Cora

Back from the Dead

AN: This is the BAD ending. You have been forewarned.

The next few days passed in a sort of blissful interlude before the next blow was bound to come. Cora and Izroul spent time together as he imagined a normal couple would, cuddling in bed and telling each other funny stories. It was quiet and calm and not something Izroul could expect to last in the Demon Realm.

'Though,' he thought to himself, 'I need to be accustomed to the name Damien now.'

Damien was planning the whole time, plotting their escape, and trying to overcome the guilt he felt at the thought of leaving his brothers behind. He knew their lives would not be forfeit if he took Cora and ran; he was hardly important enough for the Demon Lord to subject them to more than a beating, and they had already survived so many of those. It was true that Father would be angry that Izr-Damien and his beautiful pet had slipped out from under his rule, denying the Demon Lord a form of amusement he currently enjoyed.

It would not take long, however, before he'd probably be thankful to be rid of Izroul and though Cora was stunningly beautiful and a challenge to break, in the end, she was still a human. Her worth was limited to the Demon Lord.

Damien was very familiar with contacting their friend in the human world. After all, he WAS the one who sought out the elderly, warlock called Harold the most.

So he arranged for it to happen the following day when it was noon in the Abyssal Plains. Harold would open the portal on his side, funnel enough energy to turn the window-like portal they used to talk into a door instead, and... Damien and Cora would go. Harold asked him if the other boys would be there to see them off and when Damien changed the subject, the old man did not press him for details.

He just couldn't bring himself to tell them. He didn't know if they would be supportive, angry, or try to stop him. This was the first time he had ever put anyone or anything before them in his life, and it felt so... wrong.

Then he would look at her, catch Cora's hair flash ebony in the candlelight or see the affection bloom in her eyes when she saw him, and he would know unequivocally he had to do it. If they hated him, he'd have to bear it. He'd bear anything for her.

He should have known she'd see through his anguish and uncertainty.

Late in the afternoon on the day before they were set to leave, Cora walked towards him with a gentle smile and settled herself on his lap. She stroked his hair just how he liked, soft fingers soothing away his stress and his nerves. He hummed happily and went to kiss her, but she gently pulled back. When he opened his eyes to look at her, she met his gaze with a worried one of her own. He hadn't been listening to anything she was thinking, busy with his own concerns, and now he wondered if he had missed something important.

"You need to tell them," she told him gently.

Damien sighed, rubbing little circles on her hips. "Cora, I-"

She cut him off with a raise of her hand, her eyes demanding he listen. He sighed a bit ruefully but obeyed the silent request.

"If we leave but a part of you despises yourself for 'betraying' your family, we'll never really leave," she told him. "I mean it, Izroul, we have to-"

"Damien," he corrected automatically.

Cora glared at him for the interruption but continued. "As I was saying, if we have to leave, give them a chance to accept it or voice their concerns. They love you; you love them. They deserve that opportunity."

Damien was quiet as he thought it over. She was right, on a certain level, but so was he and he knew his brothers better than she did. It was not an easy decision to make and he closed his eyes as his mind tried once again to sort out all the positive and negative consequences of his choice.