Heart of Darkness

Skender hurried to his chamber, horrified by what he had just done. He was pained, angry, and frustrated but mostly horrified. What had he been thinking? This itch, the silence of his destroyer, he understood it all. It was always there now. It didn’t need to talk to him or threaten him. Even as he lay in his bed, trying to fade away from the world without any success, he could feel his demon growing more restless. The hours went by slowly and the sun began to set. Skender tried to lull himself to sleep so he wouldn’t go find her, but this itch made him lose his mind.

‘Stop it now, before we cause her more pain!’

‘I was not the one to confess, but I don’t want you to stop.’

Oh, now he was talking to him and lying.

‘I. Am. Not. The reason I have been absent is only so you don’t blame anything on me. It was all you and you can’t lie about that.” He sounded agitated. “I am your raw side. I don’t do talking or seducing. I am your urges, your senses that drive you to do those things and you know I can’t help it.’

A tremor went through his body and the itching increased.

‘What are you doing?’

The destroyer became silent but he felt him crawl under his skin. Shifting, twisting.

Oh no. He was familiar with this feeling.

‘Calm down!’

What a stupid thing to say.

His destroyer was him. His demon. He needed to calm down and control it but it was too strong. Or shall he say, his feelings at the moment were too strong?

‘We want her. You can only control me when we both want the same thing. I have stayed calm because you were doing your job. Now, you are not!’

He was doing it again, like the time Roxana decided to leave and he decided not to stop her.

‘You can cause me pain but you won’t change my mind.’ Skender said.

The destroyer scoffed. ‘No. But you don’t want me to take control when it comes to Roxana. You know I don’t do talking.’

‘You are going to scare her!’

‘You give me no choice. Someone has to get her back. If you don’t do it the right way, I will do it by force.’

“Aahh!”

His claws forcefully came out of their beds, extending to their full length. Oh no. He let himself confess in a moment of weakness and now the destroyer was afraid she would leave again.

‘She…is… not leaving.’ But it was too late to talk.

His demon was already enraged. Now he had no choice but to go through the painful fight. His fangs pierced through his gums and then a more painful part followed. His wings tore his ribcage open at the back. Skender turned in bed, holding back the scream as his ribs got parted and then his dark wings flared open.

His sight sharpened, and energy seeped through him, making him feel stronger before the most painful part came. The horns. It was like having a spear driven into his skull. He broke out in cold sweat as he tried to push them back. To fight back the transformation. He couldn’t scare her. No!

He teleported himself away so he could scream freely, as his skull broke and two sharp, dark horns came out, standing tall and proud on his head. Now that the transition was done, he felt nothing but strong. Powerful. A wave of his wings could make the wind blow away ten people at once. They easily carried him above land and to the ocean, their darkness blending in with the night sky. Swiftly he landed on the dock, near Roxana’s home. Now, he would take her into his wings and fly away with her.

“You don’t want to do that.” A voice interrupted.

He knew this snake. Whatever she was trying to do was not in his best interest.

He turned around to face her.

“You don’t want to scare her.” She said.

Of course, he didn’t. But the man left him no choice.

“Stay out of this.”

“You are going to ruin everything. Abducting her won’t make her yours. You are a demon. A woman will belong to you only through mating. And what will you do when Skender comes back and realizes what you have done? He will have more reasons to resist her.”

“I am not letting him come back!”

She nodded nonchalantly. “That will depend on your needs. You came back because deep down he needed you and now more than ever you need him. To get your mate.”

Fury raced through him like electricity, almost setting his wings on fire.

“You will allow him to resurface. Willing or unwilling. Isn’t that why you let him lead the way? To get Roxana? She is human. She can’t just have the demon. She needs the man as well.” Lucrezia spoke feeling proud of her assessment. “Besides, she likes Skender. To be specific, she likes when Skender is in control and you are part of him as his demon, only taking control at the right time.”

His wings that were arched in fury, suddenly drooped by themselves. The raw emotions slowly left his bones.

Mate. He needed to mate. He had to mate.

He looked over at the ship, where he knew Roxana was. He could smell her. The need to sink his fangs in her and leave a mark was strong but he knew it wouldn’t work. And it would certainly not work if he abducted her. Forced her.

“Why force her when you can force Skender or is he too strong for you?”

She was fishing for answers. He was no fool.

Skender, the man was more challenging than he expected and now that he was remembering all the things that were done to them, he would be more resistant. The destroyer was trying to keep those memories hidden, but he couldn’t. He was hurt too. They both were hurt and as much as he also hated people who used them, he couldn’t deny his mate. She was different. She had to be different because she was made for them. He could not resist. It was more painful than death.

“Well, I would tell you to be patient but…” she shrugged. “I guess it is not your thing. Maybe you could let Skender come back?”

Sure. But first, he would drown her. In the blink of an eye, he crossed over the distance to catch her but she had been prepared. She disappeared before he could lay his hands on her.

One day he would drown her. It was a painful way to die and even though she wouldn’t die she would be on the brink for too long and that was the painful part.

Meanwhile, he would be content with drowning Lazarus.