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Acacia/Ciarán - Age 18

I'm sitting at the edge of Lailoken's bed, breathing out calmly as the moonbeams stream in through the glass doors to the balcony. The fresh mark left behind from Taron, it's a symbol now of my trust to him and his faith to me...

...only time will tell if I've made the right choice.

We'd fallen asleep together, though there is something that stirs from my heart. It's a tightness, feeling almost like a thread is running through it while guiding me off the edge of the bed and toward the glass doors. I lift my hand, pressing the palm of it against the cool glass.

Shroud?

The thought crosses my mind as I open the door, stepping out onto the patio as the cool air nips at the exposed flesh of my arms. My bare feet walk out onto a thin layer of icy snow, though they become numb a moment later.

Shroud as in the veil?

Shroud as in the glamour surrounding me?

What do I look like through Lailoken's eyes?

What does he see me as?

A surge of energy passes through my arms and I glance to see the spider web tattoos on my arms glow with a light purple radiance. Furrowing my brows, I glance away and recall...

...representation of the passage of time.

I breathe out and close my eyelids, feeling the energy pulsating to life through my being. Weave reality...

Slowly, I edge my way up onto the wooden railing of the balcony, steadying myself as I slowly open my eyelids. I gaze out to the forest, tilting my head to the side as I'm no longer afraid. I've been through what I believe is the worst, hardly batting an eye the second I take a step off the balcony.

I don't fall, the webs weaving a pathway for me, the way Nimue had once shown me. I'd doubted myself, fear driving a part of my being, yet now I walk without a single doubt harboring in my mind. Nothing clouds the way I feel, the way I think as I walk toward the tree trunks. As I feel the way the forest creates a thickness around my aura, I walk through and make my own pathway among the branches. The further I draw away from the pack lodge, the fewer warmth trails after me, instead...I feel colder by the second and it's not from the weather. I step on some branches here and there, while other times I walk freely on the air with the webs, coming closer to a tight grove.

It's here, this grove...where I come to a halt. My eyelids close for a moment, exhaling a sharp breath before I feel my feet touch down on the remains of the snow. When they open once again, I glance around the trees surrounding me, standing a good twenty or so feet away in all directions. I can feel it, a thread drawing me here...

...yet as I breathe silently, a small cloud forming past my parted lips, I begin to see shifts in the veil.

It crackles and distorts, the strands of the webs flickering away before floating like wisps into the night sky and toward the moon overhead. Amythest eyes shift into focus, a greater energy eliciting a strong response from the veil before I see the hue in the grove shift, the purple aura settling in the area. The spider webs attach themselves to the tree trunks, the low brush and even near the snow at my feet.

A few seconds later, she appears before me...

...Nimue.

"Acacia..." her voice trails off, almost as in disbelief before she raises her arms. She turns her hands from front to back, breathing out, "I'm here-"

"A projection...that's all you are, is it not?" As she told me from day one...yet Lars walks on this plane freely.

Nimue lifts her gaze and lowers her arms, telling me with ease, "I need you to listen, very-"

"I've given my trust so freely in the past," my voice remains even and I see the way her features shift slightly, "I'm not making that mistake again."

"Aca-"

"Lies will be the only thing that leaves your lips," I shake my head and she takes a step forward.

Nimue tells me very quickly, "Lars never succeeded and for that, I'm grateful."

"Succeeded?" I ask her, unsure of what she's referring to.

She nods her head and replies, "Our father, Tresor...he wanted our freedom, and for tempting fate, he paid for it with his life. Cormac killed him, but I told him not to because there's always a balance that must be kept. Marc would be here, if he'd listened to me..." her voice trails off as she glances away for a moment, seeing her muscles tense as her veins raise beneath her skin with a light shimmer, "...so please, don't make the same mistake he did. Please...listen to me-"

"You're dodging the question. What didn't Lars succeed with?" Though I hear everything she says, I want to know...

Nimue shakes her head, bringing her gaze back to meet with mine as she tells me, "He wanted the ever-growing dormant powers you possess, passed down to an heir...though, the conception would have had to been consensual."

"I had sex with Lars..." it stings even trying to remember that moment.

"Acacia, he seduced you, he made you believe you wanted to be with him...though I know you must have fought hard," Nimue pauses as she breathes in deeply before exhaling slowly, almost like an unseen pain rakes through her body, "he thought he could cheat his way, a shortcut and it didn't work."

He...used magic on me?

"Magic?" I question her, unsure of what he did...

Nimue shakes her head, "No, Acacia...some demons possess magic, marking us as warlocks and witches to the Earthen plane for the abilities we possess. He didn't even need to use magic with what he is...with what we are."

"What are you...exactly?" I furrow my brows, watching the way she shifts her stance back.

Nimue replies back, "We're sex demons. Incubi and succubi...though there are many different types of demons that lay beyond the veil," she pauses a moment and then tells me, "there is a prophecy, one involving a goddess born in human flesh that would be our salvation..." her tone takes a dark note when she continues, "...though, only the actions taken by a true born hybrid would allow for our complete transition to this world."

Ciarán?

"If what you say is true, why would I ever help you?" I shake my head in complete disbelief.

"There's a war waging, soon to break loose the bonds that were formed to protect everyone," she releases a sigh and states, "there will be nothing anyone can do to stop their force...and when all hope fades, who do you turn to?"

"Lailo-"

Nimue shakes her head, "No, Acacia..." her arms wrap around her abdomen as she cries out in sudden pain, tears forming in her eyes, "...whatever the price...whatever the cost, don't do it."

"Why are you against your brother to begin with? Don't you want to be free?" I'm so confused by what she says.

