Syrene P.O.V

She tried to push away from him, wanting to get as far as possible away from him. But he held her firmly to his chest with an iron grip. She continued fighting against him. He was a Royal. They were the ones that killed her aunt and she had trusted him. Saved him. Her witch was telling her that he saved her life too, but she ignored it.

He lied to her. She let her guard down around him. He made her believe that he was different from them.

But he is. Her witch persisted.

She had to get away from him. Had to get her friends away from him and to safety. He could be tricking her. It could all be some sick joke that demons played. Her desperation and need to escape him took control of her and she fought harder, but it was no use. He was far stronger than her. She felt his power and her witch revel in it. That surprised her.

"Stop." He whispered.

His voice was nothing like the one she had become accustomed to hearing, instead, it sounded like two persons speaking simultaneously. His tone was unnatural and unlike anything she'd ever heard before.

Fear erupted inside of her. But it wasn't his voice that caused her to react this way. It was his eyes, that had turned into pit black orbs, swirling around like ink in a jar. Fear froze her in place, but as she continued to gaze into the dark abyss that seemed to such her in, her fear slowly dissipated, leaving nothing but peace.

The guards passed them like they didn't even saw them. Syrene watched in confusion as they looked to where they were standing, then continued on. She wondered how that was possible. They were not that much hidden, so the guards should have been able to see them. So, why didn't they?

"They cannot see us if my wings are out." He said, seeing her confusion.

Syrene nodded, still looking into his eyes. The swirling black drew her in, making her lean into him. He wrapped his wings tighter around them, pulling her closer to him. Her breath caught when her body pressed flat against his. She felt the rhythm of his heart and it matched hers exactly.

His eyes flickered to her lips and hers to his. They felt dry, so she licked them. His eyes flashed red, like a pool of swirling fire before going back to black. He crushed her body even closer to him and leaned into her.

Everything was forgotten as she waited for him to kiss her. The fact that he was a demon and was probably using her was forgotten. She closed her eyes as she felt his breath fanned over her face. She was completely drawn in, feeling like his kiss was all that she needed to live, even more than she needed air.

However, just as Syrene got on the tip of her toes and was about to lean into him. He unwrapped his wings from around them, breaking the spell.

Shaking her head, she questioned what she almost did. She took a step away from him. As he stood there looking at her, she stared at his wings, taking him in.

His wings were beautiful, sleek black feathers, dusted with red at the tips. The way the red danced off the silky black, made them looked like they were on fire. She was very much mesmerised. Taking a step closer, she reached her hand out, intending to touch him.

"It is so beautiful." She whispered to herself.

However, just as she was about to touch him, Braith came running out of the woods, pulling her away from the demon.

"He's a demon, Syrene. A Royal!"

The anger, rage and disgust in his voice broke her out of her trance. What had she been thinking? What was it about the demon that caused her to act so out of character? Braith was right, he was a demon, and she should not have trusted him. He lied to her; he didn't tell her he was a Royal.

Braith and Lani surrounded him. The demon growled at them. His wings were still out, but the tips had curved in, poised in a striking position. Long sharp talons grow from his fingertips.

Braith had in his hand an enchanted sword that he had taken from one of the Rebels, and so did Kailani. Syrene watched horrified as they attacked the demon.

She cried out for them to stop, but they all ignored her. The demon seemed to be aware of her though because his wings straightened themselves out. She screamed again, but her best friends were too angry. Demons had killed their family. Royals had killed their family. They wanted blood.

Braith was the first to attack, rushing forward and striking the demon, who used his wings to block the attack. Syrene started shaking her head in panic, screaming and crying, begging them to stop but to no avail.

She couldn't let him die. She just couldn't. Yes, he was a Royal, but that didn't mean he deserved to die. He had saved her life more than once when he didn't have to. There was no way he was bad. Her heart cried out this fact as did her witch.

Braith attacked him again, striking his arm. The demon screeched, then lunged at Braith. Kailani used the weapon she had, slicing through his back, causing him to screech louder. Cold dark swirling orbs turned to Lani, claws bare and ready to strike. Syrene yelled no, seeing the intent in his eyes. He stopped, turning to look at her and whatever he saw in her eyes, stopped him from killing her best friend.

However, Braith took his pause to his advantage, driving the sword through the demon. Time seemed to stop as did Syrene's heart. Her eyes connected with the demon as a terrifying scream ripped from her throat.

Braith withdrew the sword, pulling it all the way out. He pulled his hands all the way back and with an angry roar, he pushed forward. Syrene knew that Braith intended to kill him, but she could not have that. The very thought of it sent her witch into a frenzy.

She knew he was different from other royals. Why else would he stop himself from killing Kailani? Why would her witch trust him so much?

She did not know what compelled her to do what she did, but without even thinking, she ran in front of the sword. Her eyes connected with the demon, as she sucked in a breath when the sharp blade slice into her, going all the way through her body.

Braith withdrew the sword with the same speed that he used to launch it forward. Syrene let out the breath she sucked in as the swore left her body, falling forward. The demon caught her, going to the ground with her in his arms.

Lani screamed, running over to her. Braith approach her as well, trying to take her away from the demon, but he growled, pushing Braith back with so much force that he flew a few feet in the air. His body collided with a tree.

The demon scooped her up in both arms. His wings and claws receded. His eyes were back to their normal brown colour.

"No, no, no. Why would you?"

She wanted to tell him that it was okay. That she did not feel any pain, but blood spilt from her mouth when she tried to talk.

He wiped the blood from her mouth then wasted no time ripping into his flesh with his teeth. Blood poured from the open wound as he brought it to her lips, forcing her to drink. The tantalising sweetness of it touched her tongue causing her to drink greedily from him. She expected to feel a burning or even a tingle like she did the last time he fed her his blood, but nothing happened. All she felt was cold. An icy cold started at her feet and was quickly working its way up her body.

She knew he was trying to heal her, but it wasn't working. The demon realised it as well because he started panicking. Braith and Lani watched from nearby. Lani held onto Braith, praying that whatever the demon was doing worked.

"It's not working. Why is it not working!" The demon said, but more to himself than anyone else.

He brought his healing wound back to her lips again, but this time she turned her head away, coughing up blood.

"Stop. It's not going to work, Mal." She said in a raspy voice, "At least you tried."

The demon shook his head, refusing to accept that she was really dying. She used what little strength to turn to her friends, wanting to say her final goodbyes.

"You are not dying! I will not let you die."

With her head turned to the side, she felt the sharp fangs sunk deep into her neck. She wanted to cry out, but the shock and pain froze her. She was unable to do anything, other than widen her eyes.

He took three long deep pulls, then swallowed. When he moved his mouth from her neck, a burning started at the spot where he bit her, spreading through her body rapidly. She started convulsing, wanting to screen out loud but couldn't.

Distantly, she heard someone asking, "What have you done to her?"

"Saving her life." The demon replied.

"More like killing her." The voice sounded angry.

The demon growled. "You already did that, imbecile."

"I was aiming for you, demon." The voice said.

Syrene started fading in and out, all the while wanting to scream, but can't. She felt herself being moved, but the person's touch felt like fire on her skin. The burning was so bad that she wanted to strip off every piece of clothing off her scorching body and jump into an icy lake. However, she had no such luck.

After what seemed like forever, the burning eased somewhat, giving her some form of relief, but it was only false hope. Almost instantly, the pain intensified tenfold. It felt like her body was rejecting whatever was happening to it. She felt like she was dying. She wanted to die if only to stop the pain. When it felt like she was going to be burned alive, a deafening scream ripped out of her before plunging her into complete darkness.