Into The Flames (Sebastian x Reader)

Price of Vengeance

Later that evening, I saw across from Sebastian in the swaying carriage, the only sound the wheels clattering loudly over the cobblestones, and the driver calling out commands to the horses, as the dark of the night flashed by the windows.

"Are you nervous?"

I glanced up, caught off guard by Sebastian's question, to see the demon watching me shrewdly from where he sat, legs crossed primely in front of him, dark brow raised, as he considered me carefully.

"Why would you think that?" I asked, suddenly defensive, as I shifted in my seat, pulling my overcoat down over the black leggings that adorned my legs.

"You're chewing your lip and tapping your nails on the window." Sebastian pointed out casually, indicating my hand with his head as he did so, which was doing just as he said, nails tapping absentmindedly on the window in an unknown rhythm. "Isn't that a trait of human behavior that signals you are nervous to others of your species?

"No." I bluffed, pulling the offending hand down into my lap and hiding it in the folds of my coat, as I studiously dropped my gaze from his, trying to ignore the slight smirk that crossed his lips at the sudden blush that was coming across my cheeks.

Before I could retort anything else, the carriage came to a stop, and Sebastian glanced out his window, face suddenly serious, lips drawn into a thin line, as he said firmly, "We're here."

He stood, pushing open the door of the carriage for me, as I took a moment to compose myself, taking a deep breath in through my nose and letting it out slowly past my lips, before I stood myself, and bowing my head in thanks to Sebastian, stepped down from the carriage.

I glanced down the darkened lane, hidden behind wrought iron gates as Sebastian stepped up silently beside me, and could just barely make out the glimmering of light through bay windows coming from the house in the distance.

"They've been in London this whole time." I said with frustration, and it wasn't a question, rather a statement of defeat and disappointment in myself.

"You know." Sebastian said quietly, and I glanced sideways at him, as he stood beside me, tall and quiet and straight, staring down the lane at the house that awaited us. "I find it hard to believe that someone as smart and efficient as you, when using your full talents and capabilities, could not locate them." He leaned toward me, his voice dropping to a murmur in my ear, his breath warm as it skimmed my cheekbone, "Was it simply because you did not actually wish to find them?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out, and I slowly closed it again, because he was right.

I had searched for years, my anger and rage boiling in the pit of my stomach, the hatred throbbing in the scars that marred my back, pushing me forward and onward, but somewhere, somehow, deep down, there was a part of me, and Sebastian knew it, that hadn't actually wanted to find them, to face them.

"What has to be done." Sebastian spoke again, his voice low and velvet and soothing, and I glanced down, as he pressed the ornate dagger he had given to me, into the palm of my hand, the metal cool and sharp against my skin, his fingers lingering on mine briefly before he pulled away, crimson eyes glowing back at me from the dark.

I nodded stiffly. "Okay. I'm ready."

We skirted around the gate and walked in silence down the road, the gravel barely crunching beneath our shoes, the sounds of the night-owls and rustling trees and low wind-the only thing that could be heard as we headed in the direction of the house-now glowing brightly with candles in every window, and covered in stately cobblestone that glowed grey and slick in the moonlight.

I rounded the corner of the house, careful to keep out of sight, but stopped in my tracks at the sudden view that lay before me.

Through the large front window of the house, looking into what appeared to be a formal living room, were four figures, settled in various positions on the floor, gathered around a game board-a game I instantly recognized as Parcheezi.

The littlest girl-with pink ribbons flowing down long blonde hair- said something to her father with a large grin, and he laughed, his dark mustache bobbing, as he adjusted his waistcoat before patting her affectionately on the head.

The older girl-darker than her fairer younger sister-seriously rolled the dice across the board, and the mother, who sat beside her, leaned forward to see, her blue gown pooling around her legs, light hair falling across her forehead as a smile lit up her pretty features.

I stood there, watching them, Sebastian silent beside me, for what felt like eternities, but must have only been a few, breathless moments, before he I shook my head, and backing away from the window, I collapsed against the cool stone wall of the house around the corner, suddenly feeling as if I couldn't breathe and my heart was going to pound out of my chest.

"I can't do it." I gasped out, leaning over and planting my hands on my knees to try and ease my breathing, aware that Sebastian, who was watching me blankly, would not understand what I was about to say. "I can't."

Sebastin crouched before me, reaching out carefully to pick up the dagger I had discarded at my feet, and twirling the weapon between his fingers easily for several seconds, his scarlet eyes finally lifted to my face, and when he finally spoke, I was surprised to hear the gentleness in his tone. "(F/N), are you doing this because of the children? Don't spare the wicked simply because they have changed. That doesn't change the hatred, the anger that you feel toward them, the justice that you deserve from them."

I shook my head once more, my gaze meeting his through the darkness, as I struggled to explain in a way that he would understand. "I can't, Sebastian. I've spent my whole life living with the absolute agony that their choices brought to me. My parents deserve to die for what they put me through," I straightened, my weak voice growing more confident as I looked down at the demon at my feet. "But those girls do not deserve to live with the scars and agony my choice will put them through."

Sebastian studied me for another silent moment, and then standing up, he stepped toward me, forcing me back once again against the cold wall, as he leaned forward to slip the dagger back into the sheath against my thigh. "I don't understand your decision." He turned his head to look at me, fuschia flashing brighter in his irises as our eyes met, and he reached up, brushing a loose strand of hair back from my temple as a slight smirk graced his lips, revealing his pointed canines, in only for a second. "However, like I said, you have a strange way of making me want to understand."

"Thank you Sebastian." I breathed out, his fingers dropping from my hairline to trace across my cheekbone and down my jawline, sending shivers across my skin at his touch.

"Intriguing." Sebastian murmured beneath his breath, his eyes once again locking with mine, and for a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me, but he broke contact just as suddenly as he had made it, and stepping back from me, his face growing slightly thoughtful, he said, "And now that I think about it, your parents were just stupid humans, like all the rest, following a twisted and corrupt belief system that they've had pounded into their heads all their lives, ruling over them with an iron fist," The smirk widened on his lips. "And far more dangerous than any demon or devil they've ever feared."

"Sebastian..." I drew out his name, waiting for him to explain what he was talking about.

He grinned at me, teeth flashing white in the darkness, eyes suddenly more bloody than before, if that was possible, and when he spoke, his voice was dark and deadly and dangerous.

"If you can trust me, my lady, I think we can save this night yet." He reached for my hand, our gloved fingers threading together without a second thought as I let him lead me away from the house. "I do believe I've thought of someone far more worthy of your vengeance, and I think you'll agree with me."