The sound of a bird hitting the balcony window pulled Agatha back to reality. She didn't know when she fell asleep, she couldn't pinpoint the moment when fatigue overcame her decision to stay awake. All the young woman was certain about was that she experienced a beautiful dream, even if not a single image of it remained in her conscious mind. The feeling of happiness squeezing her heart confirmed her theory.

Her reality, though, differed from the feeling that accompanied his dreams. Little by little the warmth inside her chest turned cold. She lacked reasons to smile, still, she had plenty of reasons to fight. The faces of those she loved followed her every second of the day, and she imagined thousands of scenarios of what she would do once she regained her freedom.

The young woman raised her body into a sitting position, her gaze traveled to the door. Agatha reasoned that it should be locked, and even if she could open it, what lay on the other side would stop her before she could find a way out of her prison.

As if it could read her wishes the door opened, even so, it wasn't good news for her, after all, it was Zagar who entered the room.

"I brought you breakfast," the demon said, showing up the tray of food he was holding.

Before Agatha had a chance to back down, the shape-shifter made it to her side. He sat some centimeters away from his prisoner and put the tray on the bed.

"Go ahead, eat." His voice was soft, still, his somber expression showed that it was an order.

The young woman directed her gaze at the toast, the strawberry jam jar, the scrambled eggs, and the cup of coffee; they looked delicious, making her stomach clench.

"How do I know that you are not trying to poison me?" She asked.

Zagar took a bite of the food, his red eyes fixed on her face as he gulped slowly. Then he proceeded to take a sip of the hot drink.

"I'm not trying to kill you, it wouldn't be fun that way," he explained with a smirk.

A part of Agatha's mind insisted on not trusting the demon, he had already shown her that he was very good at deceiving people, yet her hunger clouded her thoughts.

"You gave me plenty of reasons to not trust you," she said before taking one of the toasts and putting jam on it.

She brought the food to her mouth and took a bite, with a lot of inner strength Agatha pushed her desire to devour her breakfast, her stomach telling her to hurry up but she decided to be cautious.

"See? It's not that bad," commented the demon. He extended his right hand to touch the necklace decorating his prisoner's neck but she moved to the side before he could reach her. "I can't get over how good it looks on you, it's like you were made to wear my mark."

The young woman's heart stopped for a second, Zagar had been showing his true colors since he brought her to the mansion, and the more he talked the more her fear grew.

How could she have been so naive? As she observed into his soulless red eyes, every time she heard him talk without an apex of remorse, she couldn't believe that she believed his act. He used to be so attentive and sweet some days, he knew how to keep her trapped. She despised that all he had to do was distract her from her dull life to have her following him everywhere, she felt stupid, she felt weak.

"Are you going to eat that toast or will you stare at it all day?" The voice of the demon brought her back to reality.

"I'm eating," she muttered before taking a bite.

"I thought you'd be more fun, you know?"

"Then you should look for another entertainment source," she answered, tired of his games.

"Don't let yourself down, you were such a perfect doll before those useless humans interrupted us." Zagar held her wrist, squeezing it when she tried to get free. "Maybe I should act once again as Ellis, you liked him, I'm sure you'd love to play with him."

Pain expanded through the young woman's arm, the pressure exerted by the demon was enough to leave a mark, luckily her power was going to prevent a memory of him from remaining in her body. Agatha's mind tried to find a way to escape from Zagar without getting hurt, the lack of findings terrified her.

Her breathing quickened as the demon ran his hand up her arm. Soon he reached her neck and circled it with his fingers, oxygen stopped filling her lungs once he started to squeeze. For a second she forgot how to react, it felt like reality had frozen. Her survival instinct kicked in when her body could no longer hold on and prompted the prisoner to move her arms to push her attacker away, however, a loud knock on the door interrupted her movements.

"Zagar! You have ten seconds to let me in before I break down the fucking door!"

The pressure against Agatha's neck disappeared, allowing her to suck in a huge gulp of air. She was too busy catching her breath to notice the demon got up from the bed and headed for the entrance, groaning in the process.

"They always appear at the least indicated moments," he complained, then he opened the door. "What the fuck do you want, Cadoc?"

"Speak appropriately to your superior," the same voice they had heard before warned him. "I see you forgot your manners and your position here."

"Do you need something, sir?" Zagar asked once again, using a mocking tone.

"Let's talk outside."

Agatha watched the exchange from the bed, her breathing just leveling off, but her mind alert. She paid attention to the unknown demon. His words made clear that he held a high position in the hierarchy and the young woman concluded that the way he stood with his head high confirmed it. There was something about him that made her feel uneasy, maybe it was his wicked smile or the glow of madness hidden within his eyes.

The demons left the room, closing the door behind them. Once they were out of sight, the young woman's body began to tremble. A cascade of hysterical tears ran down her cheeks, all the emotions she had been holding came to light in solitude.  Agatha forced herself to calm down, it wasn't the best time to break down, not when she had the chance to eavesdrop on the demons' conversation.

She gathered all her strength and got up from the bed. As fast as she could she walked to the door and leaned her ear against it, paying attention to the words spoken on the other side.

"— We gave you plenty of opportunities, this isn't the first time you disobeyed our orders. The only reason why you're still here is that you're one of our best hunters." She heard Cadoc's words.

"Come on, it's not that bad," answered Zagar.

"You didn't show up to the attack during the eclipse."

"I was busy getting everything ready to welcome my doll."

"You're getting distracted by her, I don't care what you do with your free time, you can have an entire collection of humans if you want, but don't ruin my plans. Keep it that way and I'll find a new hunter."

"Good luck with that." Agatha could hear the arrogance present in Zagar's voice. "You won't find anyone better than me."

"You have a week to finish your job."

"I'll have it done in two days."

"And about the human, she hasn't been accepted yet. You know what you have to do, if you don't follow the rules you can say goodbye to your toy," said Cadoc.

Even though she couldn't see the demon's face, there was something in the way he spoke that told the girl that he was enjoying himself.

"I'll take care of her myself, and I'll let you watch. I know you hate when someone touches your things, and I'll love to see how you react when I tear her apart piece by piece. See you soon, Zagar."

The sound of footsteps walking away alerted Agatha that it was time to move if she didn't want to get caught. The young woman ran to the bed and lay on it. She noticed that her body wouldn't stop shaking. The last thing she wanted was to show such a vulnerable side to her captor, still, the fear raised by Cadoc's threat prevented her from calming down.

What did he mean she hadn't been accepted yet? Would she have to undergo a test? Agatha wasn't glad about her current situation, yet it was still better than being tortured by demons.

Her hurricane of thoughts was interrupted when the door opened.

"Get up, we have to go," Zagar ordered her from the entrance.

"Where to?"

"To the council room, it's time for your test."