Astasha had left the King's quarters with her mind going out of control. She had never studied blood magic, nor knew much about it, but she had little more than a day and a night to learn how to use it to save the Prince.
It had been very much insinuated that should she get caught, there was nothing the King could do, but he had done all he could to help her by informing Errant that Astasha was to be left to recover and a replacement fire witch brought in before he would allow the ritual to move forward. The girl was far too traumatized he had insisted to Errant, and while she knew the High Sorcerer didn't believe it, he could not go against the King.
Astasha had quickly and quietly made her way to the magic study, where every piece of writing about magic was held. She had torn through every possible book and page that could be of help and had found a few things that she felt may shed some light on her predicament.
Back in her room, she poured over the pages, coming to a couple of conclusions. The demon had wanted her to release him, so obviously that was out of the question. She had found a binding ritual that was usually used to keep herds from wandering too far or loved ones from running away but found a way to alter it. Then she had found a silencing ritual. If she could subdue the demon and bind it, that could buy them more time to find a way to destroy it without hurting Calder.
Everything she had read about blood magic however was clear in one thing, it required a monumental amount of energy to achieve. The full moon would be the best source to pull from but that wasn't for another ten days and she didn't have that kind of time.
The demon's words came to her. "I can show you how to pull power from parts of yourself you've never dreamed of."
The sun would be up soon which meant she would have limited time to do what she needed to do. A plan formed in her head and she found herself slipping through the palace heading towards the Prince's quarters. It was a crazy plan, but then again, everything about this was crazy.
Glancing around the corner into the hallway of Calder's room, her fears were confirmed. A slew of guards now stood watch and Errant had doubled Astasha's enforcement on the door, a force field of energy so powerful no man could enter it. But she had used her fire to pull energy and with a quick mutter of words and wave of her hand, the guards fell one by one into a deep slumber where they stood.
Cloaking herself in a spell that made her invisible to magical barriers she approached the door and much to her surprise, stepped through the energy field and opened it. Taking a deep breath she entered the room and closed the door behind her.
She sensed him before she saw him. Laying on the bed in naught but a pair of pants was the Prince, the demon's smirk on his face. "She returns." He said.
Astasha pulled her eyes away from his bare chest and forced herself to look into those cold dead eyes. "I have."
The demon swiftly rose from the bed. "You've been thinking about my proposal then?" He approached her and she wished she'd gotten further from the door so her back wasn't to it.
"If I were to release you, what guarantee can you make that Calder will be ok and you will leave us in peace?"
He was in front of her now, looking at her with his head cocked to one side. "You desire a demon's word?" He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Have you not heard we are not to be trusted?"
She shuddered but remained strong. "Then I cannot release you."
The demon stood up straight. "There is one thing, a demon's pact. An agreement sealed in the Magic's of old that cannot be broken. You give me something and I give something in return. Should either fail to hold up their end of the bargain, the magic shall take from them that which they bargained against."
"So I would lose the prince and you, your freedom?"
The demon nodded.
She knew it was risky but she had to try. "Very well."
The demon smiled a wide wicked smile. "Wonderful." He took each of her hands, crossing her arms across her chest, and leaned in. "Whisper in my ear our agreement and I shall do the same."
"And then it is done?"
"Then we seal it with a kiss."
She shuddered again but grit her teeth. This was all for him, for the man she loved. "Fine."
She was about to lean forward but the prince's face contorted, his eyes closing, his breathing ragged. Suddenly, his eyes shot open and Astasha gasped. They were crystal blue and pleading. "Tasha, don't! Don't do this! Please!"
"Cal?" She could have wept. He had clawed his way to the surface to try to stop her.
His hands took her face in them. "Please, I can't let you do this. Let him have me, don't risk yourself, I love you too much to let you do this!"
Her heart was breaking. Reaching her hand up she brushed his hair away from his face and touched his cheek. "Please Cal, trust me. I won't let anything happen—"
She wanted to tell him she loved him, to tell him what her plan was, to comfort him, to kiss him, but his face contorted again and within a second the cold dead eyes were back and she pulled her hand away from his face. The demon shook off the encounter and chuckled. "Well well, he truly does love you doesn't he?"
"Enough. Do we have a deal?" Hearing Calder truly for the first time had given her the strength she needed to go through with her plan. She needed him back, and there wasn't anything she wouldn't do to accomplish that.
The demon took her hands and crossed them over her chest again. "And you truly love him. Clearly, if you're still willing to make a deal with a demon despite your lover's pleads you are feistier than I thought. I agree to your terms, Tasha."
The sting of him using her name like that solidified her heart and she pulled him to her.
She felt their arms entangled against her chest as his mouth came to her ear. She turned her head to whisper into his and felt a warmth spread from their hands, reaching toward her mouth. As she spoke she felt a power roll off her tongue. "I shall release you from the prince in exchange for his safety and our peace."
The demon whispered his promise back and she felt warmth spread from his mouth into her ear. She felt flushed, and a moment later she realized she was kissing him with a passion and fierceness she hadn't experienced before.
Breaking away she felt the warmth dissipate, leaving only a slight blush in her cheeks and her breath ragged. There was no turning back now.