No lights were on in the farmhouse, and when I got closer, I saw that the paint on the trim had begun to peel, revealing grayed bits of wood underneath flakes of white. If it weren't for the fact that it was getting dark and I was out in the middle of nowhere with a guy I only sorta trusted, I might have thought the place was cute. Well, I suppose it was cute anyway. It had a natural kind of rustic charm.

But considering I was out in the middle of nowhere with Mercurius, there were bigger things on my mind. A cool breeze whipped down through the little mountain valley and I crossed my arms over my chest for warmth as goosebumps rose up my skin.

"So you gonna show me what's in the house now, or what?"

He'd finally convinced me to get out of the car, but we were still standing out on the gravel drive.

"I'm afraid you may have the wrong idea," he said, turning towards me with small smile pulling at the corner of his lips, "It's not about the house." With that, he pointed at my chest, stepping closer, "It's about what's inside here that I've come to show you.

I looked at him harder. This had better not be going into some weird--

"Hang on," I said, tilting my head down and giving him my driest gaze, "You took me all the way out here when we coulda just had a little heart-to-heart back in town?"

Not that I really wanted to have a heart-to-heart chat with Mercurius. But that was besides the point.

"Not quite." He smirked wider now, looking like he was enjoying my confusion. "See, what I would like to show you is not something that should be demonstrated in a--let's say, less populated area."

Uhh, what. "You gonna explain?" I raised my eyebrows, hoping the incredulousness would read on my face.

"Come on," was all he said to that, turning for the back side of the house. "This way."

I took a deep breath and let it out, shaking my head. Great. Real smart coming out here with him. But what else was I gonna do now? Even if I climbed back in the car, I couldn't go anywhere.

"Fine. This better be good," I said as I followed. And you know, not dangerous. I hoped.

But when we got to the other side of the house, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Just an unassuming side door with paint as peeling as the rest of the house. The only thing out of place was the lock, glinting and modern.

Mercurius pulled out a key and slipped it in, turning it with a click. But before he opened the door, he cupped his hands and drew out his animus from a glowing light between his palms.

No way was I ever gonna get used to seeing that, no matter how many times it happened. The serpent slithered around his arm before dropping gracefully to the ground as she grew to her full size. There, she turned and gave a little flick of her tongue back at us before disappearing into the tall grass beyond the drive.

"She'll keep watch for us," said Mercurius, and with that, he pushed the door open and started inside. "Not that anyone should bother us out here, mind you. Just an extra precaution."

"And why exactly is it so crucial that nobody find us?"

We'd entered the back side of a small kitchen, illuminated only from the last rays of dusk outside. In the low light, the shadows hid half his face as he turned towards me.

"Because," he said, drawing closer, smirking as he swept a stray hair out of my eyes, "I'm going to teach you to unleash your inner demon."

I pushed his hand away, coughing. "You're going to what?"

"Right," he said, "You're the Seed. Or that's the theory as it goes anyway. So let's put it to the test."

Taking another step back, I asked, "And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

If this was anything like with Chance--My face was already burning just thinking about it. But Mercurius only smiled, that knowing look like he was already bored.

"Don't get so flustered," he said, but his voice gave away that he was still clearly enjoying messing with me. Taking a step through a door that led deeper into the house, he said, "Let's have a seat."

I shook my head but followed anyway. There wasn't much else to do, and besides--I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little curious.

- - -

Oh my gosh! I'm having so much fun writing this story. 😍


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And as usual, you can read ahead on Wattpad.

Have you played the choose-your-own-romance-adventure spin-off of Just a Kiss yet?

Tell me what you thought in the comments!