DECEPTIVE SURRENDER
And The Devil's Dominion

Mara: There is still a war to win and a snake to find. I can’t stop thinking about The Wraith. It’s pretty obvious at this point that all of this has something to do with me, and I need to find out what it is myself before it’s made all too clear to me by someone else.

At least the man who destroyed my old self but preserved and polished this new me has made me part of his team. Cas has given me a voice and a place. I feel my life changing, and it’s better, even if it’s not at all what I would have imagined. I feel at home in a cozy house out in the middle of nowhere, but I can also hold my own on a mafia battlefield where we fight enemies known and unknown. In two very different circumstances, I finally belong and feel a sense of purpose that I’ve never felt before. I only hope that I haven’t found everything I’ve ever wanted just to lose it all.
 

Cas: It’s hard to give Mara everything she wants since it is often so difficult to discern what that is, even for her. But I think I’ve gotten the hang of this thing we’re doing – this relationship we’re done denying. For the first time, I’m allowing myself to entertain a life that isn’t all darkness and shadows.I want to make sure that all parts of Mara are okay. But how can I provide that when I’ve only ever been responsible for the physical safety of others? I think she needs mental stability as well, but I’m not certain I can ensure both. I need to find a way to balance her needs and wants and to stop her from getting killed at the same time. But there is still a war to win; an ever-present cloud hanging over us. There are still so many unknowns.

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