The Empire of Night and Nightmares

XIII

"How are you here?"

Mireya whispered. She was afraid someone would be able to hear them through the dilapidated walls of the castle.

"There was a break in the barrier strengthening the castle. I used it to find you."

He faced as her spoke. The white blindfold that covered his eyes still disoriented Mireya, making her wonder if he could actually see through it. His presence still felt calming and welcoming, but it couldn't ease the panic in Mireya's heart.

"You wanted to talk to me?" She asked nonchalantly, as if she hadn't just kissed Ciaran, the supposed enemy, just a few minutes ago.

"It has been around a month in this realm, Mireya. Though it has only been a few days in the land of the living, the demons are still attacking innocent people around the active villages in Aitháli."

"I assume the break in the barrier means you found his weakness?" He continued.

"He controls that?" Mireya was confused. Whenever she saw him, it didn't look like he was controlling a whole castle in his mind. Maybe that's why the lights had gone out.

Our kiss did that?

"His powers are surely keeping the infrastructure of this castle up. Do not underestimate him, Mireya." He said it like a warning, though it still sounded a bit like scolding.

"Is there any information you have found that I should know about?" He asked and Mireya prepared herself to try and convince Ariel to think of a plan where Ciaran shouldn't die.

"Well... firstly, he revealed to me that he was previously a messenger angel." Mireya hoped this detail would allow Ariel to understand Ciaran a bit better, but it was unlikely.

"Ciaran caused the curse out of anger towards the humans that wanted to kill him the second they saw him after he was cast out." The slight nod of his head let Mireya know he was still listening and was waiting for her to continue.

"He said he unknowingly made a blood contract as he bled to death and there is no way of breaking it. If he knew of a way, he would've ended the curse years ago."

There was a moment of silence. The downward tilt of Ariel's lips told Mireya almost everything she needed to know about what his thoughts were.

She quickly added, "He told me himself, he doesn't control the demons anymore. He doesn't want them to attack anyone else."

"And you believed him?" He asked. His tone of voice almost resembled an older sibling, reprimanding the younger one.

"Yes."

Mireya answered but she felt a pang in her chest. She knew it was not the answer Ariel wanted to hear, but she found it pointless to lie to him.

Ariel spoke again.

"Then if he truly wanted the demons to stop, why has he not surrendered himself? Surely, you suggested it to him."

"In a way, yes... but-"

"Why are you so intent on proving that he has changed his mind?" The reprimanding tone resurfaced once again.

"Humans are allowed to change, no? Time lets us learn from our mistakes."

Ciaran had been an angel once, but now, regardless of his current powers and abilities, he was still human and he deserved to be treated like one.

"His mistake came at the cost of thousands of lives, and that number will increase if we do not pluck this problem from the root." Ariel reminds her once again of the reason why they had come up with a plan in the first place.