“Miss Walker, do you know what a witch is?”

Nicole froze, her teacup hovering before her mouth. She was having tea with Aaron in the Lord’s garden, enjoying the perfume of the flowers after an exhausting day of memorizing royal family trees. It was a bright, sunny day, the sky bluer than a robin’s egg, a rare occurrence considering how gloomy the weather usually was.

She was dressed in a dark blue tea gown, which made her feel very much like a storybook princess with its long skirt made of layers of ruffles and its frilly sleeves. After the little stunt she pulled wearing the Lord’s pants during her first lessons, she was reluctant to accidentally wear his clothes again. Such an act felt intimate, even if it wasn't intentional. It made her feel strange and she found herself avoiding the Lord because of that feeling.

Weird feelings aside, she was having a wonderful day, enjoying the afternoon tea. That was until Aaron had asked her that damned question.

"Do you know what a witch is?" The butler repeated his question sternly.

She remembers the way her hands glowed when she healed the Lord's eye. Although she hadn't been able to summon the magic since then, a part of her was paranoid that Aaron was onto her. If he could smell Lillian on her, maybe he could also smell the magic.

"A witch," she said. "Yes, I know what that is. Like the ones in fairytales?" She could hear the hesitation in her own voice. Did demons read minds?

At home, she had all sorts of witch paraphernalia. Tarot card, crystals, candles, books -- the whole package. Witchcraft to her was personal, a way for her to gain control over her life. But these new powers? This was different. She had never seen it manifest like this.

“They’re not exactly like the fairytales,” Aaron said. “Not all of them are evil and cook children in ovens. I don’t know how the ones in your dimension are, but the ones here are always connected to a deity.”

“Are you saying that I’m a witch?”

The barest hint of a smile graces his lips. “The suggestion doesn’t seem to upset you.”

“It’s like you said, not all of them cook children. They’re just women who wield power,” she said, sipping her tea.

“There are a lot of those here, powerful women. But I’m afraid you aren’t really a witch. Lillian may have given you that little toy,” he said, pointing to her bracelet, “but she hasn’t given you much else. Your connection isn’t strong enough.”

“It was strong enough for her to possess me.”

“But it’s nowhere near strong enough to heal your cat.”

She raises her eyebrow. “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m just offering a way to fulfill my part of our agreement.” His usual amber eyes looked golden in the sun, gleaming with an ulterior motive.

“We just shook hands,” she said, remembering all too well the red light that had covered their bodies.

“You know very well it was more than that.”

“Can’t I just reverse it? What if I promise to do the exact opposite of what I said when we shook hands?”

It was his turn to raise an eyebrow. She was sounding a little too desperate for the demon’s taste.

“I don’t think you want to hurt Lord Phillips,” he said, taking a sip of his earl grey. “In fact, I’m confident that it’s the last thing you want to do.”

A tinge of pink graces the apples of her cheeks. “Why do you say that?”

“I don’t want to embarrass you any further,” said the demon. “Let’s just say that a certain lady is fond of our lord.”

“What lady?” She sounded genuinely confused.

He shook his head, dismissing her question. “Why would you want to break our agreement? I’ve promised you what you wanted,” he said.

“I don’t trust you.”

“I wouldn’t trust me either. Foolish people trust demons.” She searches his face for some sign of emotion, something to pivot off of. As expected, she found nothing.

“But I trust Cedric more,” she admits, gauging his reaction to her statement. “And you’re both demons. I should make the agreement with him instead.”

“Is that what Lillian’s little toy told you? That we’re both demons?” His face twitched, a brief bit of emotion flashing across his face. Was it humor or arrogance? She couldn’t tell.

“The key vibrated in both of your hands. There’s demon blood in both of you.”

He looks at her thoughtfully. “There is, but Lord Phillips won’t know how to make that sort of contract with you. He’s … new at this.”

“I still trust him more,” she said. “He’s more human than you. He feels more than you.” The memory of him holding her in the garden pops into her mind, unbidden.

“Is that why you’ve been avoiding the young Lord? Because you ‘trust’ him more?”

“It’s none of your business,” she snaps.

“You made it my business when you formed that agreement with me.” He tucks a strand of his long, dark hair behind his ear.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Nicole. “Take off your eyepatch,” she told the demon.

“Pardon me?” Aaron was slightly taken aback.

