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He raised his head from her shoulder and met her eyes. There were cold, but it was a start. She was looking at him, that was all that mattered for now.

“Pen”, Azriel reached a hand to her face, but she was quick to back away two steps.

“Tell me what happened to her,” she demanded.

“I did nothing wrong to her.”

“What happened to her?”

“She is fine.”

“What happened to her?”

Azriel rubbed a hand down his face, and straddled his waist with his hands.

.....

“You ruined her”, Pen’s face crumbled with the onset of tears. “I know you aren’t telling me something and you ruined her…”

“…she agreed to be a demon too, like I told you…”

“…and I said she was the only one I had closest to a family!” Penelope cried, the tears coming in full force now. She held her face and sobbed, and Azriel could feel something break inside him. He put his hands around her to console her, but she was quick to move away.

“Don’t touch me!” She screeched. “Don’t ever touch me! Just give me back my friend!”

“Pen!”

“I want to go to the castle now”, Penelope wiped her hands down her gown. “Take me to her. I can try to talk to her again. Did she forget me?” Penelope muttered to herself. “No, no, she said she didn’t. I only need to see her again.”

“It’s late, Pen.”

“No, I have to go now. Please, I haven’t been able to sleep!”

“Pen…”

“Please”, she sobbed and came closer to him. “Please, my Lord.”

She wasn’t herself, and Azriel could see the signs of sleeplessness on her; dark circles surrounding drooping eyelids, and the drop in her weight, all of which he hadn’t noticed before. She was torturing herself, and blaming him, over and over again.

Azriel held her in his arms, and she sagged her weight against him. He thought about Neera, the new disposition to her, and wondered if it was in the same manner that he would lose Penelope.

….

When Zavian stepped into Neera’s chambers, he walked in with the hope of seeing that smile of hers brighten the space. He wanted her to come over to him and put her arms around him like she always did, and talk to him, or share a companionable silence, just the usual small things.

But when he walked in, she lowered her hands from her hair, and whipped her head to look at him, eyebrows lowering and pinching together.

“It’s the love-struck King”, she sounded dejected, “again.”

Zavian stopped at the doorstep. “Did you cut your hair?”

“Only gave it a trim”, Neera replied, snipping the scissors to the sharp angles of her pixie cut.

Zavian stared at the tresses on the floor around her. The hair he loved, the way it clouded her face like a sweet embrace, was all gone. Now, Neera was giving her shoulders a dust as she smiled at the short hair in the mirror. It gave her a bold edge, highlighting every feature of her face.

“Why?” Zavian asked.

“Why keep it long?” Neera replied.

Behind him, Anna stepped into the room. Neera froze and eyed the witch through the reflection.

Anna smiled. “It’s good to see you alive and well, Neera.”

“I should get used to people entering without permission now, shouldn’t I?” Neera scowled at the King.

“The witches and I brought you back from the dead, are you aware of that?” Anna asked.

“So what do you want in return? Money? Gold? Power? The King can give you all of that”, Neera said.

Zavian looked at Anna, expecting a gaping mouth at Neera’s rudeness. However, the witch gave off no surprise at Neera’s reaction, and Anna crossed the room to her. Neera paused in styling her hair and waited.

“I know who you are”, Anna said.

Neera’s lips twisted in a snarl. “You just mentioned my name, didn’t you?”

But Anna could sense the foreign energy hanging in the air. It was something otherworldly and strange, and Anna couldn’t tell what it was. Neera was staring her down, a challenge, a dare to keep going. Anna kept her ground.

“What happened when you were dead, Neera?” Anna asked.

“I could send you there to find out for yourself”, Neera shot to her feet.

“Neera!” Zavian stopped her, but Neera’s eyes glowered a bright red, and her fangs were out. It was strange thing seeing her lose her temper, and with the obvious signs of her now being a demon.

“Who did you meet?” Anna continued, unperturbed.

“And why do you want to know?” Neera stalked up to the witch. “Your mother said I was a part of some evil prophecy, holding it over my head like I was a sacrifice meant to be slaughtered. Now she is dead, you want to continue from where she stopped, is that it?”

The red in Neera’s eyes dissipated, and she looked at Zavian.

“Why did you bring her here?”

“I am worried about you, Neera. You are…”, Zavian paused. “...different. And I am trying to understand why.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have bothered bringing me back”, she hissed at him.

Zavian’s anger gurgled with a start. “Don’t say that.”

“Well then, I am tired of being the same gullible human I was. Being a demon only opened my eyes”, Neera said. “Now, if this witch won’t leave my chambers for me, then I will leave it for you both.”

“There’s no need”, Anna said. She took her exit, and Zavian was behind her, closing the door to Neera’s chambers behind him.

“Something happened when she got there”, Anna stated. “I just don’t know what it is.”

“She calls it a reawakening”, Zavian said. “I just think she needs some time to come to terms with her returning to us. I think it took a toll on her.”