Olive Branch

"This is an Angel girl named Maisie Lark. She hasn't ever stepped foot into the 'real world'. Attempting to break the lock is useless and I have the key. I've extended the olive branch. Maisie's your motive. Come find me when you're ready."

Cecilia Star has been alive long enough to know what it's like to be a demon in the human realm, but she's also been alive long enough to cope with her everyday life. But when she wakes up handcuffed to a strange Angel she's never met before, she's thrown for a loop. Cecilia assumes it's all just one big, extremely cruel prank by the twins in order to rile her up and test her limits. After all, Maisie is everything that Cecilia would rather leave behind her, determined, opinionated, and so very clearly wrong. But it doesn't take Cecilia and Maisie long to realize that the handcuff prank is a little more than just a lighthearted joke.

The thing about Demon metal is that it is a fickle thing. It can only be unlocked by the person who has the key and no matter what method is used, it cannot be broken. Cecilia would rather just forget the whole thing, refuse to give Ezekiel the satisfaction he so wants, and remain handcuffed to Maisie for the rest of her life. It doesn't take long to realize that it's just not possible. Maisie is everything that she shouldn't be in the human realm. Bigoted, rude, and annoyingly difficult. She can't even get close to Cecilia without making some sort of remark on how she can't stand Demons.

As the time ticks down and options become less and less, maybe being handcuffed to each other will teach Cecilia and Maisie a thing or two about themselves. Maybe running from the past isn't the right choice and perhaps, maybe even a Demon and Angel could fall in love too.

(Entered in the Open Novella Contest 2022 under prompt 79. "A love so forbidden it was unspeakable. Who ever would have thought an Angel would fall for a Demon?" Copyright Ursula Inc. All Rights Reserved.)