by L. C. Mawson
She realised, at the end of her diatribe, that it had been entirely without inflection. Not a hint of sarcasm had been detectable in her tone.
Thankfully, Damon was quick on the uptake, and realised that she hadn’t meant it.
“Freya, the first Demon you met was a man my father sent to kill you. He has been sending these men continuously since then. Of course you didn’t want to believe that your father was one of them.”
“That I’m one of them,” she corrected. “This would make me half-Demon.”
“Like me,” he pointed out, a little bit of sharpness in his tone reminding her that anything she said against her situation would apply to both of them.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I know that Demons aren’t evil. I also know that I’m not exactly a picture of innocence... I heard you talking to your uncle before...”
“He was right,” Damon said quickly. “I don’t commit myself in a fight, and it’s probably going to be the thing that gets me killed.”
“I won’t let it be,” Freya assured him. “Though it’s not just that...”
“What is it, then?”
“I just... I wonder who he is. My father, I mean. Does he even know I exist? What if me being an Angel is too much? And what was with Gregor and Evelyn? They sounded like they knew exactly who he was.”
“Uncle Gregor might, if he had to have been in the Shadow Realm. That’s not exactly a common thing. I mean, your mother was sent by the Council of Light, right? And they kept it all under wraps?”
“Yeah. So?”
“So, they don’t usually send people to the Shadow Realm. Usually, only the Geni ever send people there.”
“The Geni?”
“They’re a group of magical warriors devoted to keeping magic hidden and safe. They transcend any feud between different groups of magical creatures, taking anyone who wants to serve. It’s an ancient organisation, but they haven’t exactly been popular since the War. It was exactly the kind of thing they were supposed to stop, after all.”
“What do they have to do with the Shadow Realm?”
“In order to make sure their warriors don’t have any issues that might get in their way, they send them to the Shadow Realm to work through their issues. Usually people join when they have troubles they feel they can’t shake. They keep meticulous records of their recruits and when they were in the Shadow Realm. So, my uncle will just need to find out who was there at the same time as your mother.”
“And they’ll just tell him?”
“He’s worked with Geni before. Your father might even be one of them.”
Freya gave a thoughtful hum as she snuggled further into Damon. If Gregor had worked with Geni before, then she supposed that they couldn’t be so bad.
FREYA WAS SITTING DOWN this time when memories came to her. She adjusted quickly, her attention drawn to the gasping figure next to her. She hurried over to Damon, taking his struggle as a sign that it had worked. Her counterpart had managed it. Damon had his other half’s memories.
“Are you okay?” She asked him as she wondered how she could possibly help.
She couldn’t remember the first time it had happened to her. She had been so young... It had just always been there, always a part of her. Earth was as real to her as anything in this realm, and she couldn’t remember a time when that had been the case.
“I can’t,” he gasped. “It’s too much. I was here and I was there. I know things that I don’t know! And I don’t know things I do...”
Freya nodded. “You have to compartmentalise it. The you on Earth it isn’t you. Those are someone else’s memories. You have to remember that.”
Damon nodded, as he seemed to regain some sense of equilibrium. “Is it always like this?”
She shook her head. “It’s been so long now, I forgot that this could ever feel strange.”
“He’s so... Different. He’s me, but he’s not. He’s naive, and almost childlike. I forgot what that felt like. Or, rather, I don’t think I ever knew...”
“The war doesn’t exist over there. Not yet. It can’t. I’m the one who started the war, and it can’t start over there while she is being coddled. You went straight from your father’s torture, to becoming my knight. My Prince. Over there, the need hasn’t arisen yet. We both get to be innocent.”
He nodded, a grim look of understanding across its features. “And we pay for their innocence with our blood.”
“I didn’t start the war for fun. She will realise the inevitable soon enough. For now, we buy ourselves time.”
“But we know that they’re here now. They’ll remember this when they wake up. We can tell them.”
“Tell them what? Damon, nothing here translates to over there. Not directly. I have both pieces of the puzzle, and I haven’t been able to figure out exactly what this crown translates to over on that side. Maybe it’s that we’re an Angel. Maybe that’s what being Queen means on that side.”
Damon sighed. “Does that mean that this was all for nothing? You give me memories of the other side, and in the end it won’t mean anything. We’re still where we were before.”
“It was a good idea at least. You might have been able to piece something together that I had missed. Many recognise someone from both sides, but I couldn’t. It had every chance of working, the fact that it didn’t doesn’t change that.”
“You just can’t be wrong. No matter which realm you’re in.”
“I’m often wrong, Damon, I just don’t blame myself when a roll of the dice doesn’t go my way. Gregor is searching for my father on that side. Even if he doesn’t find him alive, his identity will probably be the final piece that I need to figure out how to win this war on that side.”
“The war that isn’t even happening on that side.”
“As I said, nothing translates directly. Just because there isn’t a full-scale war, doesn’t mean we’re all not in danger. Something big is happening, and we’ll all die unless our counterparts can figure out what it is.”
