Caged by Damnation (Caged #2)(2)

SAVANNAH


I awoke after a restless night, faced with memories that were the embodiment of personal demons. Living with Ash had grown difficult and I wasn't anxious to leave my room to face him. I couldn’t distinguish the line between where he began and Asmodeus had left off. Had my attraction been entirely for Asmodeus? The more I thought about the concept, the more confused I became.

Asmodeus had possessed Liam and Ash, but my attraction had been more intense with Ash. I also had difficulty explaining some of the experiences. I couldn’t imagine why Asmodeus would bring me to a place of Divine Energy.

After my ascension, I was finally able to cross the threshold into the Divine, a place of beauty and magic that coexisted with our world. Only those few who knew of its existence could cross into it. Witchlings attained the ability to cross over the threshold once they had undergone their ascension.

I’d experienced the most romantic and carefree night of my life with Ash in the Divine. For that one night, I was able to forget my past, present, and future. I couldn't stand knowing that those moments were spent with someone who’d been planning a massacre of all my loved ones. Sometimes, I wondered if Ash had been in control that night.

I had spent the past few months immersing myself in books about demons and angels. Most of the experts agreed that a demon could possess a person, but their possession was merely an influence. They could enhance urges and make it nearly impossible not to succumb to them. Did that mean Ash already had those feelings for me? Why did I respond to his kisses differently from Liam’s? I couldn’t help but wonder if Asmodeus had awakened buried emotions, but I wasn’t certain if I wanted to face them.

My stomach protested my intentional isolation, as I stumbled downstairs to the kitchen. Smack in the middle of the room were the very reasons I secluded myself. Ash and Liam were standing by the counter, laughing. They grew silent, and the tension was palpable. Somewhere between kicking Asmodeus's ass and discovering they had been possessed by a demon, they’d become friends.

“Sorry, I just came to get something to eat.” I shuffled my feet, trying to avoid their gazes.

“Hey, no problem. I was just about to leave.” Liam nodded his head at Ash before exiting the kitchen.

His shoulder brushed mine and I nearly jumped from my skin. The pitying gaze Liam left lingered in my mind. Pity was the kind of emotion that made me feel naked, as if everyone could hear my inner thoughts and feelings. I felt as though my soul had been left out on the counter to defrost, when it should have been safely locked away.

I looked at Ash. He leaned back against the counter and regarded me with dark eyes.

“I didn’t mean to make him leave.”

Ash's gaze fixated on my lower lip while I spoke. He cleared his throat, shrugged, and looked away. “He just knows you feel weird around him now.” Opening the fridge, he pulled out a bowl of fruit. “Here…” he took the Saran Wrap off the bowl and handed it to me. “I cut this up for you earlier.”

My hand wrapped around the bowl and my fingers brushed his. We both stood still, staring at our fingertips. Ash blinked, his eyes slid from our fingertips to my face, and he held my gaze before shaking his head. He didn’t say a word when he left, and it killed me. Asmodeus had done some horrible things during his war on my life, but the worst part was that he had taken Ash from me. I heard the door slam shut and knew that Ash was slamming more than just the door behind him.

It was getting late and I’d promised Izzy and Willow I would meet them at the shack in the forest. After eating some of the fruit, I ran to the woods to absolve myself of my clothing. It was a relief to seek solace in the form of a panther, but entirely awkward the few moments before and after I shapeshifted. As a panther, I didn't worry over my nudity, but in human form, I was embarrassed by it. Kit's shape liberated me from the rest of the world, allowing me to forget my life and run to the ends of the world.

I still held some strong negative feelings towards Liam's mother, but it was difficult to actually hate her. She had given me Kit, a spirit animal whose soul had merged with mine. I never had to feel alone, because he was with me. Sometimes he lingered in my mind, brushing at the edges of my consciousness, soothing my pain away. Other times he would take a more aggressive approach, leaving my body, but he was still linked to me. Our entwined spirits gave each of us a part of life we couldn't have had before. Kit had been given a second chance, while I received companionship, unconditional love, and the ability to shapeshift into a black panther.

It was a gift to leave behind my old body and submerge myself in Kit's essence. Each shifting contributed something new, the scent of an animal marking its territory, the howl of wolves in the distance.

As I sprinted towards the shed, my paws were smooth against the ground. I lengthened my stride, quickening my pace, feeling that I could outrun my demons. My senses heightened, the world around me took on varied shades of black, white, gray, and blue. The living aspects of the forest gave off a peculiar aura. I often wondered if ordinary panthers saw the world the way I did.

When I shifted back to my natural state, I grabbed the bag of clothes I kept hanging from a nearby tree, and put them on. I was reluctant to enter the shack because we were meeting to discuss the upcoming deadline with Death. Entering the shack, I found Izzy and Willow inside.

“Hey, how long have you guys been waiting?” I looked between my two friends.