“You heard what I said. Take it off.” She doesn’t break eye contact with him.

“I don’t see what this has to do with anything. But if the lady insists,” he said, moving to untie his eyepatch. “Well?”

Nicole froze, Aaron’s amber eyes pinning her down. “I thought …” I thought you gave your eye to Cedric. Wasn’t that what the maids had told her?

“See something you don’t like?”

She shook her head. “I don’t get it. Why do you wear an eyepatch if you’ve got two perfectly healthy eyes?”

“Because it’s too much effort to do this,” he said, his left eye turning silver. She did a double-take, nearly knocking her cup of tea off the table. His left eye looked exactly like Cedric’s. It was the same shade of light gray that reminded her of lightning and well-polished blades.

Her hands started to heat up, her fingertips turning blue. She shoves her hands into the folds of her skirt, hoping the demon didn’t see anything.

“Your eye,” she said, “looks just like Cedric’s.”

“That’s because it is his,” said the demon.

“I don’t understand. You’re both demons.”

“You said it yourself. He’s more human than me.” He watched her, waiting for her to pick apart the hint he gave her.

“You … you turned him into a demon,” she said, the truth dawning on her. “You corrupted him.”

“I wouldn’t say corrupt,” the demon said, brows furrowing. “Believe it or not, his transformation was a blessing.”

Her dream flashes in her head. She sees Cedric jumping into the fire again, this time dragging out Aaron with him.

“No, what he did for you was a blessing,” she said.

“And what did he do for me?” There was a dangerous edge to his voice.

She wasn’t sure how much she could trust that dream, but clearly, it had shown her something she wasn’t supposed to see.

“He saved your life,” she decided to say, trusting her gut. “You’re in debt to him, which is why you’re his butler. You wouldn’t tolerate a lowly position otherwise.”

Aaron bites into a sandwich, taking his time. She knew that as a demon, he probably didn’t need to eat. And if he did need to eat something, it certainly wasn’t sandwiches. Sandwiches never made a person bulletproof. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally speaks.

“Lord Phillips never told you this. Why are you making up stories?”

“I don’t make things up,” she said. “I saw it.”

“You’ve lied before about who you are. In fact, you’re still living that lie, Miss Walker. Seal our agreement and you won’t need to keep up this charade,” he said.

So it was true. If it weren’t Aaron wouldn’t be acting so defensive towards her accusations. He could kill her right now if he wanted to, and keep his secret sealed in the grave forever. She needed him to trust her. “And how would I do that?” She keeps her voice light, not wanting to push him over the edge.

“I’m glad you asked. All you need to do is give an eye for an eye.” He points to his amber eye, still golden like a coin in the sunlight.

“I’m not sure that’s very safe.” She remembers Cedric’s bleeding eye and the way he writhed in agony on the manor’s carpeted floors. It gave her goosebumps to imagine herself in a position like that.

“Your current agreement with Lillian hasn’t been very safe either,” he said.

“That’s because you and Cedric had presented the danger,” she shot back. “Holding me in that basement could’ve killed me.”

“And that lovely little dagger of yours could have killed the Lord. Fortunately, nobody died and the Lord has also been extremely generous to accommodate you despite your attempt on his life.”

Her mouth hung open, any retort she had dissolving. He sighed, folding his hands.

“I just don’t want to see anyone hurt by Lillian anymore,” he admitted. “I am offering you a contract, which would strip a portion of my abilities so that you could protect yourself and go back home. A simple solution to the complex situation you have gotten yourself into.”

Aaron was right. It was a simple solution. Too simple, in fact. What would she be sacrificing in return? A portion of her humanity? She wished Lillian was here to guide her. But then she remembers being possessed by the goddess and her head ached for the memories that were made when Lillian shoved her into the darkest crevices of her own mind.

She looks at his mismatched eyes again. What could go wrong with gaining some demon powers? All she had was a magical tool and powers that didn’t know how to behave themselves. Maybe gaining some of Aaron’s abilities would also transfer over some of his composure. Maybe she’d have control over her life again.

“Let’s seal our agreement,” she said, hoping that she wouldn’t regret her decision.

“Perfect,” he said, his face serene. “I will arrange for our procedure in a fortnight. And don’t worry, we’re going to the best surgeon there is. You won’t lose anything more than your eye.”