My Demon, My Love...: Changes of Heart ***SNEAK PEEK***

Impossible to Deny

The guard had hoisted Azlyn over his shoulder and carried her down the long, winding stairwell that led to the dungeon. He carried her to a private, secured cell with a heavy metal door. He tossed her inside onto the cold, concrete floor. The guard slammed the door shut and shut out the lights. Moments later, Azlyn could hear the metal grinding as the locks slid into place. She jumped up, rushing to the tiny window in the door, attempting to look out into the hallway. She watched as the guard walked away, laughing to himself.

Azlyn had never seen this room before, it was different from the last cell she had occupied during her prior stay in these very dungeons. She groped around the room, the light through the window in the door, barely enough to make out the outlines of shapes in the room with her. It was a simple, bare, concrete cell. In one far corner sat an old toilet that's cleaning had been neglected for far too long. Otherwise, the room was empty. 

Azlyn crawled into the far corner, opposite the disgusting toilet and curled into a little ball. She knew that she would be left there to rot until Reve decided how and when to finish her off. Azlyn could not believe that she had done this; she desperately wished that she had listened to the warnings of the others. She should not have counted on Reve. She should have gone to Umay and Kane or allowed Dalair to assist her, as he and Penelope had argued that she should.

"...Hunter..."

The thought of her defenseless daughter made Azlyn's heart ache. She had failed Hunter in the worst possible way and, now, she would never see her again. Now there was no one that would come to Hunter's rescue. She would die knowing that her daughter was still out there, suffering some unknown and terrible fate. All because she had made the mistake of placing her faith in the wrong demon. Because he clearly no longer cared about her; he did not give a damn about either of them. He had found himself a new distraction now...Emilie, apparently. 

Whomever this Emilie was, Azlyn hoped that she knew that she was destroying, what once could have been, a very happy family. She also hoped that she knew the risks of what she was doing falling for a demon like Reve. She could easily end up in Azlyn's place one day. Reve was so smooth and so skilled at convincing you of the sincerity of his feelings. But apparently his intentions were more fickle than they seemed. Azlyn wondered how long Reve had waited after she was gone before finding a new plaything. She chastised herself for her loyalty to him. She was angry at how much she allowed herself to love him. She had let him into her heart when she should have known better. How could she have been so foolish?

Azlyn pulled out the pictures that she had kept of Hunter. She was grateful that she had slipped them into her pocket instead of into her bag. Who knew where her bag was now. Her belongings were probably being divvied up by the demon servants or guards at that very moment. Thankfully, she had her pictures; they were the most important things that she had brought. She would keep them with her until it was close to her death, then she would destroy them. No one else would ever know about Hunter. Azlyn could only hope now that Dalair would find out that something was wrong and come to Hunter's aid. Maybe somehow Kane would get word of the situation and could find some way to save her. Azlyn prayed with every fiber of her being that somehow, someway Hunter would find her way back into friendly, loving hands.

Tears began streaming down Azlyn's cheeks; she bid them to stop, but they paid no heed. Her breathing became labored, her chest heaved, and her body started to shake. She sobbed harder and wailed, loudly, into the darkness. She clutched Hunter's picture, tightly, to her chest.

"I...am...so-sorry...Hun-Hunter! I...l-let you d-down! I let u-us...all...all d-down! I...am...so...so-sorry! Please...so-someone....sa-save her! Please!"