Chapter Ten
Freya awoke to her phone ringing. She leaned over to see the sleeping potion had knocked her out for 12 hours straight. It was fast approaching 10 o’clock. She tried not to think about the fact that she had missed school once already this week, and was currently missing chemistry. Part of her couldn’t help but think that it was fruitless to even try going back. It was like throwing herself up against a brick wall over and over and expecting it to crack. All that happened was that she became bloodied and bruised, and all she did to the wall was paint it with her blood.
Margaret was ringing her. She didn’t answer. If Margaret had picked up on the fact that she wasn’t there, then it would be easier to magic her way out of trouble in person. Still, she was reluctant to leave. Especially not when Gregor had told her to stay. She was sure that, even if Damon’s father did send someone after her, she would be able to take them. But she would still rather not take the risk. Especially if it would mean leading them back home.
“What is it?” Damon asked groggily as he sat up.
“Margaret,” Freya told him. “I think she realised I wasn’t home.”
“Do you need to go?”
Freya sighed. “I don’t know... Probably. I should. I just... I shouldn’t leave. What if your father has men after me?”
“Is that really what’s stopping you from going?”
She gave a humourless smile. “I guess not. It’s funny, I’ve heard the ‘sorry, but you’re going back’ speech so many times, but I’ve never stayed anywhere this long before. I know everything about how it will go, it’s not an unknown factor, and yet I feel uneasy.”
Damon rolled over, closer to her, and wrapped his arm around her middle while he nuzzled into her side.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“If they would let you go so easily, they’re not worth it.”
“A fine sentiment. I just wish I believed it.”
�
��Hey, this isn’t like the other times. If they give you the speech, you just come here.”
Freya smirked as she turned to face him, resisting the urge to straddle him. For now.
“And be your live-in girlfriend?”
Damon rolled his eyes. “Well, of course it sounds bad when you say it like that.”
“Did I ever tell you about the alternate universe where we’re engaged?”
He raised an eyebrow. “No.”
“Well, this was a while ago. Who knows? We might be married by now.”
“Are you... hinting at something?”
She laughed, shaking her head. “Let’s just see if we can stand dating each other for a few months first.”
He smirked. “Stand it? Careful, I might get offended.”
“I’m sure I could think of some way to make it up to you.” She moved so that she was straddling him, just the two thin layers of their underwear separating them.
Damon groaned in the most delicious way. “Please don’t tease, Freya. You have no idea what you do to me...”
“I’m not teasing,” she said, really meaning it. She was comfortable and relaxed and touching him was doing nothing but sending little sizzles of pleasure across her skin.
Her phone buzzed once more, causing her tense up again.
She groaned. “I wasn’t teasing.”
Damon smiled. “You should go. I’ll still be here when you get back.”
She nodded, getting up and making her way over to where her clothes were folded neatly over Damon’s chair.
“Or, you know, I could go with you,” Damon offered as he sat up properly.
Freya hummed as she pulled on her jeans. “I mean, it’s probably best if it’s just me. If they want to talk, they’ll just kick you out anyway.”
“Then I’ll wait outside for you. But I’ll come if you want me to.”
“Yeah. I would actually really like that.”
She turned around as she pulled off his t-shirt and put her bra back on. As soon as it was in place, she turned back around to put her shirt on, smirking at the way Damon watched her appreciatively.
She climbed back onto his bed, kissing him as she pressed her torso to his, appreciating his warmth.
“You’re way more touchy in the mornings,” he noted.
She shrugged. “Things get skewed when I’m sleepy. More... malleable, if that makes any sense.”
Damon moved his hand up to her hair, moving it behind her ear. “Well, maybe I should work on getting you sleepy more often.” His tone made it clear exactly what he was suggesting.
“No tempting me!” Freya protested. “I need my mind to not be in the gutter when I go home.”
She pulled away, fastening her shirt. “Though it’s probably good that we’re going. I forgot I would need more clothes...”
“We could have just gone shopping for clothes, you know.”
Freya raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I’m skint. At least, I am without going into my savings, which are for getting me through university and the inevitable unemployment I will face after.”
“I meant using my credit card.”
Freya smirked. “Like some kind of trophy girlfriend? Using my posh boyfriend’s money that he got from his rich, upper-class family? No thanks.”
Damon sighed. “You not using it doesn’t mean that I don’t have it. I’m not trying to buy you or anything, I’m just trying to be practical. If I was trying to be creepy, I would buy you a full wardrobe and tell you that any discomfort you had about it was you being ungrateful.”
“Good to know that you could be creepy if you wanted to. That’s super reassuring.”
“I’m not the one who chose to watch that terrible vampire movie with the creepy, stalker boyfriend.”
“That was only so that you could truly appreciate Blade.”
“Uh-huh.”
She threw his trousers at him. “Are you going to get dressed so that you can come with me or not?”
