letting me in here," I say softly, unable to help myself. I look at her and I see me, before I knew what was waiting for me for being mated to a powerful man, not knowing I had powers myself. "I know that even if you never find your mate, you're going to be completely happy."

"I appreciate that, Amolet," she smiles, turning to go get me a drink.

Something falls from above us, hitting what must be the upstairs floor. I know immediately it's Hale, likely having pushed books off a shelf or something. It gets Aven's attention though, as she rushes back into the room, looking almost terrified.

"Did you hear that?"

"Sounded like it was coming from upstairs," I note, trying to appear wary myself. She must hate being here alone, considering her reaction, or maybe she unconsciously aware that someone like Eryk is keeping close to her, watching her.

"I'll go stay here. You wait here," she insists, before racing up the stairs.

I watch her go, before turning, coming face to face with Stace. I knew he was going to appear, but just seeing him again makes me flinch, my heart racing. His expression neutral, as she narrows his eyes on me, trying to compose himself, knowing I'm standing in his mates house right now, capable of doing anything. Last time we mentioned her, it was enough to make Stace reach out and kill me.

"Any explainable reason why you're here?" He questions. I can hear the wrath in his tone.

"Don't come any closer, or I'll scream," I warn him, backing away as I point upstairs, where Stace hopefully doesn't know that Aven has been locked in a room by Hale. To him, any moment now, Aven could come downstairs and see us.

"How did you escape Death so quickly?"

"Doesn't matter. Let's go outside and talk," I say quietly.

He may known that this is a trap, that I'm setting up to kill him, but his hands are tied with Aven being so close by. So ultimately, he backs away and toward the front door, and I follow him, trying not to be overwhelmed by this intimidating situation. I am in power here. I'm the one he needs to be worried about, not the other way around.

Stace doesn't speak again until we are out in the falling snow again, the flakes landing on his dark curls, contrasting against the colour of his tattoos. "Brave of you to come here, meet my mate."

"She's nice. She doesn't deserve to be mated to someone like you," I snap.

"And what do you know about me?" He asks smoothly, as if it isn't obvious why I hate him so much. He has done nothing but make my life hard, make it hard for Cian and I to be together. He has been the mastermind behind everything, I cannot way for my life to be rid of him.

"I know you killed me," I remind him sourly.

He shrugs, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You want to kill me. Call it self preservation."

"Whatever it is, you don't deserve her," I find myself say. That much is true. Aven is kind, sweet and genuine. And most of all, she's innocent, and doesn't deserve to be dragged into a world where someone like Stace is her mate. I know myself that once your mate is revealed to you, no matter what you do, they are in your life forever.

"That much, I am very aware of, but there is more to the story than you realise," he explains slowly. He takes a step forward, but I match it back, trying not to give him enough space to lean forward and grab me. If he does that, then my powers may be rendered useless.

"You'll say anything..."

"You spoke to Eryk, didn't you?" He asks.

"How did you-"

"He works for me, he told me," Stace exclaims. Eryk told me that he was hired by Aven's mother, but even then, I had my doubts about that story. I mean, why would her mother keep Eryk a secret...Eryk acted as though his life would be over if Aven found out he existed. "Don't you think there's a reason why I hired him to protect her?"

"The only thing she needs protecting from it you," I growl.

"No. There are people out there that want her dead, because of her powers." I hate how serious he looks, because it makes it harder for me to assume he is only telling me that to lower my guard. Is he saying this to get me to trust him? Is he saying it so I don't kill Aven, or him

"You're lying..."

"She too, is powerful. If I am not here to protect her, she will be killed," he breathes. "Aven is good. Too good, in fact. And like you, she will struggle to understand her powers, and why she has them. She doesn't deserve to go through that alone."

"And she doesn't deserve to be with someone as horrible as you." I can't imagine what it would be like for her to have to figure out both her mate bond with someone like Stace, and powers. I feel as though I only know part of that struggle, and yet already, I feel terrible for her.

"You don't know me," he exclaims, like he is actually trying to convince me. None of this matters, I know what I have to do, and I know for certain that Sinful and Cian are standing by, waiting for it to be done.

"You want the immortals dead," I remind him.

He shakes his head. "You know nothing."

"I can't let you be here, when you're a risk to my mate." Even I can hear the doubt in my own voice.

Despite that, I focus my attention on him, on what it would feel like to wrap my hands around his neck and take all the air from his lungs like he did to me.

And sure enough, he falls to his knees, gasping for air.

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Sophie_Midika

Midikacrane

~Midika 💜🐼