A L E C

Dressed in her red tinged training armour, Paige rids herself of the heavy helmet and tosses the large piece of metal to the ground, muttering something about picking it up later. Her dark locks remain in their messy state while she lazily places her hands on her hips.

"What do you mean it's about Cupid?" I question, the expression in my voice sounding more curious than I intended it to.

Paige's lips curl into a smirk as she takes a step towards me. "Smitten, are we?"

I don't respond. My gaze on her only hardens, making it clear that I'm not enjoying her company. Can she just get to the point already?

"Come on, Alec," She lets out a bitter laugh, rolling her dark eyes. "I know you have a soft spot for that Matchmaker."

"What are you talking about?" I shake my head at her. "Are you implying that I have a . . . thing for Cupid? Have you forgotten that Demons can't feel attraction?"

"We both know that's a load of bullshit." Paige spits, her face inches away from mine now. "Stop lying to yourself, Alec."

"I'm not lying to myself about anything, Paige. Are you insane?"

Why did I even ask her that? Of course she's insane.

"Cupids can't fall in love, correct?" When I nod, she continues to elaborate. "Well, it's a good thing Miss Matchmaker isn't just a Cupid."

I stand there with my mouth agape, utterly confused. "What?"

Paige's small smirk transforms into a malicious one. "That's right, Your Grace. Aviva isn't as boring as she seems to be."

"What are you talking about? Is this why you want her dead? Is she a threat to you?"

"Perhaps," She circles the chamber, running her long fingers over the dusty books that sit upon the many shelves. "Alec, do you ever wonder why your little brother is the only Demon known to have a Soulmate?"

"How do you know about that?" I don't remember telling her anything about Carl and Faith being Soulmates. Did someone else tell her?

"I overheard you and your mother speaking about it while I was passing by her chambers the other day," She waves it off. "Anyway, that's besides the point. Answer the question."

Drawing my eyebrows together, I lean back on my desk and keep my gaze on the floor. "The only answer I can come up with is that he's a different kind of Demon. I don't know of any other Demons with the ability to teleport, or any other powers."

"Hmm, yes. That may be true. But you're missing the point. No Cupid has ever visited Kairan, or our enemies. No Cupid has ever left Midgard before. No Cupid has ever looked into the eyes of a Demon and told them whether or not they have a Soulmate. But now we know Carl has one. So how do we know the rest of us don't? What if that old tale of Demons not having Soulmates is a lie to keep us separated and emotionless?"

"We're not emotionless, Paige." I say.

She rolls her eyes. "You know what I mean. Not being able to feel romantically attracted to someone. The lie was created so that it would be drilled into our brains; so that we don't even bother looking at someone in a different way."

"Cool theory. Now would you please leave so that I can sleep?"

"No," She states, slumping into a chair. "Alec, I know you feel something for the snobby Matchmaker, stop trying to deny it."

"Whoa, first, she's not snobby. If anyone's snobby, it's you. Second, there's nothing to deny when I don't feel anything for her. Honestly, will you just drop it already? You still haven't answered my question about how you think Cupid isn't just a Cupid, by the way."

Paige sighs, resting her chin on her palm while her elbow rests on her knee. Her head shakes slightly. "It's quite obvious, actually. Cupids are in the same situation as us Demons, yes? They cannot fall in love. But your Aviva does look at you differently, just as you her. The thing is, she has also been tricked into that lie. She can't feel attraction; she never will. That's what she thinks. That's what you think."

I'm silent, letting her words sink in. After a moment's pause, I ask, "So if she's not just Cupid, what is she?"

Paige's lips twist. "A species I've never known of. She has more power than she believes. But her mother will never tell her what she really is, and because of that, she is vulnerable."

"Her mother? What does she have to do with any of this?"

"Oh, dear Alec, she has everything to do with this. What else do you expect from a Witch?"

"Just because your friend tricked you doesn't mean all Witches are evil."

With another roll of her eyes, Paige stands, retrieving her helmet from the floor as she makes her way to the dark wood doors.

"Where are you going?" Many questions have been left unanswered, as well as a confused me. She has said so much, yet barely anything at all.

"I've got to get back to my training. Care to join me? Or are you still the same pathetic excuse of a weak, demon prince?"

Restraining myself from lashing out, I settle for a small smirk instead. This is the way Paige has always been. Growing up with an equally cold and selfish family, Paige always thought of me as lower than herself. She pays more respect to my dear brother-the heir to the Kairan throne. Some people believe I'm jealous of Ryker. But in all honesty, I do not want the king's crown. I don't think I could handle being king as well as my older brother can. I'd much rather be where I am now. Yes, Ryker has trained to become a king all his life, but what bothers me is how he treats the people. He's the type of person who will declare war in a split second, even if it's over a little matter. He isn't afraid of bloodshed. In fact, he enjoys it.

Finally, I say, "I think I'll pass."

She arches a brow, shrugging as she leaves the room without another glance.

Well, there goes a whole half hour. I could've been sleeping, but now with the small amount of new information my betrothed had just given me, I don't think my brain wants me to rest today.

Sighing, I stumble towards my bed and take a seat at the edge. According to Paige, Cupid's mother knows more about her daughter than she lets on. Ever since that night when I heard her telling Cupid to stay away from me, a million questions have always been lurking in the back of my mind. How does she know who I am? Cupid didn't know that I was a Demon at the time, but I have a feeling her mother did.

Before I even have the chance to lift my head up, Maksim-along with three other guards-bursts into the room, destroying any hope I had left of the being able to catch a few minutes of sleep.

"There's been an attack. We have to leave, now!" He shouts, pulling me up to my feet.

Alarm bells ring throughout the palace, nearly deafening me as I run down the west wing's halls towards the front gate. With hundreds of soldiers already there-some transformed into their Demon form-it's almost impossible to push through the crowd of yelling guards.

When I finally reach the front gate, I'm immediately being forced to dodge blasts and dark fireballs. Some are being shot into the air, while others straight ahead. I look up into the sky, heart beating wildly against my chest as I watch the Vampires screech and claw at my fellow soldiers. There's about at least two hundred that flood the sky, some of which have blood already trickling down their mouths. Large, black wings outstretched and skulls as white as snow, the Vampires attack the kingdom with no trace of any fear whatsoever.

In one swift motion, I transform into nothing but a mist of dark grey and black, lunging for two Vampires at one time.

The palace is about to be rained over with red droplets instead of clear ones.

♡♡♡

Hello, loves! How are you all? I've only got about a week before school starts, so I'll try my best to update a lot before then.

Many things seemed to go down in this chapter lol. I think I confused myself a bunch of times with that strange conversation Alec and Paige were having. So if you're confused too, ask me any questions you want and I'll be sure to clear things up. Ah, right, and did I mention how stupid I am? I totally forgot about how in Norse mythology, the 'Human' world is called Midgard. Of course, this story is little bit different so I don't know if you'd call it that, but we're going to anyway because I'm too lazy to think of something else. Plus, it sounds cool.

The next chapter will be in Aviva's POV, so it will be a lot more calmer hehe. Unless, of course, I change my mind last minute. Oh, yeah, I've also drawn another character you will meet in the future, so once they are introduced I'll show the illustration to you guys.

Don't forget to vote and comment!

Chloe ❤