"No..." she lifts her gaze to meet with mine, "...because the cost of our freedom will be the death of everything and everyone...including us for defying our sleeping god."

Nimue collapses to her knees, her hands grasping the ground in front of her. She's breathing hard, seeing the way her form flickers in and out of existence. Her voice is barely above a whisper, "H-Help...y-y-yo-ou."

What?

I'm hesitant at first, but I slowly walk toward her. I kneel down, watching as she lifts her gaze to meet with mine. Her eyes are almost glassy as she begs, "Pl-Pleas-se."

I...

...I need to know more and she's going to fade completely.

Lars...he stole my energy...so why can't I give it to Nimue willingly?

I remember back, to the way he kissed me and I saw the whitish blue wisps leaving my body...if I can help restore Nimue, she might be able to stay as a projection longer.

"Nimue..." my voice is quiet as I see her breathing hard, her vision coming in and out of focus, "...take the energy you need."

Nimue nods her head slightly, lifting one of her hands as I come close to her, mere inches away. When her fingers barely grasp my chin, her thumb pressed against the front and I slowly part my lips. Her lips are drawn closer to mine, parting slightly as I suddenly begin to feel that pull within my body, an energy surging forward. It's draining, a feeling of falling into a dark abyss as it's a few minutes...my heart slowing for a moment before she releases my chin.

I'm lightheaded when her eyes meet with mine and she tilts her head to the side before saying, "Thank you, Acacia..." her hands reach out and they grasp mine. A faint sensation spreads throughout my skin and she slowly draws me to my feet. It's a shift in the aura around me and I gasp a second later when I see her form is completely different...

Nimue's irises are now an electric blue, staring into mine as her skin is a tinged purple hue. A long tail moves slightly to the side behind her, ending in a spade while bat-like leather wings extend from between her shoulder blades...her lips parting to speak and I see fangs. The one thing that nearly forces me to my knees, is the way her touch ignites a fire like that of my mates...confusing my body and the way a pull connects the two of us.

She releases my hands, her palms touching each other before so says something in a tongue I have no understanding of. When her touch no longer affects me, my mind is clear, that pull no longer drawing us together. A split second later, a book appears in her palms as she holds it out for me to take.

Nimue tilts her head to the side and states, "Touch the book and you'll understand the attunement you have for necromancy and magic...it won't break the seal or the shroud around you...but you'll begin to grow stronger every day. Lars isn't counting on that, hindering you further until it doesn't matter how you're seen," she pauses a moment as I hesitantly reach my arm out, "you'll be ready to strike and make your move when he's dropped his guard. You're a goddess Acacia...but play your part and you'll be ready."

"Nimue..." I'm still slightly hesitant as I finally reach out, my fingertips trailing over the cover of the book before I lay my palm flat against it. An essence invades my being, feeling it grasp at every fiber before taking root within my chest. It's natural, a flow coursing through my veins and understanding the pull it tries to connect to.

I draw my arm back, staring into Nimue's eyes as the book is no longer a manifestation of reality and she says, "Save us all..."

"Nimue...is my uncle...is he dead?" I ask because I'm tired of this game.

"No, he was taken as a debt of collateral damage," Nimue explains to me, "a life for a life. Cormac took Tresor's life...the very life force and a beacon that allowed Keveon to live. When my father's life ceased to exist, his rights and power were inherited by the eldest, my brother. I've tried to reason with him, not allowing our sleeping god to wake...but the power he has and believes he can attain is what tore us apart."

Uncle Keveon is trapped...

...that's how Lars can walk on this plane without limitation.

My uncle is in his place. That means...he can be saved.

"I'm surprised..." Nimue giggles faintly, shaking her head as I see how her life force begins to dwindle away slowly...

...almost as if she's cursed.

"What?" I ask her.

She shakes her head and nods behind me, "That your mate hasn't stopped me from speaking to you..."

I inhale the air sharply, whirling around to see Lailoken's reddish-orange eyes staring directly at me while he stands between two of the tree trunks.

How...

...wouldn't I have felt him there?

No...I guess not, because even though he's different than Mercury...

...it's still a one-sided bond.

"Regardless of what I think of you," Lailoken unfolds his arms from in front his chest, nodding at Nimue, "the darkness is part of Ekáti's being," he pauses once he begins to walk toward me, feeling my heart nearly stopping in my chest when he halts his movements, "though without darkness, light cannot be balanced and without light, the darkness consumes everything."

Lailoken lifts his hand, cupping the side of my cheek and I feel the warmth flood and take over the coldness in my chest. I breathe out, "Lailoken..."

His eyes lift from mine, staring at Nimue as he states, "Perhaps the rightful heir to the demon throne is truly you, Nimue Vossen," he pauses a moment before he asks, "are you ready?"

"Yes," her voice is faint and I slowly turn around, Lailoken's touch leaving me. I come to stare at Nimue, watching her breathe out before a sudden spark of white light ricochets against her form.

It's not moments later that she completely vanishes, feeling Lailoken's hand touch the top of my shoulder. He tells me, "I know there's a terrible darkness that lies dormant within you, Ekáti," he slowly turns me around, lifting my gaze before I stare into his eyes, "I will love every part of you because we match one another. Embracing the darkness instead of ignoring and fearing it...this is just a fraction of what I know you will become. You don't need to rely on it as you will always have me right here to help you."

I nod my head, being drawn into his arms as a wave of relief washes over me that I didn't know I'd been harboring...

...he'll love me for me...all of who I am and for everything I will become.

💫--To Be Continued--💫
-Updates Alternating Days Till Complete-

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