It was all a mess. Everything had been ever since the attack on Shiganshina 5 years ago. Arden thought that perhaps she could move on with the rest of humanity, to find a way. But the world just wouldn't let them. Now with the attack on Trost, the acknowledgement that shifters live among them, the increasing activity and secrecy of the demon realm; it was all a mess.
Then there was Kain. He was gone. 'Missing' as the other soldiers believed. But Arden Croix knew her brother and she knew that Kain never did anything without reason. Even if it was simply boredom, Kain Croix had thoughts and plans behind every little action he took. Arden knew that.
That's why she found herself storming into the temporary barracks the 3 Regiments had claimed as their own during this most recent mission. She was debating making the trek across Trost to visit the Scouts HQ, so she could better prepare. But she didn't. She couldnt. The thunderous thoughts wraging in her mind put a still to all her movements as both hands slowly and stiffly rested themselves onto the table infront of her. Tips of her fingers flexing ever so slightly so that short nails chipped the dark wood.
Her shoulders felt tense and achey as they shifted with every movement. She took in a deep breath, holding the air as her eyes squeezed shut and her jaw clenched. Then as she released it, her head began to fall forward until it hung low in deep thought. Long, raven locks flowing over her shoulders and covering her face.
Unconsciously, a single slender index finger had begun tapping an irritated beat onto the wood. The hollow sound being barely above a pin drop, yet it sounded like the crash of a hammer in the silence. It was so silent, that she wasn't sure she was breathing, allowing her mind to think over every possibility, every small seemingly insignificant detail it could conjure up, without a single noise to disturb its thoughts. All to answer the singular question clawing at her mind.
What was Kain planning?
Arden knew her brother better than anyone else, better than he himself did at times. So all the pieces were adding up. Maybe it wasn't his intent when he pleaded that he and Arden switch places to travel with Hange and her squad to Utgard Castle, but it was now. Something had changed along the way, something that turned and grinded the calculating gears in the crazy man's mind.
And Arden could only think of one contingency that could've altered Kain's course. The shifters: Reiner and Bertholdt. Perhaps it was this third mystery shifter that had caused Kain to abandon his post as a soldier. Or perhaps it was something else, words that were spoken, knowledge shared. Whatever it was, the woman knew that her brother wasn't 'missing'. Phil had mentioned that Hange's squad was attacked by the Colossal and Armoured Titan's, but there was no mention of them after. So she could only deduce that they had fled and escaped, possibly with Eren. That meant that Kain wasn't missing, he was following after them.
It was the only reasonable explanation. He couldn't have been murdered, because even if the Colossal and Armoured Titan's are terrifying enemies, they're nothing compared to the monsters of the demon realm. Swallow him whole, crush him under their feet, swat him like a fly; Kain would simply get back up and brush it off as if nothing had even happened. Walk away without so much as a scratch of battle. Unless he was killed by a demon, Kain wouldn't be dead. So he wasn't.
But that only left more questions. If he wasn't dead, then where did he go? Why follow the shifters? Could it have been that he was attempting to rescue Eren? But Arden shook her head, eyes squeezing shut in frustration. Kain wouldn't do that, it would be risking too much. For him to retrieve Eren by himself from the clutches of the 2 Titan's wouldn't be a believable story to the rest of humanity. Even if Levi himself, Humanity's Strongest Soldier was to attempt a stunt as unfathomable, it would be just that, simply unfathomable. Then the already high suspicions surrounding the strange Croix siblings would only solidify.
No, Kain was reckless beyond any relief. But he wasn't stupid, he wouldn't jeopardise the safety of his sister or himself.
So the only explanation the woman could come up with was that Kain was following the shifters. And that left her stumped. Stuck at a crossroads with no idea where to turn. She could turn left and belive that Kain had some ulterior motive, perhaps he was aiding Reiner and Bertholdt in their seeming plan to bring about Humanities downfall. So why wouldnt he tell her? But that was simply a path she would never cross.
