“Okay, Rynne,” she says as she continues tracing my hand. “I’ll remember. But you can always talk to me, you know? About anything. I’ll listen.”
“Thank you.”
I catch her hand before the shivers she’s sending through my body become unbearable. Then, before I realize it, Tasia kisses me again. This kiss is short, and much like our first, but she doesn’t run away this time.
We sit side by side, enjoying each other’s company. We’re already close, but somehow we grow closer still, until I’m holding her with one arm wrapped around her waist as she rests her head on my shoulder. She’s still exhausted even after her nap on the way here.
“You should get some rest,” I tell her.
“I’ll rest later,” she murmurs.
“Rest now.”
I stand up and then scoop her up into my arms. She lets out a little surprised squeak, but then she’s smiling and she wraps her arms around the back of my neck. I smile in return. Then I lay her down on her bed.
“Sweet dreams,” I whisper and kiss her cheek.
She’s already struggling to keep her eyes open by the time I’ve made my way across her room and to her door.
“Rynne,” she calls, “see you when I wake up?”
“Yes, we’ll see each other again soon.”
I flick the light switch off and exit the room before I lose control and give in to the urge to stay with her. That would be taking things too far.
I linger by her shut door for a moment, leaning against it. Then I bring my fingers up to my lips again. That was real. All of that was real. The energy still buzzing on my lips is real. And I couldn’t be happier.
CHAPTER 54
Arsen
“WELL, IF IT ISN’T Arsen,” Uden, the demon owner and bartender of the Mermaid Pub greets me with his sly, serpent-like smile. “What brings you my way? Information no doubt.”
I push away the questionable looking martini he tried giving to me when I first got here. There are times I enjoy alcohol, but it has to taste appealing. The fact I can’t get drunk off the stuff puts me off at times. I envy the easy escape mortals can take from it.
“I can’t find Helena,” I say.
“I can’t help you with that. You’d know where she is better than I would. She likes you.”
I growl. “Like” is not the word I would choose.
He ignores me and shines a glass obsessively. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him at a time when he isn’t cleaning something. He noticed me watching him once and said he did it because it was the only way to fight off the urge to kill. Keeping busy, that is. He’s lived in Terra for hundreds of years without trouble because he’s smart and has learned the art of patience. He says it’s worth it. Patience isn’t a bad trade-off when you get to live like he does. He buys and sells information and he leads unfortunate souls to their deaths on the east coast of the United States. His pub isn’t exactly inviting either. He’s located out in the middle of nowhere for a reason. The people who come to him are people that won’t be missed.
“I’m asking if you’ve heard anything. I need a lead,” I mutter. I rest my elbow on his spotless counter and rest my chin in my hand.
“Trying to use the second best-informed demon in Terra to find the first, huh? I still can’t help you. I just don’t know where she is.” He turns around and drums on the polished wood of the counter with his black nails. “What happened to the foxy one you always have with you?”
I jerk my hand behind me. Uden follows my gesture to Yuki, sitting at one of the tables with a couple of lowlife’s that found their way into the pub. She’s tormenting them, entertaining herself for the moment, while I try in vain to search for clues about Helena’s whereabouts.
Uden hums contentedly. “She’s the only reason I ever let you in here.”
“I know.”
“And yet you don’t care.”
“You can look. Envy all you like, but you can’t touch what’s mine,” I threaten.
“What if she left you of her own volition? What if she sided with me instead of you, famous son of a famous demon?”
I don’t like the way he’s looking at me, like he can see right through me. His too-pale gray eyes make him look blind, but he sees more than most. My hackles rise and my beast tells me to rip out his throat.
“Relax, son of Maelstrom. I only jest. I’m not in the habit of making enemies. It’s too easy to die that way. No, I deal only in information. While I don’t have the information you seek, I have heard something recently you might be interested in.”
“If it doesn’t have anything to do with the witch, I’m sure I’m not.”
“Ah, but it’s usually cause for concern when a natural demon gets killed here in Terra. There aren’t that many of us here, after all. Terra may be crawling with demons, but they’re of the mortal variety, the made variety. Mostly.”
“Who and how?”
“Exones.”
“The young idiot who surfaces every few years to level a city? I’m amazed he’s managed to live this long. It’s about time someone got to him. He was always painting a target on his back, doing things like that. He even allowed his beast full control in those instances. He didn’t give a damn. The careless get killed.”
“It was a group of mortals that killed him. Hunters.”
“Hunters? That’s even more pathetic than being taken out by angels, not that there have been any angels around lately.”
“Indeed.” Uden leans against his counter, giving me his full attention instead of busying himself with cleaning. “Not many natural demons have ever been killed by mortal hands. In fact, I dare say I’ve never heard of such an instance my whole time living in Terra.”
My thoughts flash to Tasia and the hunter group she’s with. Please, tell me it’s not her hunters that killed Exones. He may have been stupid, but he always attracted hordes of made demons ever since he started leveling towns. Made demons looked forward to his frenzies to feed on his leftovers. They won’t take kindly to his demise. Then there’s his twin sister.
