"My dearest Mireya..." His cold hand wraps around her wrist and guides the blade away from her heart.
"...Do you believe your death is something I want?"
***
Aitháli was an empire known for its lush for...
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Time was rushing by like a river in the rainy season.
A month had passed since the night they had dinner, and so much had changed after that night.
After Ciaran opened up about his past, it was as though a dam had broken and all the trapped water now flowed freely. It almost felt as though his thoughts were on display for everyone to witness. He told Mireya anything and everything she asked. If she looked the slightest bit confused by anything, he would be quick to explain it to her and help her understand.
One night, as they sat by each other in the library, Ciaran confided in her about his wavering hold on the demons.
"They do not listen to me anymore." He said after a moment of staring at the wall.
"Hm?" Mireya looked up from the book she was reading.
"The demons are becoming uncontrollable. My commands no longer affect them." His words leave her with more questions.
Did he always have control over them?
"What do you mean by commands? What do you make them do?" Mireya felt the curiosity rush through her veins.
"I simply call them back to the castle when they venture off too far."
Mireya's brows furrowed in confusion. She sat straighter in her seat and turned her body to face him.
"Aren't they meant to go out and prey on us? Isn't that what you wanted?"
He ran a hand over his face. "I admit I was filled with rage for a while, but my want for revenge and pain had disappeared many years ago. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for those demons."
"Pain, fear, anger and negativity are the very things they feed off of, and they grow hungrier and hungrier for it with each passing year." He explained.
"Can't you just renounce the curse? Take it back?"
He shook his head no. "I was bleeding when my prayer for revenge was heard. It became a blood contract I cannot break. If I could, I would have taken it all back long ago and accepted my fate."
Regret surrounded his entire being, making it even harder for Mireya to betray him when the time came.
"If there was a way..." Mireya started, "to reverse the curse, but it would come at the price of your death, would you be willing to do it?" She looked up to find him already looking at her.
"I..." His face paled for a moment before he answered. "I do not know."
Mireya felt her heart drop in her chest. She had hoped he would say yes.
"What I do know," He continued, "is that I do not want the demons to escape Aitháli's bounds and conquer the rest of the world. It would be absolute carnage."