She could try every single route, every possibility that her stressed mind could conjure up but still she'd find herself trapped at that crossroads. Stuck in an endless loop of never knowing.
Unless, she went after him herself. But she'd have to be fast, faster than any human ever could be. Perhaps in her mission to figure out the crazy man's mind, she'd be the one to let her demonic heritage known. To destroy the safety and equality she had tried so hard to build. Maybe she'd lose everything, the places, the people she had finally started to recognise as home. But this was Kain. Her brother. The only blood she had left. The one person she knew she could never truly be without. So for him, for family, it would be worth it.
That's what Arden Croix wanted to believe with all her heart. And she hated that she didn't. Loathed that her wretched heart had allowed itself to let others in. To build bonds so strong and important that she didn't know if she had the strength to break them without shattering her heart in the process.
Confusion and anger washed over her, flooding her senses and taking control of her body. "Damn it!" Her voice strained in irritation, fist raising only to come crashing back down to the wood a second later. Small splinters scattering through the air as the wood split and cracked. One more hit and it would shatter and break.
Arden was ready to give up everything and run for her brother. After all, she didn't know what was happening with him. Her mind had managed to convince itself that he was safe and protected, but her heart wouldn't accept it. Too much had happened recently, the changeling, Drystan Daine, the sudden appearance of Nightshade. For all Arden knew, her brother could be in the biggest danger of his life, so she had to get to him.
But no matter how hard she tried, her legs wouldn't move. No matter how much she willed or internally screamed at them to budge, they just wouldn't. And she knew why. Because for the first time in her life, she had found happiness. True happiness. Whether it was the people she had met or the things she had seen; joy and love had managed to worm its way into her cold, caged heart. And now that it was there, she was clinging on to it with everything she had. For the first time she had a family, a real family. Not your typical nuclear family with a Mom and a dad and a few kids. No. She had people who cared about her, who she cared about. People who made her dark and dwindling life so much brighter that she didn't recognise the scared and lonely girl she used to be. Now she smiled. And now she loved.
So her knees shook. Her hands trembled against the wood and tears stung at her eyes. Kain was meant to be her focus, the thing she put above all else. But he wasn't. And that broke her heart.
After everything she had been through, Arden Croix had finally found something, someone that made her feel alive. Heart clenching that it wasn't her adorable younger brother like she always thought, but love. Love made her feel alive and made her feel human. That was the only thing she ever wished for herself.
Even when the hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood on end and a presence she didn't want to see made its self to known to her, Arden didn't turn around.
"My dear, aren't you a sight for devilish eyes." His smug voice purred out to her. Vibrant green orbs glinting through the unnecessary glasses resting on his face. Behind him, a swirling of thick, royal purple mist had quickly begun to dissipate. The man having appeared from it, as if out of thin air.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Arden never turned to face the greater demon, her head rasing slightly and her body bringing itself to fake relaxation. "Kain?" She asked about her brother in a voice cold as ice.
But the demon chuckled smugly, an excited shiver running down his spine. "Not even a 'hello'? Its been far too long since we last saw each other, my dear. But alas, you have no intentions of greeting me: your long term ally and close friend." With his hands clasped behind his back, Drystan stepped closer to Arden, leaning his towering figure until he loomed behind and above her. Smirking as he was close enough to brush the tip of his nose across a strand of hair that was resting against her neck. Breathing in her scent and letting a growl of satisfaction escape his lips.
Arden internally stiffened, her patience wearing thin for the man. Hands clenching into tight fists as they stiffly pressed against the table. Arden knew that Drystan was aware of Kains exact location. Possibly what he was planning since the greater demon had been keeping a close eye on the siblings. Perhaps even closer than either of them thought. But it was Drystan Daine's lesser demon that Arden had ordered to watch out for and protect Kain. And now Drystan was simply toying her.
