The Demon Prince's Possession

Allegra

I woke on top of a rock-hard surface, which was surprisingly comfortable. I opened my heavy eyes and realised I was still lying on Cerberus.

I didn’t want to move, but my stomach released a low growl, indicating my need for breakfast; or lunch based on the level of the sun.

I slowly pulled away from Cerberus. I nearly reached the end of the bed when two burly arms reached for me and yanked me backwards.

His head nestled in the crook of my neck from behind, “Where do you think you’re going?”

I trembled at his deep, sultry voice, feeling my core tingle with excitement from the events of last night.

“I..” I couldn’t finish my plea as I hissed in pain and gripped my upper arm where my new mark was.

Cerberus pulled back and swivelled me around so I was facing him. His eyes filled with worry as if he thought he had hurt me, but once he noticed my hand, he slowly peeled it away.

“Can I?” he asked, hinting at my arm warmer.

I nodded.

As he peeled it down, his eyes widened in bewilderment.

“It started showing after I passed out yesterday. I don’t know what it means; maybe it has something to do with the curse placed on my memories.”

Cerberus began tracing his finger along the intricate details of the blue lines, but the slow-burning sensation suddenly grew exponentially.

My eyes hazed over until all I saw was white.

I could feel Cerberus holding me as I slowly tumbled to the side. I was still awake but could see random images flashing before me. It was like watching a series of images slowly coming together to form a complete puzzle.

But there was one image that stood out in particular.

A woman.

I saw her in almost every memory that flashed before me.

A woman with lengthy black tresses, dark eyes as deep as a moonless night and the most comforting smile I had ever witnessed.

The woman who was with Grace yesterday before I collapsed to the ground.

Who was she?

Then I realised…

She was my mother…

Once I came too, I was cradled in Cerberus’ arms, his eyes a mixture of worry and fear.

I was about to speak when my arm erupted in unspeakable agony. Cerberus and I watched as my mark grew until it finally stopped. I don’t know how, but I knew it was complete.

“What just happened, Allegra?”

“I think my curse is broken…”

Grace

“Do you think Allegra’s memories will come back?” I asked Damien.

I was still a little apprehensive, but there had been no signs of her recovering her lost memories yet. And if they did, Viora said it would take some time before the curse is activated.

“Viora will find something. You were right in the decision you made. Allegra is helping Cerberus; she may be the only one who can help him.”

I wrapped my arms around his waist and tilted my head upwards to gaze into his eyes.

I lifted myself a little to plant a kiss on Damien’s lips just as Cerberus walked in.

I turned to face him; he had a look of relief on his face.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, untangling myself from Damien’s arms.

“Allegra’s getting her memories back,” he smiled brightly.

“What?” my face fell as an icy pit spread in my stomach.

“Grace, get Viora,” Damien demanded.

“This is a good thing,” Cerberus spoke, confounded.

I held my son’s hands tightly, “There is something you should know.”

I sat Cerberus down and told him everything Viora had told us.

He was speechless by the time we were done.

“She’s going to try to kill me?” he said, standing abruptly from his seat.

“I will call Viora; she may have something to stop the curse from re-activating.”

Cerberus took a step backwards, his eyes flickering between a majestic gold and an obsidian black.

“Cerberus,” I called out to him, but he was in the midst of an internal battle between his Demon, urging to come out to protect him, and his Angel, willing to fight to prevent it.

Cerberus

Allegra was cursed to kill me over a thousand years ago.

She was a Seer, but not just any Seer, the daughter of Viora Levine, the most powerful Seer to have ever lived, and her daughter was all the more dangerous.

My Demon wanted to fight, protect me against the potential dangers, and eliminate the threat before it could kill us. But my Angel wanted to fight to protect Allegra, to help her and save her from this fate. My Demon struggled to decide whether to end her or rescue her from this curse.

I could feel both parts of me fighting an internal conflict.

I didn’t know what to do.

I don’t know how to control it.

So, I focused on the one person who had always been able to soothe me...

Allegra.

No matter what I was told, I knew who Allegra truly was and how I felt about her did not change knowing what I do now.

I focused on the moments we shared, the ones where she pulled me back to sanity and others where we shared things I had never experienced with anyone else before.

Allegra was my light in a dark place.

I told her things no one else knew other than my parents.

I trusted her, and I couldn’t just turn my back on her when she needed me most.

I wanted to fight for her; I wanted to take dominance over my own body and soul. I was tired of my split halves battling dominance over me.

I was the one in charge.

I was the one who decided what part of me I wanted to prevail.

