Page 81 of Unbinding the Demon
Tension filled the room as we stood there for a moment, once again not moving, just staring into each other’s eyes. He may have been in his human form, but he still looked like a monster with all the blood smeared across his body. My hands trembled at my sides as I braced myself to ask my painful question, dreading his answer. “So, if the whole demon thing is true, then is it also true that you... killed my aunt?” I whispered the last part with hesitation. There was another long, tense pause between us. The only sounds were our strained breathing and the crackling fire. Tears welled in my eyes because his silence was already enough of an answer.
He ran his hand through his hair, his fingers shaking, while he looked down at the floor. “Yes,” he responded in a low voice. His eyes filled with remorse as he looked back up at me and took a step closer. “But it wasn’t intentional. It was an accident. Please let me explain what happened.”
I took a timid step back. His gently spoken words might as well have been venomous daggers stabbing at my fragile, broken heart. “An accident?” I scoffed as warm droplets streamed down my cheeks. “Well, what do you need my blood for then? Are you planning to kill me, too?” I struggled to ask, feeling a deep sense of bitterness and betrayal. I wished with all my heart that none of this was true. That I hadn’t fallen in love with my aunt’s killer. That this was all some cruel joke.
He looked hurt and taken aback by my last question. “I would never even dream of killing you. Please don’t ever think that.” His voice was gentle but firm. “And yes, I need your blood. I have a binding spell on me that renders me powerless except for a few minor abilities.” The warm firelight reflected on his silky raven locks as he nervously ran his hand through his hair again. I stayed quiet, but rage was building within me. “I need you to use your blood and perform an unbinding spell for me. It would only take a finger prick to reactivate and complete it, though. Nothing like what Adelstein was going to do.”
I took a deep breath to help compose myself. “And why do I have to be the one to do this?” My eyes narrowed at him.
He paced back and forth, his hands fidgeting as he spoke. “Because when Elowynn freed me from The Abyss, she used her blood to awaken the magic for the unbinding incantation, but she wasn’t able to complete it, because...” He froze with obvious reluctance to continue. “Because she died,” he almost whispered. “And so, only someone of the same bloodline can reactivate the magic and complete the spell for me.” He stared off into the crackling fire, unable to look at my tormented face.
This treacherous motherfucker.
I let out a bitter, humorless laugh. “Wow, so you’re the evil demon who was imprisoned in the Abyss for destroying several cities?” I muttered while shaking my head. A look of shame crossed his face. My blood felt like it was boiling within my veins, evaporating the remaining chill from my skin. “So it’s all true then, and this entire relationship has just been some crafty scheme to get me to perform a spell for you,” I scoffed, revealing my contempt. “That’s why you were so determined to get to know me!? Not because of a genuine interest in me, but because of an egocentric machination that involves my blood!?” A hurricane of fury swirled within my soul, his betrayal cutting deep. My gaze darkened over at the man—no,the demon—whom I had so foolishly fallen in love with.
A look of panic flashed in his eyes as he tried to speak. “Gwendolyn, please try to understand—”
“You killed my aunt and then tried to seduce me for your own ulterior motive!” I cut him off while seething. “You really are an evil demon!”
“Please, I need to explain further—”
“I can’t believe I ever trusted you!” I whipped a heavy book at him, with tears of both anger and sorrow falling from my cheeks.
He caught the book and gently tossed it onto the couch. “Look, yes, it’s true that this relationship began with some duplicity on my part, but—”
“But what!? You’re a fucking monster!” I began to full-on freak the fuck out.I probably looked downright crazed, considering I was still half-naked, with ropes tied around my limbs and covered in blood, but I didn’t care. “How fucking dare you! You liar! You evil fucking liar!” I screamed like a maniac while furiously throwing more books at him.
Ashton just stood there, not bothering to block the books from bouncing off him. Each one thumped to the floor as he stared over at me with an apprehensive, tormented look on his face. Even through my rage, I could see that he wanted to make this right somehow. But how could he? He was a deceitful, murderous, self-serving demon, and I suddenlyhated him!
“You robbed me of the only family I had! You planned to use me! You deceived me!” I threw a maroon throw pillow from the chair at him and watched in dissatisfaction as it bounced off his hard, unharmed body.
“Gwend—”
“You’re a fucking demon, for crying out loud! Your name isn’t even Ashton! You’re not really from Helsinki, fucking Finland! No wonder you don’t have a stupid fucking accent!” I screamed and hurled a large, colorful vase at his head. He blocked it using his forearms, causing the ceramic to shatter all around him and fall to the floor.
“Buttercup, please—”
“Don’t you dareButtercupme! You deceitfully toyed with my heart and made me believe you wanted to be with me! You even tricked me into believing that you loved me!” My tears streamed down my face like little waterfalls with that knowledge.
“That wasn’t a lie!”His deep, demonic voice boomed through the room, causing me to stammer back a bit. He swiftly closed the distance between us and gently but firmly grabbed my upper arms with his large hands. “Yes, I have told you many untruths, but that was never one of them.” His golden eyes glowed like embers as he stared into my fearful, teary ones. “I do love you, and I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you by my side.”
“Well, I hate you,” I whispered, my voice filled with venom as I glared up at him with loathing.
We both stood still again, staring at one another for a minute. I was panting and probably looked manic with fear, hurt, and rage all swirling around in my eyes. While he appeared remorseful and tormented, like I had just stabbed him through the heart. I wasn’t sure if I should believe that he loved me or not, though. For all I knew, he could have been saying that so I’d perform the stupid spell for him.
A wispy black mist appeared next to the fireplace. I froze up and stared over at it, wondering what it might be. To my relief, Belzar’s normal wolfish form emerged from the dark swirling cloud with the book still in his mouth. My anger cooled, and my heart broke at the sight of him limping and whimpering in pain as he stumbled into the room.
Ashton released me from his strong clutches, then walked over to him. “Shhh, shh, it’s alright. You fought well out there tonight. You’re a good boy,” he cooed at Belzar while crouching down, wrapping him in a warm hug and kissing his head. Belzar let out another pained whimper as he shakily placed the book in Ashton’s lap. “Shh, I know. I know it hurts,” Ashton said, his voice gentle as he stroked him behind his ear.
Ashton’s large, muscly arms and back flexed in the firelight as he gently scooped Belzar up and carried his limp body over to the couch. He laid him down with care and began inspecting his wound.
“You’re lucky that poison isn’t nearly as toxic to you,” he murmured to Belzar, whose big, sad, puppy-dog eyes landed on me. I stood there, still frozen, unsure of what to do. “Belzar wants me to tell you that he apologizes for frightening you back there,” Ashton mentioned, without taking his concentrated gaze off Belzar’s wound.
Wait... Belzar can talk to him?
I softly smiled at Belzar, then tried to peek over to see just how bad the damage was. But it was too dark to see anything since his fur was black. I also didn’t want to get too close to him. “Will he be all right?” I asked with hesitation, feeling conflicted. I loved Belzar, and it pained my heart to see him injured. But I also had witnessed him transform into a terrifying, undead beast; then he mauled and partly devoured six people.
Ashton gave me a small, sad half-smile. “Well, luckily, he’s an abyss wolf, so he’ll be fully healed within two to three days. But he’s still going to need lots of rest.” Belzar let out an annoyed whimper as Ashton continued stroking behind his ear.
