Chapter Twenty One

"Lucy!" Jin flew out of the guest room, holding me tightly in his arms. "Are ya okay?"

I nodded, blinking and smiling softly. "Yes, better than ever in fact." Looking in his eyes I saw pain, worry, and anger? "Jin, could you see...?"

He hugged me tighter. "Yes...I had no clue...Lucy yer a fighter."

I hugged him in return. "We just gotta leave some things behind..."

Yukina was the next to hug me, crying softly and her tears transforming to stones.

"Mistress, I congratulate you," Edna said, still in the same spot as before. "You have passed the third trial of Grey."

"What about Valen?" I asked, noticing his door was still closed.

"Master Valen completed the trial just minutes before you. You may not have won this trial, but we still would like to give you a lot of...how do you say...credit. Master Valen's worst memories weren't quite as...horrific, as yours. Now," she bowed to me, "Please allow me to escort you to your room, mistress. You will need your rest for tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

She nodded. "Yes, the fourth trial will be held tomorrow. After that we will give you both two days of rest before the fifth and final trial."

"Anything I should know about tomorrow's trial?" I asked.

"No, mistress. Now please, honorable guest," she spoke to Jin. "Take the mistress to her room."

"Gotcha!" Jin smiled cheerily and scooped me up in his arms, taking off towards our room. When we were inside, Jin gently set me down on the bed. "Lass, are ya okay?" He asked, sitting next to me and holding me close.

"Yes. I've always blocked those memories...but now it's like I'm free," I said, tears welling in my eyes. They were tears of happiness.

Jin wiped away the tears that spilled over, making me look at him. "Yer a brave girl, Lucy," he said and kissed my forehead.

I laughed. "I'm sure there are demons here in this world who've gone through a lot worse."

"Yer right, but I ain't never seen a human who could go through all that an' still be able ta smile like ya do." He offered his own smile, one fang poking out from his lip like a puppy.

I sighed happily and yawned, stretching my arms high above my head. "I should go to sleep..." I mumbled, curling up next to Jin who wrapped an arm around me.

"G'night, lass," he whispered to me.

"Que sueñes conmigo," I whispered back just before I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep...

...

"Mistress! You have over slept!" Edna's voice woke me from a deep sleep.

"Wha-?"

"Please dress quickly, Mistress! And drink this," Edna handed me a glass of water and left, leaving me half away and wondering how I had over slept.

I shook my head and jumped out of bed, Jin still asleep. Throwing on my clothes, I shook Jin. "Wake up, pendejo!" I yelled in his pointed ear.

"Hmm? Why are ya already dressed...?" he asked groggily while rubbing his eyes.

"We over slept and have like three minutes 'til the trial begins!" I explained quickly and tied my hair up in the white ribbon. I remembered the glance of water Edna had given me and guzzled it down.

Jin's eyes widened before he jumped out of the bed and dressed in blinding speed even with my sharp senses. "Sorry 'bout that!" He apologized as we ran in the direction of the stadium.

"No problem, I'll see you in a few minutes!" I called to him as we took our separate routes to the arena.

I reached the large double doors literally a second before they started opening, not giving me time to catch my breath. The seats were full as usual and Griq was in the normal spot in the middle of the arena. I made my way over to Griq, doing my best to not look like I woke up just five minutes earlier.

"Welcome to the fourth trial of Grey!" Griq called as soon as Valen and I were standing feet from him. "In this trial, our potentials shall be tested on their resistance." I could practically hear the smirk in his voice. Oh boy. "And by that mean their will. Potentials," he now spoke directly to us. "Within the next minute, your deepest and darkest instincts will take over. Your blood thirst shall be unquenchable."

My own blood suddenly ran cold. Selene had warned me about my blood lust...I had only experienced it once before and I never wanted to do so ever again.