Not them.

Then, like a switch, it all went silent.

My mind opened as though the foggy mist had finally cleared.

I felt my two souls combine into one; something deep within finally locked into place.

I was whole; my two sides were finally equal, with neither more dominant than the other.

I accepted my Demonic and Angelic parts; I had to in order to finally become my true self.

I hadn’t realised it before; I was too scared to accept my Demon, but now that I had, I was no longer afraid of him because I knew I had the power to control him. He was part of me; I was in control, not him.

I slowly opened my eyes.

My parents surrounded me with mixed expressions. My mother released a waited breath and smiled as tears glossed her eyes.

I cast a glance at myself in the mirror, and that’s when I knew I was finally free.

My eyes had changed into a permanent state of black obsidian, now outlined in a luminous gold. My two halves had finally united after 20 years of internal struggle.

I faced my parents, “We need to find Allegra before it’s too late.”

Allegra

Cerberus made me a relaxing bath, which I happily accepted, filled with the pleasant scents of Lavender and Rose. I couldn’t have been happier, finally knowing my curse had been lifted. It was only a matter of time before my lost memories finally settled into its rightful place.

I don’t know how long I was in here, but I knew it was time to get out once my hands and feet started to wrinkle.

I reluctantly stood from the bath and wrapped myself in a white towel, leaving the warm blanket of water behind.

Once completely dry, I picked up the chic, tight-fitting black dress I had bought with me before my bath. The dress had a turtleneck neckline that elegantly covered my neck and a sleeveless design that perfectly showcased my new, elegant blue mark on my upper arm.

I made my way over to the mirror, letting my hair fall down my back. I made sure to tie it in a messy bun before getting in the bath to stop it from getting wet.

As I let the last strand fall, I caught a man in the distance of the mirror.

I frantically turned around, but I was alone in the bathroom.

I turned back around, confused as to what I was seeing.

Looking closer, it was a man with dull honey-blonde hair and a greying, unkempt beard. His torn clothes and red, puffy eyes stared at me with green eyes that showed no sign of emotion.

I stepped closer; maybe this was another memory I was seeing?

Then, I saw someone else standing before him with a look of utter terror. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she released a depleted scream.

It was me…

The man…

I knew him…

“Father!” my mirror self cried.

Father!

That was my father?

What was he doing?

My questions went unanswered as the scene continued to play. I was utterly helpless; all I could do was witness the events unfold before me.

The more I watched, the more my mind began to open.

I remember my father casting a curse on me.

I winced at the memory of him slitting his own throat.

My mother…

She took me somewhere…

A cliff overlooking the landscape. It was just outside a small cave, which I realised was where Cerberus had found me.

Then, before my eyes, I witnessed my limbs slowly turn to stone.

My mother locked me away, preventing me from completing the task my father had forced upon me.

To kill the half-breed.

I gasped in horror, almost falling as I stumbled away from the mirror.

I remember everything…

I went to call for Cerberus; I wanted… no, I needed him.

I went to reach for the handle, but a voice made me freeze. My hand hovered over the handle as my blood ran icy, chills slithered down my body, and my stomach twisted in anguish.

A voice I now recognise as my father’s.

But not the way I remember it.

It was cold, emotionless, and dark; full of nothing but evil intent.

The whispered word confirmed my wish to know the whole truth had finally been granted.

“Katára,” translated to curse in my ancient tongue.

It was a word that I now knew to be the final piece needed to activate the curse.

I crumbled to the floor as my mark began to burn a scolding magma. The blue mark, gifted to me as a curse by my own father, glowed brighter and emitted wisps of blue, painless flames.

Thoughts began to plague my mind, infecting me with devilish intent. Unspeakable thoughts and images swirled like a never-ending whirlpool.

My limbs acted like they weren’t their own as I stood from the floor and peered into the mirror’s reflection.

My dark blue eyes whirled with a black mist until, eventually, the eyes staring back at me were not my own but something much more sinister.

My own voice was being controlled by a darker force as I tried to call for help, but my lips refused to move, regardless of how hard I tried.

Until eventually, a torrid, uncontainable rage surfaced from deep within. A rage that willed me to spill distasteful blood.

I couldn’t control it: my hatred, my anger, my curse.

The last image I saw was my father, staring back at me in the mirror with a twisted, satisfied grin on his face before I left the bathroom, hell-bent on slaying the being that was never supposed to exist.

This being was a threatening force, uncontrollable by nature and unpredictable by existence.

A being that should never have breached this world of its existence.

Half Angel and half Demon.

Cerberus Crow.