Our Demons {Kai Parker Book 1}

chapter forty-seven: In Which She Understands

News travelled fast, especially when the news regarded a certain siphoner who was about to break free from his prison. 

"It is useless to reason with her."

"She is too strong to contain."

"With her alive, the world will never know balance."

Ying, Yang, and Wuji declared war against the star-crossed lovers. This time without mercy.

The old ways of thinking and doing things did not have a place in the present time; this was something that Fate knew but that the Guardians failed to accept. While it would be acceptable centuries ago to experiment with unknown herbs to find cures, such a practice today would be inferior to modern medicine.

The point is, centuries ago monsters would be forced into the prison world to maintain balance as everyone feared them. But today where a monster shows remorse and there are people willing to be responsible for the monster's actions, there should be room for benefit of the doubt.

The Guardians of the Prison world moved, their black cloaks dragged behind their angry steps as though trying to hold them back from the sole purpose of their visit.

~~~

"We don't have to hide. And I won't let you hide either."

Kai pointed beside them, "I am not above slashing the tires off your car to avoid going back."

"Yeah," she rolled her eyes and nudged his shoulder. "but you owe me a date. And unless you can play the violin and make Baklava, we're going back."

"I have to take you on a date? If I recall correctly, and I do, I already took you on a date. If anything, you should take me on a date."

"Well, we can either get ice-cream on the beach or bring hell onto my cousin and her puppets." She leaned against the door, nodding her head. "Let's decide in the car."

Kai huffed in annoyance but fell into the seat. He watched Ria turn the key, look over her shoulder, and then turn onto the empty road.

His wounds she had already healed with her powers, and his body no longer felt weak. This was a feeling Kai missed, the sense of security and peace.

"You can stop clenching your jaw," she placed a hand on his cheek. "This is real, I'm not going anywhere without you."

"Good. Because I will literally kidnap and tape you to a chair if you do."

Ria mirrored his grin but turned to face the road, biting her lip when she remembered Stefan.

Cupid had a funny way of playing with Ria's heart, and now that she began to think about it, did soulmates even exist?

Stefan Salvatore was nothing like his malicious brother. No, he was considerate, gentle, kind and attentive. There was a form of genuine compassion in him that not everyone possesses. He was also good looking.

Now, the sociopath sitting beside her was very different. He was selfish and mean, most arrogant, and definitely wounded.

Stefan was the calm she craved to hold onto her entire life, offering her stability and peace. Kai was the unforgiving storm she wished to venture into, with promises of desire and power.

Both blessings in disguise.

Ria could not do to them what her cousin had done to Stefan and Damon. Elena's inability to choose led to many people getting hurt. In those times she hated Elena for leading the brothers on, kissing one as she beckoned the other with open eyes.

Yet now, she knew that her decision would hurt someone. Elena was only delaying the inevitable, trying to hold off on hurting someone she may not love as a lover, but someone she loved as a friend.

Ria, now in her place, did not want to choose.

"I've changed" he promised her, unknown that her thoughts were clouded with mixed feelings. "I'm not who they think I am, I have changed."

"Yeah," she replied, "so has everyone else."

Kai threw her a side glance, "Does that include you?"

"Yeah. I think it does. I mean, I'd like to think so. I don't want to be angry all the time Kai, it's exhausting. I don't want to hold onto revenge despite every part of me... despite it being the only thing I can think about. Anger and revenge just set me back in the past, running in a circle after things that happened yes, but these things are just stupid. They happened and they hurt me, they took things away from me and hurt the people I loved most. Sure, I can get satisfied by using the anger to have revenge but at the end of the day, nothing changes. At the end of the day, I was still hurt, I still lost people, and other people got hurt too.

"I don't have to forgive them, because that's my choice. I have the power to choose if I want to forgive or if I don't want to forgive. And honestly, I'm not strong enough to forgive. But until then, I can forget."

"Forget?" he repeated. "Forget the pain and suffering, the hate?"

"I know it sounds naive, but I don't want to fight the same battles over and over again. I've lost too many people. I want to keep what I have, I want to move on and forget the cruel people, it's the only way I know that I can do right by me and the people I lost."

"Interesting philosophy."

"How about you? I'm guessing my goody-goody philosophy isn't something you're interested in?"

Honestly, it was something he would be interested in. The exhaustion of chasing down and hacking to death every person was beginning to take its toll on him. The list was undeniably long.

But to forget every problem and only remember the feelings and meanings of love; to replace rage and vengeance with adventure and desire; to start over instead of looking over his shoulder to the past; this was a reality he wanted to believe in for her.

She came to save him again, so couldn't he make a single sacrifice for her?

She had parked the car for ten minutes now, but not once had her round doe eyes settled on him, and Kai figured that Ria was hiding something from him.

Like a single flame in a dark forest at night, a flicker of anger stirred in his chest, burning his insides.

An hour ago she wouldn't take her round, doe-eyes off of him, and now she stared anywhere but at him.

"Well?" she repeated.

"I don't know yet."