My eyes meet the maid's but she quickly averts her gaze. Darian appears out of thin air and I step back at the sight. His red eyes glow in the dimly lit room and my heart is beating so quickly I fear it may explode. My palms begin to sweat and I hate myself for letting him affect me this much.

"I heard voices being raised... I came to see what the commotion was," his voice sends a shiver down my spine and I release a shaky breath.

"Nothing worth mentioning," I shrug and those red eyes bore into mine.

"Not even the part where you wished to be killed... or was it the part where you said that I would be delighted to kill you? That seems worth mentioning to me," he smirks and I turn away from him but soon regret it.

A darkness swirls around me and I try to sift my way through it but it seems as though there is no end. "You're sick... whatever you're doing, stop it," I spit and hear a low chuckle.

"No one turns their back on me and lives to tell the story," his voice echoes around me. I can't seem to rid myself of the darkness, can't seem to find even a speck of light.

"Don't you have better things to do other than torture me?" I huff and try to calm my breathing. It's as though I am looking through closed eyes and I haven't a clue where I am. Whether I am still in my room or if his darkness has taken me someplace else.

"I was planning on having a nice dinner with you but you don't seem too keen on it," his voice moves around me and it's like he is everywhere but nowhere.

"Why on earth would I want to have dinner with you?" I scoff and his laugh flows through the darkness.

"Why on earth would you think that you have a choice?" his voice slowly becomes clearer and I see a flicker of light before me. My breathing finally calms and I step into the light.

Something feels different but I don't know what. My eyes meet with my figure in the mirror and the breath is knocked out of me. Tears burn in my eyes from the fury I feel.

My brown hair cascades down my back, the black gown from earlier now clinging to my body. I can't deny that I look effortlessly beautiful but for him to take away the last thing I had of my court is crossing the line.

I glare at him in the mirror but find his eyes raking up and down my body instead.

"I will escort you to the dining hall," he says, casually, as if he didn't just use his filthy powers to undress me. I shoot him daggers through my gaze and he laughs. "Don't look at me like that, darling, otherwise we will have more pressing matters on our hands," his voice is void of any emotion.

"I don't need an escort. I can walk perfectly fine by myself, thank you," I cross my arms and his darkness begins swirling again until I am pushed towards him by them. Darian then holds out his arm for me but I act as though I didn't see it until I am forced, yet again, to lace my arm around his.

"I suppose that's how you always get your way... through brutal force," I scoff and he shakes his head as the maid opens the door for us.

"I don't take not getting my own way very well," Darian says as he leads me through the door and down the hallway. At least he is self-aware, that's one good thing about him.

"You don't say," I sigh and we continue our walk to the dining hall. As much as I try, I can't get my mind off of Easton and what they have done with him. "What did you do with Easton?" I question and I feel Darian tense beside me.

"You're quite fond of him aren't you," he says and I clear my throat.

"I don't know what you mean... he is a guard that is largely favoured by my family," I shrug and Darian scoffs beside me.

"You take me for a fool, I see the way you look at each other. You'd have to be blind not to notice it," he says but his voice remains cold, his harsh stare unwavering. "You remember my conditions," he adds quietly.

You are mine and mine only.

I try to step away from him but he hooks his arm around my waist and leads me into the dining hall. Every guard we pass bows their head and I keep my eyes trained on the floor until I finally look up and my eyes meet his.

Easton nods his head and I let out a sigh of relief. He's okay. I watch as Easton's eyes meet Darian's arm around my waist and I try again to move out of his grasp but he notices and only pulls me closer.

A smug grin spreads across his face and I try to pry his hand off of my waist but quickly retract when I feel how cold to the touch he is.

"Why are you so cold?" I whisper and he leans in closer to me before whispering in my ear.

"Why are you so warm?" he whispers back and a shiver runs down my spine. Our close proximity makes me feel nauseous and I have to stop everything in me from running into Easton's arms, away from this monster at my side.

The dark oakwood table is bedecked in every kind of food possible. No one could eat this amount of food - no matter how hungry they were. The wondrous colours remind me of my home and my heart warms at the sight.

My hands feel oddly warm all of a sudden. I look down to see a faint glow covering my palms. I quickly ball them into fists and place them behind my back. What the hell is happening?

Nothing like this has ever happened before, I always have control over them, never have they acted on their own accord.

"What happened to your hands?" Darian asks as he takes a seat at the head of the table, gesturing for me to do the same in the seat across from him. I oblige and try to keep my eyes on Darian, not Easton.

