We stood before the border and I could feel the apprehension in both of them. It was only after I saw the look of excitement and madness pass through Rounen's eyes that I knew something was up.

"Ready?" I could feel Rounen's grip on my arms tighten.

"This isn't safe." Lucius was staring at something on the ground that I couldn't seem to locate. Rounen appeared to be staring at something as well. Whereas I, on the other hand, couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Of course it's safe." Rounen gave Lucius a sidelong glance. "We're the strongest things out there. If you're scared you can turn back now. I can take care of Bones on my own."

Lucius gave Rounen a sharp look. "It's not called being scared. It's called being wise. Father told us–"

"Yeah, well," Rounen interrupted, walking further towards the imaginary mark on the ground. "Father tells us a lot of things. When have I ever listened to him?"

Lucius frowned. "Never."

"Exactly." Rounen gave a wink. "We'll be back before you know it."

Then without warning, he suddenly stepped over this imaginary line.

It felt as I had stepped out of a bubble. The air around me suddenly felt different and my senses were thrown into chaos. I felt a reassuring pat on my head. "Easy there Bones. It only lasts a few seconds."

"But," Lucius followed suit and stepped of the line with inhuman grace. I couldn't even hear a sound as he stepped onto the dried leaves. "Bones isn't a demon brother."

For a moment, Rounen gave me a worried look. "Yeah but she isn't completely human either, see? Her balance has already returned." My head had stopped wobbling over the sudden disorientation.

He then proceeded to pat me on the head. "Atta Bones."

I wasn't a dog.

"Well if we're going to make it back before the sun sets," Lucius pulled a hood over his head. "We best be off."

Then he took off. There one moment, gone the next. I was about to question this when my world suddenly spun yet again as Rounen took off, hauling me like a sack of potatoes.

No tact at all.

Strangely, it appeared as if we had stepped into some void, as darkness suddenly surrounded us, blocking out all light. Immediately an overwhelming emetic urge overcame me.

In fact, I became so focused on not vomiting that I almost failed to realise when Rounen slowed down and finally came to a stop and there was light again. I didn't even have time to appreciate being in yet another mysterious place due to the fact I was so focused on trying not to throw up my lunch all over Rounen's shirt.

"Rounen." Lucius sounded angry as he stalked up to us and snatched me out of his arms before either of us could react. "You didn't even counteract the force on Bones." I felt him touch a finger to my forehead and mutter a few words. Just as quickly as the nausea had come, it was gone.

Rounen looked distraught. "I didn't know!"

Lucius was holding me tightly. "She isn't as strong as us yet. With how light she is, of course she wouldn't be able to handle our shadow steps."

Shadow step? I hadn't heard of this before. Was it a demon thing?

When Rounen reached out, Lucius moved strategically away. "No way. You lost your rights for the rest of the day. Bones is too weak for your power moves."

Rounen clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Fine. But only because I'm looking out for Bones."

I was staring at Rounen, feeling almost sad for him in his wounded state. When Lucius looked down at me, his face didn't portray any emotion—save for the slight smirk at the corner of his lip.

When they finally began walking again, I noticed how much they had to hike up and down, over boulders and under large trees roots which stretched out of the earth as if by magic. It was entrancing.

Although it was a forest—it was a forest unlike anything I had ever seen back on earth. For the first time, I truly felt as if I was in a world of magic. I could sense the mana become denser the further we walked. With how dim things were despite it being the middle of the day, it felt as if it was rare in this area. In fact, this rareness for sunlight to hit anything appeared to be because it was surrounded by tall, towering trees. Their trunks were long and thin, their branches seemed to hold hands with the other trees surrounding it, forming a canopy of green. The ground was covered in twigs and various assortments of greenery, even the air streamed down greenly through the leaves. The foliage of the trees also appeared to be compact in these areas, with their tangle of leaves catching any direct sunlight before it could touch the ground.

