Hello!

I'm happy to announce that this is officially the 10th chapter of A Demon's Mate! Not counting author's notes, of course.

I'd like to thank any of you returning readers, who've come back even after such a long break (seriously, I was stumped for the longest time and then I just got lazy). But I also really appreciate any new readers.

Finally, I'd like to seriously thank ALL of you who provided ideas when I needed help a few months ago. All your ideas were amazing- I really wish I could use more than just a few. Maybe I'll find a way to work in other ideas in later chapters... who knows?

This chapter and the few following it use (slightly modified) ideas from:

- Redhead Nerdette

- Esmereilda

- Two-Sides-Of-The-Same-Coin-360

- ObakeAri


All was dark when Celeste first heard it. It was a sound she'd recognize anywhere...the flapping of wings. Soon her other senses came to life... first she felt the air rushing around her face, then she smelled... rain, she believed. Finally, one after another, stars winked into sight. But they weren't the stars she knew... they were much brighter, and possessed varying hues. Blues, purples, pinks, reds... all the colors of the rainbow. The ground, far below, was nothing more than a rolling mass of black, too far away for any details to become clear. Celeste realized she was flying- no, more like soaring. As always, she reveled in the experience, loving the powerful beats of her wings, the freedom of the flight. She focused her gaze on the biggest and brightest star in the sky- a sea-green one, an exact match to the color of her eyes. Caught up in the sensations flooding her, she flapped faster and faster, harder and harder, swooping and gliding, pulling herself closer and closer to the star.

But she began to notice something troubling. The star, which had once burned with such intensity, was... fading? The thought solidified in her mind and she began to notice it more and more- the glow was dimming. She looked at the other stars, wondering if they, too, were diminishing their lights. She was relieved to see that they weren't. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something black and spidery creeping up between the glimmering lights.

She turned her head to the right and gasped. The crawling, inky darkness was enveloping every star it encountered, slowly but surely darkening the night. Turning to the left, she was horrified to see the same thing happening to the other stars. The sea-green star, dimming steadily, was being surrounded by the blackness, cornered in the dark. Celeste flapped faster and harder, determined to reach the star before it was swallowed. Why, exactly, she didn't know, but something within her made her afraid to be in the dark. She had to get to the-

But then something caught hold of her and refused to let go. It gripped the end of her right wing and yanked her backwards. The other wing flapped wildly, but to no avail. She was almost certain there were claws digging into the tender skin beneath her feathers, and whatever was holding her was scalding hot. She didn't turn, just kept struggling to reach the star. The blackness was mere inches away from the star, but she was being dragged downwards... she reached out...


A sharp rapping on the door yanked her from her dream and thrust her into startling reality. She bolted upright with a gasp, eyes darting left and right as she processed what was happening. The stars, the blackness, her wing getting grabbed... it had all been a dream.

"Oh," she sighed in relief. Her wings were visible, she realized. She'd probably let the magic slip during her nightmare.

"Angel?" Sebastian called through the door.

"Yes, coming." She slipped out of bed. She considered hiding her wings, but didn't bother, since it was only a demon at the door.

Tugging open the door, she saw the butler, looking composed and suave as usual. "Your wings are out," he observed.

"Good morning," she greeted. He just blinked at her.

"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Did you sleep well, angel?" he asked, a bit too sweetly. He was holding back amusement, she could tell.

"What makes you ask that?" she questioned suspiciously.

"No particular reason, love," he replied, a smooth smirk slipping onto his face as he reached into his pocket. "Take this." He pulled out a comb and pressed it into her palm.

"What-" Her face flushed pink as she realized what he was communicating.

"Ah," she giggled, running her fingers through her hair and tugging at the numerous tangles she found. "I was kind of... restless last night." She chuckled halfheartedly.

His smirk widened slightly. "The young master wishes to depart right after breakfast."

"Depart?"

"The queen's letter, remember."

"Oh, yes, the satan-worshiping cult." She clutched her heart in playful fear. "I do hope those humans know what they're messing with."

"I highly doubt it," he sounded exasperated. "Doubtless I could eat them for breakfast."

"I'm sure you could. And would." She replied drily.

She blinked, and suddenly Sebastian was two inches from her face. He advanced, striding forward into the room. Suddenly, he grabbed her shoulders and spun her, pressing her back into the wall just beside the door.

"Are you scared?" he whispered, gliding closer and closer to her face. He stopped just a centimeter away from her lips.

For a few moments, Celeste was speechless. Her thoughts were hazy and confused. Those blood-red eyes boring into hers were making it hard to think.

He blinked, though, and for a brief second his eyes glowed, pink and snake-like. Demon eyes.

What am I doing?

The eyes brought her back to her senses. She raised her arms and placed her hands on his shoulders. Gently but firmly, she pushed.

Sebastian's smirk fell, and he sighed, letting his head drop and his raven hair hide his eyes. When he looked up again, they were back to their usual scarlet hue.

He pulled back.

"What are you doing to me, love?"

Celeste blinked again, and the demon was gone.


Later, after combing her hair (it really had been a mess), Celeste was standing in front of the body-length mirror, preparing to hide her wings. She flared them slightly, and that's when she noticed it.

"What..." she murmured.

Right at the tip of her wing, there was a single, inky black feather.


Yeah, not a lot of action in this one, BUT this is a romance, primarily, so I hope you guys don't mind.

It's short, but I hope the little moment near the end made up for that.

Thanks for your continued support (which can be shown through reviews *hint, hint*) and hopefully the next one will come out soon. Hopefully.

P.S. I wrote this over a long period of time and went back and forth through several drafts. If I used one of your submitted ideas and forgot to give you credit, I promise it wasn't intentional. PM me and I'll add you to the list.