"Nothing," I shrug and keep my hands in my lap, away from his view. His eyebrows knit together and I have to suppress a sigh at his antics.

The next thing I know, Darian's hand is clasped tightly around my wrist and is being held up like an ancient artefact. "What. Happened. To. Your. Hands?" he grits his teeth, his cold stare focused on the cuts trailed along the side of my hand.

I almost let out a sigh of relief. I had thought he'd seen the glow of my palms but I relish at the fact that he didn't notice.

"It was a minor inconvenience," I shrug - meaning his filthy guards locked me up and there was no way for me to get out.

"Meaning what exactly?" he questions and I roll my eyes as his grip tightens. I glare at him and he raises his eyebrows.

"I'm not sure if you're aware but your grip on me is rather tight," I seethe and he chuckles to himself.

"My grip is too tight for you?" he says lowly and leans in closer, my breathing becoming laboured. "Do you not like it... rough," he whispers in my ear and I'm sure I am mistaken. My eyes meet Easton's and his eyebrows are furrowed in what I am sure is frustration.

"I don't know what you mean," I clear my throat and he pulls away. A smirk is etched onto his features and I almost gag from how charming he must think of himself as. I yank my hand out of his grip and to my surprise he lets go.

"We will continue this conversation later," Darian says and I abruptly stand - sick of his innuendoes. Darian closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "Sit. Down," he grits his teeth and I scoff.

"What so you can make some more suggestive remarks... I'd rather starve," I say and his eyes snap to mine.

"Fine, if you want to starve then do it," Darian stands and latches his hand around my forearm. "I'll be back in just a moment," he says towards the servants and yanks me with him as he begins to stalk out of the room.

"Get off of me," I spit and try to fight my way out of his grasp. My anger is rising and I can feel something bubbling inside of me that I have never felt before.

I feel the warmth again and my eyes dart towards my palms. The faint glow illuminates my hands - but it is brighter this time. I notice that Darian's darkness begins to grow and move towards me as if it is attracted to the light.

I quickly ball my hands into fists and halt. I can't help the thundering of my heartbeat and the shortness of breath that I feel. Darian stops and turns to glare at me.

"Let's go, you have already caused me enough bother tonight," he spits and I, yet again, try to get out of his hold but to no avail.

"Then why don't you just let me go home, throw me out onto the street for all I care," I struggle to say as I continue trying to get out of his grasp.

"What would be the fun in that darling?" he glances back at me, those red eyes gleaming under the soft moonlight shining through the palace windows.

"Nothing you do seems to be a particular source of amusement," I deadpan and he furrows his eyebrows as if he is pained by my words.

"You wound me," he uses his other hand to hold it over his heart, or where your heart should be, but I find it hard to believe he actually has a heart underneath. My thoughts are that it's nothing but rock and decay.

"You'd like to think I care," I say sweetly and his shadows swarm us again. I've come to learn that, in the very short time that I have known him, when his shadows appear he doesn't seem to be in the best of moods.

Darian opens his mouth as if to say something but closes it again. His hand wraps around my forearm and I don't try to stop him this time as he continues to drag me along the corridor.

Eventually, we reach my room and I am beyond tired. "Thank you for the lovely walk," I say snidely and Darian scoffs.

"Only for the loveliest woman," he mocks me and I roll my eyes. I wave my hand haphazardly at him before turning around and walking towards the balcony - my only reminder that there is civilisation beyond the palace walls.

I look up to the starlit sky and breathe in the night air. I feel Darian's shadows whisper across my feet before they brush against the bare skin of my arms.

"Won't your dinner go cold?" I barely manage to say and I hear Darian chuckle behind me.

"If you can't tell... I'm not one for eating... food," he says as though he finds it hard to explain. I furrow my brows and turn to face him.

"What are you?" I whisper and for once he is the one to look away. I feel myself step closer to him but he steps back - away from me.

"Have you not heard the names your folk have for me?" he laughs but it doesn't sound real. A gust of wind grazes my shoulders and I shiver. The shadows swirl around me again but with them, there seems to come a certain warmth.

As if Darian's shadows were trying to warm me, settling the coldness in my bones.

"Yes... but-" he cuts me off.

"Well, there you go," he shrugs and turns around before walking back into my room.

Descendant from the Devil. Nothing but evil. Worshipper of the man down under. All of the things I have heard people name Darian ring through my mind.

"That doesn't answer my question..." I say as I storm back into my room but trail off when I realise he has disappeared. Away with the wind, away with his shadows.