What was he thinking!? Astasha couldn't believe the Prince had had the nerve to request her presence in his private chambers. Of course, this wasn't entirely unusual, it was actually quite common for members of the magic advisory to attend to the royals in their rooms, but mainly when they were truly ill or needed something cleansed. This was quite unorthodox and with Cordelia possibly knowing their secret, could be disastrous. But no one refused a royal request and luckily the servants were sworn to keep all goings-on in the castle behind tight lips and sworn oaths.
Astasha quickly changed into a slightly less revealing gown of black and gold and followed the young servant through the palace to the royal quarters. Her runes (although she knew a reading was probably not the honest reason she had been called) clicked against her thigh as they walked.
They reached a set of vast doors with guards stationed on either side. They bowed to her and knocked. After a moment, the doors opened, and there stood Calder, his formal attire gone and replaced with a simple shirt, the laces lose at the top, and a pair of pants. He spotted Astasha who bowed ever so slightly to him.
"Your highness, you called for me?"
"Yes, thank you for coming so quickly." He turned to the servant. "Thank you. That will be all." Looking to his guards he moved out of the way for Astasha to enter the room. "Please see that we are not disturbed."
Astasha took a deep breath. That wasn't a good sign. She tried to read his energy as she entered his chambers but he was shockingly calm. The large doors closed behind them, sealing all sound and energy in with them.
The Prince's quarters were massive, with a large seating area, a study, an entirely separate area for bathing and dressing, and a large bed set in the back. She had only ever been in here to perform a cleanse once a month, but never with the Prince there, and never with him standing so close to her.
He had come up behind her as she had looked over the room and his hand slid around her waist. She closed her eyes as she felt his breath on her ear.
"I'm sorry." was all he said. He gently kissed her neck and her focus began to waiver.
"Cal..." she whispered back. It was the first time she had spoken her nickname for him in five years.
"I missed you. I need you, Tasha." His fingers brushed her hair away from her back, tracing down it to the laces that held her gown. She could feel him pressed against her, his other hand still around her waist, holding her to him. His mouth moved over her neck, up to her ear. "I want you." He whispered into it.
Despite her soft moan and her body's quick response to his actions, something didn't feel right. "Wait." The word was barely a breath leaving her lips and his hands moved up her body, gently pulling at the straps of her dress.
A small growl escaped the Prince's throat, sending chills down Astasha's spine and she inhaled sharply.
"Wait!" She forced herself away from him, spinning to face him, her guard up, pulling all her energy into a defensive shield. That growl, there was something dark and sinister behind it. She could sense that it hadn't come from Calder, from her prince. It was something else.
She immediately looked to his eyes, and once again, she saw that cold stare looking back.
"You are not Cal. What are you? What happened to my prince?"
A sneer crept over the young man's face, his eyes colder than ice. "Very perceptive my little witch. You are more powerful than you appear." It was Calder's voice only distorted, twisted in some sinister way. To any normal person the Prince stood before her, but Astasha's skills told her it was not truly him. He took a step towards her but she pushed back with her energy field and he stopped. "Don't worry, he's still in here, just, not in control at the moment."
The blood left Astasha's face. She knew what this was. She had heard it was possible but had never witnessed it. The presence she had felt at the Lands of the Dead, the dark and evil energy. "Demon." She spat.
The sneer widened on his face. "Very good indeed."
Everything in Astasha's mind was going haywire. She had read about this but never experienced it. A person who died and came back could carry with them an entity from the other side, a creature of evil who could share their body, or if strong enough, take it over completely. All of the magic she had studied, nothing had prepared her to come face to face with one. "Where is Calder?" She needed to know her love was still in there, still alive.
The demon leisurely paced around her. "He's here. Although I must admit, he's become quite feisty ever since laying eyes on you. I just couldn't help myself, I had to know more about you, feel your power for myself. His memories of you are quite... tantalizing." He looked up at her and licked his lips.
Astasha shivered. Demons were power-hungry and cunning. "The disturbance I felt, during the ritual..."
"Yes, I'll admit, I must have gotten a little sloppy in my manipulation of events. You see, your precious prince died facing his last trial, but something, undoubtedly his love of you, brought him back, but not before I hopped on board this perfect specimen."
Heart pounding, Astasha was reeling, this was all... too much. "Why did you follow me into the hallway? And the forest? You could have gotten away with it if you hadn't gone chasing after me."
The demon's eyes turned to her. "As I said my dear, I needed to taste your power for myself. You brought this human back from the dead without even knowing it, some, residuals, of your more, physical exchanges I might guess, lingered with him for years. Energy cannot be destroyed, it only transfers, and yours was such that it defied even death. I may have gotten overzealous in the woods, however. I just couldn't help myself, it was, intoxicating, tasting the power that flows in your veins. But you easily saw my true form. No normal human could have done that, and very few sorcerers at that."
There had been nothing in Astasha's life to make her think her powers were anything greater than the norm. The demon could be toying with her. That was what they did. "Let me speak with Calder."
"I'm afraid I can't do that my sweet."
"Please, I need to know he's alright."
"So long as you don't do anything stupid he remains intact. Remember my dear, anything you do to hurt me hurts him as well. So I think there is nothing that you can do if I don't comply."
He was right. There was nothing she could do. But she knew she needed to get to Errant, he would know. She realized, however, this demon wasn't going to let her just walk out of there. "What do you want from me?"
The demon stopped his sauntering and stood before her, as close as her shield would allow. "Ah, the question you should be asking my precious, is what do you want for yourself? Obviously, no one has told you of the power you so clearly possess. They fear it, wish to suppress it. But with it, you could have anything you desire. Imagine, you could rule this kingdom, all of them. I can show you how to unleash it, how to pull power from parts of yourself you've never dreamed." The demon took a step towards her and suddenly she realized, the shield she had put up hadn't actually been stopping him at all.
She took a step back. "I do not want that."
He kept moving towards her. "To be with your love then? Unhindered? No one would be able to stop you."
Her back hit something hard and she suddenly realized he had backed her against a wall. All of her training, all of her focus, and this demon had cornered her nonetheless.
He reached her, his hand caressing her face, his own leaning in towards her, whispering in her ear. "I can show you how to release your dear Cal, to set me free, and to have whatever your heart desires."
Images danced in Astasha's mind, of her and Calder, happy, together, a family, a life without responsibility or fear. For a moment, her heart longed for what she saw. But she knew better, the demon was toying with her. She had to act fast, to escape. She turned her eyes up to him, putting on a face she hoped was convincing. "You can give me that?"
The demon smiled, his fingers tipping her chin up towards him. "All of it and more."
For a moment his lips came closer to hers, seducing her, luring her into that sweet surrender. But she gathered all the strength she could and prepared herself. She could feel the electricity in her fingertips as she looked deeply into those cold dead eyes. "Never."
The blast that emitted from her fingers threw the demon and her prince across the room and she fled, reaching the door and flinging it open. Pulling it slammed with her magic she ignited a fire that burned gold in front of the doors but did not burn.
Startled, the guards yelled and jumped back. Astasha turned to them both. "Whatever happens do not let the Prince past these flames! He is not well! This I command you!"
And she rushed down the hall as fast as she could, using the last of her energy to send out a mental call to Errant, hoping it was strong enough to reach him.