The room was plunged into darkness as the chandelier shattered.
Deep growls rented the air, snarls and snapping sound like the breaking of a branch.
"Oh my fucking God!" Karma whisper-yell, her heart beating in her throat.
Karma held on tightly to Alphonse's arm as he muttered words too low for her own ears.
Violent yips, cold air whipping against her face, accompanied by a pungent smell of blood.
It was so thick and horrible she gagged.
It looked like he was trying to communicate with some unseen being.
Karma shuddered when something cold pressed against her back, like a talon made of ice, it gripped her shoulder and she screamed.
Alphonse arms were wrapped around her in an heartbeat and she heard a loud horrible gurgling, and a quick slash of air against her cheeks.
Everything went still. The only sound was the light hum of the air conditioner working and her rapid breath.
Alphonse's fingers gently massaged her scalp.
"What the fuck?" Karma whispered in fear, clinging to Alphonse's hot skin for dear life.
With a complicated wave of his hand, the light was on again. The broken pieces of the chandelier glinted in the light, their tiny pieces like glass dust.
Karma could still smell that pungent smell, it was lodged beneath her nostrils.
"Are you okay?" His voice was hard, his eyes shone with a feral abandon.
He rapidly scanned her person, his eyes on her bobbling throat.
"Ye.."
"You're not. You're shaking like a leaf in a storm. Go into the bathroom and take a shower. I'll clean up here," he ushered her into the bathroom.
She yanked his hands from her shoulder and stood rooted to the spot.
"What happened? What are those?" Those creatures with smelly breaths and cold talons? She was going to have nightmares about them for a long time.
Alphonse stared at her with such intensity she almost cowered away. His glare would have singed the hair off a lesser mortal.
But she was no lesser mortal.
What have I gotten myself into? She thought worriedly.
"How much can you handle knowing?" his question was brusque and straight to the point.
It made her think she wasn't going to like what she was going to learn.
The question caught her off guard. Was she really ready to know informations about the demons?
Ignorance was bliss, she'd recently found out.
At least until her thoughts are in order.
He must have been satisfied with whatever he saw on her face as he said, "That's what I thought."
She wordlessly entered the bathroom with her head roaring with thoughts.
Karma stood by the mirror, looking at the shock still written on her face. Was this was being married to a demon entails?
Her hair was in disarray, her shirt crumpled and beads of perspiration dotted her forehead.
She filled the tub with hot water and ran herself a bubble bath.
After a long soak spent ruminating on how best to extract the information from his iron grip.
She wrapped the towel around herself, dried her hair off and slipped out of the bathroom.
She gasped in shock. The room had been transformed in her short absence. The clothes sprawled on the bed had been neatly packed, the takeout leftovers cleared, no shards on glass to be found.
"Wow,"
"Surprised, are you?" Alphonse's deep voice replied sarcastically.
"Thank you." She said, a bit breathless.
Alphonse speared her with such a hot look, she felt herself melting away.
She cleared her throat several times and patted her cheeks.
"I'll uh..just get changed." She ran into the walk-in closet.
After throwing on faded cotton pajamas, she came out. Her thoughts were precise and orderly.
There was no way he'll be getting out of this without an explanation of what in the fucking hell just happened.
She was surprised to see him on the chair, his eyes scanning her laptop with a frown.
"What are you doing?" She called from his back.
He turned to face her and replied calmly.
"Is this what you're working on?"
She nodded woodenly. What now? She narrowed her eyes at him, a slight suspicion rearing its head.
"The idea is quite sound, though impractical."
Her face flamed with anger and embarrassment. How dare him think he could criticize her work just because they shared a measly kiss?
A measly kiss that sent tingles down my spine and makes my breath hitch just thinking about it? Liar liar pants on fire.
"It's none of your business. And moreover, you owe some explanation." a great deal more than that.
But she'll take what she can get first.
She leaned against the wooden panel and glared at him.
He rubbed his face and sighed.
"Sit down." He commanded. His voice brooked no argument.
It made her wanna defy him just to see what he'll do.
Her feet remained firmly planted on the clean floor.
He shook his head in exasperation, stood up swiftly.
One Instant she was standing, the next she was sitting on his strong thighs, breathless and shamefully aroused.
She hurriedly stood up, cleared her throat several times and sat haphazardly on the chair.
He chuckled. A low timbre that sent springles jumping on her nerves.
"Are you okay?" This time his voice was soft and tinged with concern.
She scoffed, "I don't break that easy. Tell me what's going on."
"That was an assassination attempt." He said briskly.
Straight to the point and flat.
Karma sat straighter, her pupils contracting with concentration as she stared at him.
"This isn't the first assassination attempt, neither will it be the last. Though it's the first attempt made in this house. Quite bold of them."
"I surmised as much," Karma tapped her fingers on her knee.
She was agitated but oddly not scared. It was a feeling she was unused to.
The feeling of utter security. She felt shielded.
And it's because of him. I'm safe and unsafe with him. It was a curious thought.
One that was only made more true with future events.