The Cost Of A Risk

"How was it new girl?"

Persephone smiled as the spunky werewolf popped up next to her as she squirted down the last table at Little Shae's with cleaning solution. Her arms were aching from amount of trays filled with drinks and appetizers she had to carry and serve. Even now, as she cleaned up the closed establishment, she had used her arms and hands. Her eyes watched the movement of her wrist and arm as her hand pressed the rag to surface. In a circular motion, the rag toweled off the cleaning solution she sprayed on.

In her old life, she never had to clean. Everything was done for her. It was an odd sense of an accomplishment that she was making it work. That she was doing what the servants would do for her and her appreciation for what they had done for her doubled. Her hand scrunched the soiled rag she was holding and her other hand grabbed the spray bottle.

"It wasn't too bad," she admitted as Harley leaned against the table, eyeing her handiwork with satisfaction.

"I trained you well," Harley told her, winking at her. "You did real good. They tip you well?"

Persephone nodded. She had pocketed the tips she made from customers she served as she cleaned up after them. Most of the customers were really nice and they tipped well. Harley glanced around, realizing she had finished the last tasks for the night.

"Alright, new girl, clock out and head home," she told her with a smile.

Persephone quickly put away the spray bottle and rag before she clocked out for the night. Harley let her out the front and locked it behind her. The moment she found herself on the other side of the door, she couldn't help the smile that crossed her face.

She did it. She made it through.

Excitement burst through her, she had successfully completed her first day of work. She couldn't wait to tell the girls she had survived her first day. Delia's gemstone worked like a charm when she got nervous and she *may* have adopted some of Quincy's advice to show a little skin to get higher tips.

Little Shae's wasn't that far of a walk from her apartment building. It was a five minute walk actually and located on the same road. She made her way down the cobbled road, ignoring the night life folks as they ogled at her while she walked passed them. She kept her head high, her back straight, and her mask in place. Thankfully, nobody bothered her.

There was a series of loud explosions that rocked the city. Startled, Persephone jumped and looked around, wondering what was going on as people became frantic. They were running and screaming in the opposite direction she was heading. As she fought through the crowd to keep going toward her apartment complex, the sight of the once proud building was broken and engulfed in flames.

Vampires were flooding into the destroyed apartment complex. There were so many residents there enduring the same situation as her. All of them rescued by Derrick and his allies and now all of it had gone up in flames.

They destroyed it.

No, she destroyed it. She knew this was her fault. If it hadn't been for her actions, her brother and Caramia would be safe and the apartment complex would still be intact. All those residents would still have a safe haven.

Everything in her bottomed out. What was she supposed to do now? Her safety net was up in flames. She clearly didn't have anywhere to go to now. Her new home and life destroyed.

She hoped Keira and Vivienne had a plan to get everyone out safely. She hoped Delia and Quincy were safe. The amount of vampires flooding the building made her skin crawl. Perhaps, she was a coward. Perhaps, she should storm the building and make certain Delia and Quincy were alright, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

She wasn't a hero. She wasn't cut from that cloth. She could barely save herself from anything. For pity's sake, this was her first day of ever working an actual job! She was born into wealth and grew up in it. This was her first honest day of work. She was by no means equipped to be a hero.

Tears filled her eyes as she quickly followed the others racing away from her apartment building. It was about survival and she wanted to survive, but she started to wonder if she deserved any freedom if it it was at the expense of others.

If she didn't survive, all those that died in the attack, the displaced residents, and Orion and Caramia's disappearance would all be in vain. She should've stayed with Reginald, but it was too late now. How was it fair that so many lives had been destroyed because of her involvement?

It wasn't fair.

None of it was.

And it was all her selfish fault.

~

They had a lot to discuss.

Now that Helios knew Briar wasn’t going to slaughter Derrick, he knew not to get involved further. He quickly left the library and he found his way below to one of the large pools overlooking the bay. Distracted by the natural stars spreading across the sky, he almost didn’t notice he wasn’t alone anymore.

