Not a Good Idea

"Aisling." The man spoke as soon as she opened the door.

The sound felt like a deep caress, stroking every part of her. She felt her body heating, and her heart rate increased once again.

Abaddon felt like his soul calm down when he saw her. For some reason, his mind had told him that she was in a crisis when he had been in Phoenix City in the morning.

He thought it was probably his overactive imagination and the Soul Resonance making him hyper-vigilant. And it seemed like it was the case.

Still, seeing her in good condition with a ruddy face, his heartfelt at rest.

"What are you doing here?" She blurted out.

Abaddon opened his mouth and closed it because he had not thought of an excuse. His only concern when he had flown straight to her had been checking where she was alright. He had not thought so far ahead.

He scrambled in his brain for something to say before she realised that he had come because he was a worrywart.

"I came to check if you had gotten the files on the cases. I made arrangements for you to have access to all critical information." He finally said.

Aisling looked at him blankly for a second before she chuckled with amusement at the words.

"You are the King. Do you need to handle such trivial matters?" She asked with obvious disbelief.

Abaddon knew that he was exposed, but he did not want to let go of his façade completely. He could not lose his dignity as the king.

"I am very concerned about my subjects and my contracted banshee." He responded with a self-righteous tone.

Aisling looked at the demi-angel with a lifted platinum brow before shaking her head in exasperation. She could not beat a person who did not feel embarrassed.

"Actually, it is good that you are here. I was hoping that I could see the old crime scenes." Her eyes lit up when she remembered her frustration at having no idea or clue on how to proceed with the investigations.

"I thought you need to have a fresh crime scene for that." She had told him that her powers would only work if there was a new death.

"A fresh crime scene would be better, but I think I was being a little narrow-minded. I have realised that there are differences between the overall energy in Panthalassa and the rest of the world. I think the difference affects the nature spirits too." Her eyes lit up.

"What do you mean?" Abaddon asked.

"The nature spirits are a product of their environment. If nature's energy is weak, the spirits will be weak. For example, in secular cities, the spirits there are quite weak because of insufficient natural energy and industrial pollution. With such spirits, I cannot even hear their voices. I can only sense their presence and intentions." She said with bright eyes.

"What about Panthalassa?" He asked with interest.

Aisling thought of the earlier moment when the spirits around had been agitated by her blood at the time Lussa had been threatening her. She could not be certain, but she had seen transparent forms drifting around.

It could have been her imagination, but she had felt their power. If she could summon more magical power, she could determine if she could see nature spirits.

Her heartbeat at the prospect of discovering a new facet of her powers.

"The spirits are stronger and might be more attached to their land. If this is the case, it means that there could be some at the scenes of the crime who could help us." She said. "And even if this is the case, I have some other tricks I can use to dig up a little more information."

Her eyes had a crafty and clever quality that made her seem inexplicably charming. Abaddon felt like he would go anywhere she wanted if she asked.

"In what order do you want to see the crime scenes?" He asked.

"From the first one. I also want to see the degree of death energy lingering at the scene. Violent crimes often cause a whiff of death to remain for longer than other types of deaths. It will be easy for me to compare if I begin from the furthest one." She said.

Abaddon nodded and unfurled his black wings with beautiful golden edges.

"Let's go." He smiled with eyes full of temptation.

Aisling stepped back. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Abaddon frowned a little before folding and concealing his wings.

He understood what she meant. Their Soul Resonance had a greater effect on her because she did not know what it was. She perhaps thought it was a form of bewitchment.

Abaddon was willing to tell her about it. However, he wanted her to ask. By asking, she would be acknowledging the existence of their primal connection.

"What are you worried about?" He gave her an opening.

Aisling opened her mouth before closing it. She could not accuse the King of the continent of using beguiling arts on her. If he was unhappy, she would disappear without a complete corpse.

"It is hot outside." She laughed a little. "You will get too hot especially when lugging me around."

Abaddon was a little disappointed, but he did not show it. Instead, he whistled.

Immediately, from somewhere in the sky, the Caladrius descended on the small lawn outside of Aisling's new house. It looked at Abaddon with eyes full of hidden grudges.

Aisling opened her mouth with surprise at the sudden appearance of a large white bird, especially when she looked at it closely.

This bird…