FREYA FOUND HERSELF anxiously rocking back and forth on her heels as she knocked on the front door of her house, with Damon’s reassuring presence the only thing keeping her in place.
Margaret opened the front door with a glare. It only intensified as she saw Damon.
“Say goodbye to Damon,” she said sharply, folding her arms.
Freya turned to him. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
Damon responded by kissing her, despite the fact that Margaret was right there, causing her to tense up.
“See you,” he said softly before heading back down the street. Freya knew that he wasn’t going to go any further than around the corner, but it still left her uneasy.
“In,” Margaret said, stepping aside to let Freya past. As soon as the door shut behind them, she exploded. “So that was it?! That was your reason for not coming home last night? You got yourself a new boyfriend and suddenly a phone call to let me know that you’re not, oh I don’t know, dead in an alley somewhere is too much?!”
“I- I didn’t-”
“What? Didn’t think?! Because that much is bloody obvious! Otherwise, my only option is to think that you’re callous enough to deliberately leave me worrying about you all night!”
The yelling was too much. Freya was more annoyed at Margaret than upset, and yet she started crying.
“Don’t you dare start throwing a tantrum. You are not a toddler, Freya!”
Freya couldn’t stop the tears. She had no idea how.
“I didn’t think you would care,” Freya reasoned as she tried to swipe away the tears as they fell, though her efforts were in vain.
“You didn’t think I would care?!”
Freya shrugged. “Well, I guess ‘notice’ would be more accurate...”
Thankfully, when Margaret spoke again, she wasn’t yelling. “Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know... You’ve just been... preoccupied. It’s fine, I just didn’t think you would be bothered about me staying out.”
Margaret sighed, shaking her head. “You really thought that I didn’t care?”
Freya shrugged. “Why would you? I’m a grownup now, pretty much. Your responsibility to look after me is all but formality at this point.”
“You think that’s all you are to me? A responsibility?”
Freya nodded.
“Freya...” Margaret’s eyes were laced with tears at this point. “I mean, I know that things have been... hectic around here, but have I really made you think that I don’t care about you?”
Freya shrugged. “I don’t know... I guess I just... I mean, why would you?”
“Why would I? Freya, why wouldn’t I?”
Freya just shrugged again, at a complete loss for an answer. She didn’t really have a reason, when she thought about it. She had just always assumed, like she did with all of her foster parents, that they were looking for an ideal that she would never meet. As soon as they realised that, they usually sent her back.
She realised that she had been assuming that Margaret had realised the truth long ago, and had only kept her around out of a sense of responsibility. Not much of a sacrifice to make when Freya was fast approaching eighteen.
Margaret sighed, shaking her head. “This doesn’t excuse last night. Freya, I had no idea where you were, and if I did... I didn’t mind you staying in Damon’s spare room when you two were just friends, but if you two are dating, I don’t know how happy I am with you staying at his overnight.”
Freya folded her arms. “I’m seventeen,” she reminded her foster mother.
“I know that. Look, Freya, I’m not trying to... All I’m saying is that I remember how quickly things can happen at your age. I just want to make sure you... that you’re safe and that you’re sure about things.”
“I’ve known Damon for years. I’m not sure how much slower we could have been going...”
“Uh-huh, and how long have you been dating?”
Freya thought on that and was surprised that the answer was only a few days.
Had it been so little time? She supposed she could blame her counterpart in the Shadow Realm. She’d spent the last couple of nights syncing her memories back up. Most of it was still a blur, but not Damon. Not how she felt about him.
Plus, they were both magical beings, which meant heightened emotions, especially if they didn’t frequently use their powers. Of course they would quickly be head over heels for each other.
But hell, she had mentioned engagement that morning. It had been a joke, and a true fact about their lives in an alternate universe, but now she couldn’t shake the feeling that it had been inappropriate. Though it wasn’t as if that was something she ever had any sense of anyway.
“If you stay at his, I want to know,” Margaret told her. “And I’m not happy about it on school nights. Speaking of, aren’t you supposed to be there right now?”
“I... I needed a mental health day...” That was far from a lie.
Margaret raised an eyebrow.
“I haven’t been sleeping,” Freya defended. “And I... I get so stressed and upset and I can barely read...”
Margaret sighed. She had made it clear that she wasn’t happy with how big Freya’s workload was. Though, after a moment, she narrowed her eyes.
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with the results you were supposed to have back by now.”
“A little,” Freya managed to mumble. “I... I panicked on the exams. I dropped grades.”
“To what?”
“Bs for maths and further maths, Cs for the others.”
Margaret sighed. “Bs and Cs? That’s not like you, Freya. Maybe if you’d started revision earlier-”
“I knew the stuff!” Freya protested, having to rein in her frustration to stop flames from dancing up her arms. “I just... I don’t know. I freaked out and couldn’t remember anything once the test was actually in front of me...”
“You should have said something,” Margaret told her. “I might have been able to help after the first exam.”