"Your task is simple...and not so simple. You will both be presented with a demon of the opposite sex. Resist their temptation and their blood. One of you will break. This trial is untimed, you two could struggle for literal days before one of you gives in to your instincts." Two demons appeared behind Griq in a flash of smoke, both with stoic expressions on their faces. "And you should be feeling the effect about...now."

Before he had even said the word I felt it. My senses craved flesh and blood, my body burning from the lack of sustanance. I writhed and twitched, doubled over and clutching my sides. My stomach felt like it had had acid spilled in it and it growled like a beast while my throat felt like I had been swallowing nothing but hot sand.

I lifted my head just enough to meet eyes with the male demon. He was of average height and seemed to be some sort of feline demon complete with a tail and cat ears. Griq had moved somewhere as to not get in our way. Though the demon's face was expressionless, I could see in his eyes he was terrified.

Glancing over at Valen, he obviously wasn't nearly as effected as I was though he was sweating and did look like he was struggling. My eyes returned to the cat demon, my senses still burning at just the scent of him. He would have such tender and juicy flesh, silky smooth blood...STOP! You're not a monster!, I yelled at myself.

Suddenly, something my mother had always told me came flashing back...

"Hija, there's a difference between giving up and giving in. Giving up means you've lost when you didn't even try."And giving in also means you lost, but you at least gave it your all..."

"I won't give up, mamá," I whispered through clenched teeth. "I've given up plenty of time before but today...if I lose...it will be after I've given my all and I have nothing left to give!" I landed on my knees and bowed my head low, hair creating a curtain-like effect and hiding my face. Just focus on something else, anything else!

"Your hair is really thick," a familiar little voice told me.

I opened my eyes but kept my head down. "Carrot? Cabbage? What the hell are you two doing here?" I whispered. There was a small hole from where they must have come from the gardens.

"Helping you," Carrot said, pulling out a small syringe and stabbing my neck with it.

I flinched but was more irritated than anything. "And how are you helping?" I got my answer immediately. The blood lust was gone within seconds, my body no longer burning from the craving.

"That's the antidote to the toxin they slipped into your drink this morning," Cabbage explained cheerily.

My eyes widened. "Why are you helping me?"

"Because we hate that damn thunder demon," Carrot said.

"And you're nicer!"

"Shut up, Cabbage," Carrot snapped at his brother. "Now come on, before anyone elses notices we're here! Oh, and come by the garden after this, I have something important to tell you." And they jumped back into the hole, going back to their garden.

I slowly stood, full of confidence. Looking at the cat demon I felt absolutely nothing. I smiled at him and he looked scared for a second, as if I were going to attack. But he soon relaxed some when he saw I wasn't going anywhere. Valen looked confused as he realized my hunger was suddenly gone. He was now on his knees, slamming his fists into the ground.

"What did you do?" He growled and glared into my eyes.

"Absolutely nothing," I said, glaring right back.

"Liar," he spat, twitching as he struggled with his own craving.

I sighed in sudden boredom and sat down with my legs crossed. Glancing at the feline, I asked, "So what's your name?"

He seemed confused but answered anyway. "Duran."

I smiled. "I'm Lucy. So what kind of cat demon are you exactly?"

"Um, just a simple cat I suppose..." Duran said awkwardly.

"Sweet. I'm a harpy, or a bird demon basically, though I was born human."

His head turned to the side. "Really? How were you turned into a harpy? I thought they were wiped out centuries ago...?" Duran's curiosity seemed to relax him further, he even sat down himself.

"Oh, you know this witch did all these weird experiments on me and blah blah blah," I explained nonchalantly.

Duran let out a laugh. "You say it like it happens to everyone."

I shrugged. "Well no reason to be dramatic about it."

"ARGH!" Valen screamed. "WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP?! THIS IS A TEST NOT A SOCIAL EVENT!" He screamed in frustration again before attacking and killing the female demon.

I looked away, not wanting to see the innocent girl's death. All I could hear were bones breaking, flesh tearing, and blood spilling.

Looks like this one's mine, I thought to myself, still refusing to look...