Goosebumps prickled his skin. Even though he was quite certain there were top level security features in place, there were plenty of skilled individuals to counteract them. They were sitting ducks, waiting to be attacked, but they weren’t lambs waiting to be slaughtered either. They were waiting on Reginald to make his move. And he would. Of course, he would. It was the timing of when he’d strike that alluded him to his frustration.

He heard the door squeak open and her addictive scent let him know that she hadn’t retired for the night. A small smile teased his lips. She clearly couldn't stay away from him. She had searched him out.

“Isn’t your best course of action to avoid me?” he asked as he faced the witch walking towards him.

Aurora looked at him in awe for a moment before she swallowed deeply. “We didn’t finish our conversation.”

“No, we didn’t,” he agreed, watching as she ventured closer. He searched her eyes, waiting for her to go on. “Well, go ahead, you tracked me down. What did you wish to tell me?”

He couldn't help but remind her of that truth. It wasn't him confronting her. She had willingly come to him to finish this conversation.

She sighed, walking straight up to him before she joined him and gazed up at the stars. He watched her as she took it all in. He let her have her time to collect herself and her thoughts.

Tonight, they'd go to war with one another. He would fight for her. He would fight for them.

“Derrick told you, didn’t he?” she finally whispered, but her eyes were still on the stars.

“That your sister was Estelle? Yes, he did.”

She nodded her head. “You must understand why this can never happen, right?” With that, her silver eyes met his and he saw her unshed tears. He saw her confusion, pain, and longing. She wanted him. It was crystal clear. “It’s not my decision to make.”

She turned to walk back inside, but he grabbed her arm, preventing her from leaving. Surprised she didn’t struggle against his hold, he still held her in a firm grip afraid she’d somehow escape. She didn't resist him nor did she sink into him for comfort. She just stood still, waiting for him to speak or make his next move.

“It *is* your decision to make,” he told her.

Her silver eyes snapped to his. “I already did. I chose them.”

“I chose you,” he told her and her eyes widened at that. “Which means I also chose the ways of your coven, Aurora, and I’d respect their decision if they disagree upon our union.”

Shocked, her eyes searched his. “You would do that?”

“You’re not Estelle,” he whispered. Tears fell down her cheeks. “And I’m not Magus Finneas Exodus. If your coven doesn’t agree with our union, I’ll let you go. I promise and I’ll drink the elixir without a fight if they don't find me worthy.”

“You-You’d go through the trials?” she gasped in awe. “Even if they don’t agree?”

“You forget my family is allied with your coven,” he pointed out. “I wouldn’t risk my family and their alliances. I would respect their decision regardless for the sake of my family’s legacy.” He reached up and brushed the tears flowing down her cheeks. “I’ll fight for you, but I’ll never destroy you, Aurora. I’m not going to give up on you before we give it a fair chance. Can you understand that?”

She just nodded her head, too overwhelmed by her emotions to speak. He drew her into his embrace and he was grateful that she didn’t fight him on it. He meant every single word. If he was deemed unworthy, he would respect her and her coven. He would let her go, but it would only be under those circumstances not before they gave it a fair chance to see it through.

“But before we get ahead of ourself,” he whispered into her hair. “We should try friendship first, don't you think? Because if that’s all I can ever have, I’d like to know who you truly are inside.”

Her body shivered against him and her arms wound around his body. “Friends? Only friendship?”

He tried not to feel the thrill of excitement firing through him at the appearance of her suppressed dark lusty desires. She wanted more and she didn't even realize that she revealed it to him. Friendship was the only thing he could truly offer without going back on his promises. If he wanted to remain authentic and genuine, there could only be friendship between them, because he wouldn't be able to let her go if he tasted that paradise.

“If we do anything beyond friendship, I won’t be able to keep any of my promises,” he confessed softly to her. She sighed against his chest.

“Okay,” she agreed, easing away from him. Her eyes were sad but hopeful as he searched them. “We can do that. We can get to know each other through friendship.”

Relief flooded through his body. At least there was a chance that this could end favorably, but it could end terribly too. It could all end in shattered hearts and shattered dreams. He would take the chance, because if there was a possiblity that he could be with her at the end of it all, he would always take that risk.

She would always be worth the risk.