Part twelve:she's here
895 Words
Nessa's POV
I froze.
The scratching continued.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Scratch.
I swallowed hard.
I didn't know what was on the other side of that door.
And honestly, I didn't want to find out.
Daemon had told me to stay here.
For once, I was seriously considering listening to him.
But then the scratching became louder.
My heart began pounding.
I took a step backward.
Then another.
"Nope."
I shook my head.
"Absolutely not."
Whatever was outside that door could stay there.
I had no intention of opening it.
But then the scratching stopped.
The silence that followed was somehow worse.
I stared at the door.
Nothing.
I waited.
Still nothing.
I slowly walked toward it.
My hand hovered over the handle.
Then I pulled it back.
No.
I wasn't opening that door.
Instead, I turned around and looked toward the stairs.
If whatever was outside was coming inside, then I needed to get away from it.
I quietly walked downstairs.
The keep was strangely silent.
I expected to hear Daemon somewhere.
But I couldn't.
I reached the bottom of the stairs.
Then I heard voices.
I stopped.
Daemon.
I recognized his voice immediately.
But there was another voice with him.
A woman's voice.
I slowly moved toward the sound.
I didn't know why.
Maybe I should have gone back upstairs.
Maybe I should have stayed in the room.
But curiosity had always been one of my biggest problems.
I moved closer.
Then I saw them.
Daemon was standing in the middle of the room.
And opposite him was a woman I had never seen before.
She was beautiful.
But there was something about her that made the air feel heavy.
Something dangerous.
I stared at Daemon.
I had never seen him like that before.
He wasn't smiling.
He wasn't teasing.
He wasn't being irritating.
He looked afraid.
But it wasn't just fear.
There was anger in his eyes.
Hatred.
And something else I couldn't understand.
The woman stood calmly in front of him.
Almost as if she wasn't standing in the presence of a demon who could probably kill her without even moving.
Daemon's hands were clenched at his sides.
"Go back to your coven."
The woman smiled.
"You're asking me to leave?"
"I'm telling you to leave."
She laughed softly.
"You're in no position to tell me what to do."
Daemon's expression darkened.
"Go back to your coven quietly."
I froze.
Coven?
I leaned slightly closer, careful not to make a sound.
The woman tilted her head.
"And if I refuse?"
Daemon took a step forward.
"Then I will make you."
The woman laughed again.
"Will you?"
There was something in her voice.
Something confident.
Daemon's eyes flashed.
"You don't want to do this."
"Don't I?"
She took a step closer.
"Do you really think you can keep me away from what belongs to me?"
Daemon's jaw tightened.
"Nothing belongs to you."
The woman smiled.
"Everything belongs to me."
I stared at her.
I didn't understand what they were talking about.
But I understood one thing.
Daemon was afraid of her.
And he hated her.
"Go back to your coven," he repeated.
"Leave Hell alone."
The woman stared at him.
Then she smiled.
"You still don't understand, do you?"
Daemon's expression hardened.
"Understand what?"
"I am not here to visit."
The room seemed to grow colder.
"I am here to take back what was stolen from me."
Daemon's face changed.
The woman continued.
"I will take back Hell."
Daemon's eyes narrowed.
"And when I do, I will take back every realm that belongs to me."
I felt a chill run down my spine.
"What are you talking about?" Daemon asked.
The woman smiled.
"The heavenly realm."
Daemon's expression changed.
Then she continued.
"The demon realm."
I watched Daemon's hands curl into fists.
"And the human realm."
My heart stopped.
The woman took another step forward.
"I will have them all."
Daemon's voice was low.
"You'll start a war."
"I know."
"Between Heaven and Hell."
"I know."
"Do you understand what will happen if the realms collide?"
The woman's smile widened.
"I do."
Daemon stared at her.
"You'll destroy everything."
She tilted her head.
"Then everything will be destroyed."
I felt my stomach twist.
The woman looked completely calm.
As if she was talking about something ordinary.
"I will bring Hell to Earth if I have to."
Daemon stared at her.
For the first time, I saw something that looked almost like genuine fear in his eyes.
"You won't."
The woman's smile disappeared.
"Watch me."
Silence filled the room.
I stood frozen behind the wall.
I didn't understand who she was.
I didn't understand what she wanted.
But I understood one thing.
Whatever she was planning...
It was bigger than Hell.
Bigger than the demons.
Bigger than anything I could have imagined.
And somehow...
Daemon was afraid of her.
The woman turned slightly.
For one terrifying second, I thought she had seen me.
I held my breath.
But her eyes moved past me.
Daemon noticed.
His eyes suddenly snapped toward my direction.
I froze.
Our eyes met.
For a second, neither of us moved.
His expression changed.
Shock.
Then anger.
Then fear.
"Nessa."
The woman slowly turned around.
I stopped breathing.
Daemon took a step toward me.
"Run."
I stared at him.
The woman smiled.
And behind her...
The shadows began to move.
- Writer