Despite the filtered sunlight, there were still strange creatures which flowed and floated through the air. Their bioluminescence seemed to provide an ethereal light, giving this forest a true mystical feel.

It made me giddy inside. I can't believe it! Magical creatures!

It was nothing other than pure magic.

Rounen and Lucius didn't seem to pay this any mind—which seemed natural coming from people who had obviously been born into (and were well assimilated) to this world.

And—of course—they were demons themselves. They were also completely supernatural.

I had a hard time processing that.

They continued to walk until I began to notice the lack of wildlife. The further we walked, the more I began to notice only our footsteps echoing all around us. It was only when we finally reached a clearing that Rounen and Lucius stopped.

"Welcome." Rounen placed his hands on his hips in satisfaction. "To paradise."

Before us, was a small lake with a glassy surface that looked like a giant mirror reflecting the clouds above. I could feel my eyes widen as I stared and the beautiful greenery and flowers surrounding the lake. They was so much vibrant colour that my body almost struggled to take it all in, especially after having spent most of time in a gothic palace.

The beautiful scenery was so entrancing that I felt it was almost strange that I couldn't hear the sound of birds singing. In fact, this strange stillness was almost hypnotic. It was completely quiet.

"See?" I jumped as Rounen's voice interrupted my thoughts. "I told you she would like it. I don't understand why father forbids us from coming here. I've been here loads of times."

I glanced back at Rounen and saw him nodding to himself in satisfaction.

As they walked into the clearing, I felt direct sunlight hit my skin. The immediate warmth was comforting as it began to gnaw away the chill in my bones.

That was when I felt something lightly touch my neck. Lucius was frowning at something near my collar. "It's taking too long."

Rounen curiously peered over his shoulder then his expression immediately darkened when he looked at the same area. "It's still dark."

What? I glanced between the two of them, unsure of what they were referring to. What's still dar–

I winced when Lucius's hand touched the area again and pain shot up the side of my face.

Ah. I almost forgot.

The bruises.

I had almost forgotten about them. After all, they were mostly under all my layers of clothes anyway. The balm Lettie painstakingly put on my skin every morning managed to numb the bruises enough so I didn't have to worry about being in pain all the time. They were taking so long to heal that Lettie had become worried, and I had decided to stop looking at them to see if they had gotten better.

"Do you..." For once, Rounen looked unsure of himself.

It was quiet for a moment before he finally finished what he was saying. "Do you...think it's black magic?"

The way he said it almost sounded as if was a different kind of magic to the one demons used. A shiver ran down my spine.

Lucius looked cold with anger. "It better not be."

I was confused. Was black magic so bad? I couldn't really remember the novel mentioning the difference between the dark elements of magic. I was in unknown territory.

I froze.

For a moment, I thought the words had been spoken aloud, but when I glanced at Lucius and Rounen, they didn't appear to have heard it. A shiver ran down my spine. It's okay, it's okay. It's not real.

The voice felt as if it was being spoken into my mind.

Hex? My body had gone rigid.

"Bones?" Lucius was looking at me, his anger momentarily dissipating into concern as he looked at me. He appeared oblivious to the voice. "You okay?"

I was scared to look in the direction I get the voice was coming from. I didn't want to look.

My palms became sweaty. There was a shift in the atmosphere as the voice clicked their tongue.

I stilled as the words crossed my mind. What did you just...

I slowly turned my head until I saw it.

A figure. Standing on the glassy water.

They had long hair that blowed despite there being no breeze. The mask they wore had three eyes that glowed. The third eye on the forehead had a crack that ran down to the cheek. Where the mouth would be—were long feline bones for teeth. The body appeared to a be a woman's, with dark tattoos that looked older than time itself, all over her body. The mask also looked very, very old.

I felt the blood drain from my face. Who are you?

The figure was still, before she suddenly tilted her side with a bone chilling laugh. The laugh was so haunting, I felt as if I was talking to death herself.

She appeared to wipe a pseudo tear away from one of her three disgusting eyes. Her next words had me speechless.