“You are far more alert this time,” an unfamiliar voice spoke quietly into my ear. I turned around but found no other presence in the inky abyss. “You grow stronger by the minute,” the woman continued, still a near whisper. She spoke slowly. “But you are in my domain. King or guardian, you cannot expel me from my territory.”
“Anna is not your territory!” I retorted. My voice sounded odd, echoing like I was in an empty auditorium instead of underwater.
“Oh, but she is,” the voice retorted. Something swam around me in the shadows; I couldn’t see, but I could feel the water rippling from the motion. “Do you know how long I stayed by Jaesing’s side?”
“What are you talking about? You possessed someone else’s body,” I stated firmly.
“That was just a husk, created for my enjoyment,” Nachtine replied, letting a slight chuckle escape to my ear. I swatted an arm out but hit nothing. “A soul inhabiting an empty body becomes a real body. Did you not know that?”
That was incredibly condescending.
“Anna and Astrid are daughters of a god and a demon queen,” Nachtine stated. “As such, they are extensions of my will.” A feline face briefly formed in the water a few feet from me, reminding me of a mirage I’d seen in the clouds while leaving Arlgog’s realm. Her face was different, though.
“Family is not property,” I retorted angrily. An eerie chuckle sounded close to my ear again. “Are you going to hide forever, or face me?” I asked.
“This is my realm, Victor, you do not make the rules,” the nightmare demon casually stated. “Simply keeping you here is enough to destroy you. Of course, that would be such a waste of power. How about we make a deal?”
“Not interested,” I replied firmly.
She continued anyway, “This body isn’t immortal, so I will need a replacement once it grows old. You are powerful. If we ruled as the new King and Queen, you could help me produce a new replacement…”

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