The demons vibrant green orbs flickered to the woman's fists as they began to clench so menacingly infront of her. Her aura turning dark and frightful. A twisted grin of satisfaction tore through his face as he again chuckled deeply over her shoulder. His face inched closer, enjoying the soft strands of her hair that brushed his cheek. Lips brushing the skin of her ear as he spoke in a slow, intimate whisper. "Your brother... is safe."
And the moment the hushed words invaded her mind, Arden let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding. Relief flooding through her body with such intensity that for half a second, she felt herself sway.
"Hmm. The familial connection betweem you and your brother is just adorable." Drystan drawled, but Arden couldn't tell whether his words were mocking or not. And in honesty, she didn't care. She knew that Kain was alright, that he was safe. For as much an asshole as Drystan was, he would never lie. Withhold information? Yes. But he never lied.
"I have to find him." She ignored the demon, talking more to herself as she swiftly turned, ready to push past the man and go to her brother.
But Drystan held his arm out, blocking her path as his other hand grabbed her upper arm. "Tut tut." He pouted as he mockingly scolded her, waving a single, long index finger infront of her as if she were a misbehaving child in a lecture. "Not this time, my dear. Allow me to find you're adorable younger brother and return him to you, safe and sound." He smiled, words as smug as ever.
Arden watched him curiously, her eyes narrowing slightly at the strawberry blonde as she wondered his reasoning. "Why?" She questioned coldly.
Which only seemed to excite him more as something glinted in his eyes. An emotion Arden had no intention to figure out.
Slowly dragging his tongue across his lower lip, Drystan stared down at the woman below him, hungrily. Free hand coming up to caress the porcelain, supple skin of her cheek. "'Why?'" He repeated, a cocky smirk spreading across his face, "Because Kain is meddling in things that aren't to be meddled with. And if you go after him, then you too will be interfering. I can't have that. Because then..." He leaned his body a little closer to hers, leaving barely an inch of space between them. His fingers gliding across her skin until they hooked under her chin, his thumb caressing the soft, plump pink of her lip. Vibrant green orbs fixated on the alluring sight. "Well then I'd have to kill you. And we both know that's the furthest thing from what I want from you."
Long ago Arden had learned to never fear the greater demon before her. Sure, his seductive yet feeble advances on her had never shook her, never once even bothered her. Because she knew that Drystan wouldn't force anything like that upon her. She knew that. And she knew that for all the times he could wound her, there was something that always held him back from taking her life. For a while, she believed it was his strange obsession with her that prevented him from murder, but after his recent story where he made it sound as though she was part of something bigger, something he needed and fantasised about, she knew there was another reason.
But it was different this time. Drystan had never threatened to kill either Croix sibling until just now. Which meant only one thing, something that caused the woman to tilt her head and smirk so smally at the greater demon. "Whatever Kain is doing, it has you nervous." She announced smugly, her victorious smirk only growing when Drystan's flirtatious expression hardened and turned stern.
With a single awkward cough, his menacing, intimidating aura faltered. His eyes flickering down to the floor as he pressed the tip of his tongue into one of his sharp canines.
And his reaction only confirmed what Arden said. Drystan knew something that he didn't want the siblings to find out, something that Kain was getting closer to figuring out with each passing second. "Tell me." She added softly, tilting her head so that she could be in Drystan's line of sight. Catching his gaze and peering up at him through her long lashes.
Drystan followed her eyes, his stiff expression relaxing and that same glint returning to his eyes. For a second, it looked like he was about to tell her everything, like from just one look she had wrapped him around her finger and gotten everything she wanted out of him.
But then he sadistically tilted his head, his tongue dragging across his upper teeth before he smirked victoriously. "Nu-uh." He chuckled deeply as he shook his head, never breaking the intense eye contact with the woman. "Careful, Arden. Or you just might have me spilling all my secrets." He taunted, yet his words held a warning. Along with the dangerous look that was swirling in his vibrant green orbs that grew shades darker.
His hand slipped to her neck, painfully slowly brushing away any hairs to expose her doll like skin. His long, slender fingers slipped around the back of her neck whilst his thumb rubbed small circles in the small crevice where the shoulder and neck meet. Until it eventually stopped, and a look of excitement glinted in his ivrant green orbs that became fixated on the spot. His thumb had stopped on the carotid artery in her neck and he could feel every beat of her steady heart, every pulse of blood as it passed through.
A low growl vibrated from within him. And despite her unfazed appearance, Drystan felt the singular jump of her pulse under his thumb. The corners of his lips twitching upwards in a predatory possessiveness. The whites of his eyes fading an inky black as he continued to stare, completely entranced by the pulsing artery under his thumb. So he pressed down a little more, a pleasant shudder running down his spine as he exhaled rigidly.
Arden's jaw clenched as she continued to glare daggers at the greater demon who was uncomfortably close to her.
With his gaze still focused on the carotid artery under his thumb, he spoke in a deep, commanding tone, "I'll have your brother back within the hour. Do not, attempt to find him or follow me. For if you do, I will know." Then he stepped back, removing his hands from her body and suddenly that playful, smug smile returned.
He flicked his wrist and a wave of purple mist formed above tge skin. Gliding quickly through the air before forming a convex shape behind him, large enough to walk through. "Tell the livestock whatever story you want about his return. I don't care." And with his disinterested voice filling the silence, he stepped backwards. Engulfed in a swirl of royal purple until he disappeared from view as if he had never even been there. The mist slapping shut until it was nothing more than a vertical, thin purple line. Then, it became nothing. Vanishing into the very air itself.
Arden's shoulders slumped as her body fell backwards to lean against the wooden table. Taking in a deep breath, she Brough her hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose. If demons could experience headaches, she knew she'd have one right about now.
She was relieved that Drystan had left, relieved that he was going to find Kain and bring him back. And she was fine thinking of whatever bullshit excuse she would tell the other soldiers for his sudden appearance. But she couldn't stop thinking about whatever it was that Drystan was hiding from her. Did it really have something to do with the Titan Shifters? And why was it so important to hide? Important enough to threaten tge Croix siblings lives, which has never done before despite having the power to do so.
She had no clue. But Arden knew something was different now. Daine had been different ever since Arden accidentally exposed her ability to control and manipulate fire. Now, she just had to figure out if he was more of a threat.
Because Arden Croix has never once felt scared of the Greater Demon Drystan Daine. Not until today. Because she could see it in his eyes, the possessiveness and longing as it only grew more intense. That predatory look a beast gives it prey before it's devoured. All the monstrous thoughts swirling behind those sinister green eyes. She knew it. Drystan was a threat.
~•~
Helloooooooooo!
Damn it has been a hot minute. And this chapter has 😫😅😃🙄🙃😭👀☻️
All those emotions at once.
Drystan. The creepy, seductive asshole that he is has made another appearance and I have to be honest...
Drystan Daine does things to me. I don't like him. But he does things. And he's gonna continue to do more things in the chapters to come so enjoy this tall drink of sour greater demon. 😏
Alsooo my beautiful readers! I have been planning a new book recently. Which I probably shouldn't do because I'm horrible at keeping ontop of these things. I mean look at Sour Wolf and Ethereal 😅😅😅😅😅😅
But it is a The Walking Dead Daryll fic. It isn't finished or even started. Literally just a draft I wrote. I'm probably not even gonna start that until Tasteful is either finished or close to finishing, just so this book gets all my attention.
However, if you are interested I will post the draft for you guys. Just so you can see if it sounds like something you want to read. It's honestly just a draft at the moment and I see a bunch of things changing for it, but hey diddly squat. Why not? 🕺
Let me know if you're interested and I'll post it.
Anywho, I hope you liked this chapter and where the story is heading. As I said to someone before, I don't want this to be solely romance. I want to also focus on the storyline that I'm developing for my OCs. But obviously Levi and Arden is our shabang-a-bang because they're just too darn cute.
Hope you're ready for the next one 🤍✊️