“What hunters?” I ask.
“Hunters based in Pennsylvania,” Uden remarks. “The demon chatter I’ve been hearing won’t shut up about them. It seems Solanis is going to lead an attack on their base herself. I have a feeling that hunter stronghold in Philadelphia won’t be there for much longer.” His lips curve upward into an amused smile. “Oh, how I’d love to see the destruction.”
I stand up and smack my hands onto the counter before I even realize I’m doing it. My teeth are bared and anger is surging through my body like fire. My beast is clawing at my insides. It insists I go back to Philadelphia. I can’t allow Tasia to die.
“What’s gotten into you?” Uden asks as he leans closer to me.
“I’d back up unless you want to lose your head,” I tell him.
He complies, but his too-interested gaze doesn’t waver.
“Yuki,” I announce, “we’re leaving.”
Yuki and I steal a car to get back to Philadelphia. It beats walking. We ditch it once we arrive in the city. For long distances, cars are lovely contraptions. For navigating the city, they’re rather inconvenient compared to our own speed and agility on foot.
It only takes about an hour and a half to get to Philadelphia from the Mermaid Pub in Cape May, New Jersey. We arrive in the dead of night, the time when you can hear demons and evil out and about even if you don’t want to. That’s just a fact. The night brings out the worst in the world. Whoever said not to be afraid of the dark is full of shit. You should be afraid of the dark. You should be very afraid.
My keen ears pick up the kind of whispering that catches my attention.
“We know where the base is. No one’s ever entered it because it’s fortified, but if we all teem together, we can get rid of them once and for all,” a feminine voice says in a hushed and urgent tone.
“And that’s why everyone’s been going around talking about this? We’re actually going to work
together on something?” a male’s voice replies, almost mockingly.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but the only time I ever got to gorge on food was when Exones leveled a town. He made it possible for me to live without having to cause a scene myself—most of the time. It was always safer that way. It’s not just that, though. These hunters have gotten out of hand. The fact that they could kill him doesn’t bode well for any of us. A stranger came into town recently, too, calling herself Solanis. She says she’s Exones’s sister. That means she must be strong. We can do it. We can get rid of these damn hunters if we have one of them on our side.”
“Fine,” the male says. “When’s the big night?”
“Tomorrow.”
It seems I’m not even going to have to force anyone to give me the information I want.
“Arsen?” Yuki questions when I still haven’t moved from the icy street corner. “What are you going to do?”
She heard everything I did, and now she seems worried. She probably should be.
“That girl isn’t your responsibility,” she continues. “In fact, if you let this happen, things would work out better for you. She’ll be gone and you’ll be able to move on. You won’t be a prisoner any longer.”
“I’m not a prisoner,” I growl, though I manage to keep my voice low. “Do you see angel shackles on me? I’m still walking free, aren’t I?”
She purses her lips. We both know I’m just making excuses.
Damn it.
I speed across an empty road. I want to know that tomorrow, Thursday, is for sure the night they plan to attack. I can’t say what I’m going to do until I know that for a fact. It’s clear what Yuki wants. She wants it so badly my logician tells me there’s a high chance she’ll betray me for it, but my beast argues that will never happen because, despite what she wants, she values my words above everything else. If I tell her not to do something, she won’t do it.
Yuki keeps a few paces behind me, and I keep my ears open. I hear more whispers from demons all around, more demons than there were last time I was in Philadelphia. Much more. They’re all having the same kinds of conversations, and they all speak of the same date. Tomorrow night.
Fine. So I have my answer, but now what am I supposed to do about it? My beast insists the answer to that question is obvious: I go on that same night to protect Tasia. I can’t allow her to die. But my logician contends that notion. My logician reasons that would only pit me against every other demon here, and Tasia is being watched by angels. Damn them. Damn them all.
“Yuki, you should leave,” I say.
“What for?”
“I want you to leave.”
“Forever?”
“A couple days.”
“You don’t want me to be around when you’re risking your life protecting that girl,” she jabs. She’s angry.
I let her anger slide as I reply, “It won’t be a risk for me.”
“Making decisions like that and isolating yourself, you’ll end up just like Exones.”
I stop walking abruptly and snarl. “Are you going to disobey me?”
“Are you going to make me leave?”
I feel my demon aura intensify, more than it normally would in the physical manifestation of my logician. “If you won’t listen, yes, I’ll make you.”
She regards me with steely eyes. “As you wish.” She turns away from me and disappears into the night.
Since I can sense her individual aura, she knows there’s no chance of her being able to sneak up on me. She won’t disobey me, no matter how much she wants to. I’d say that’s the way it’s supposed to be, but there’s a magnificent flaw in that logic. Yuki doesn’t follow my orders because I own her. I gave up that claim on her many years ago. No, she listens solely because she’s in love with me, but that also makes her unpredictable. It’s never been a problem until now. Our interests have always more or less aligned. However, if she were to kill Tasia, I’m not sure I’d be able to keep my beast’s rage in check. Yuki has been my one ally throughout all of this. If I can help it, I’d rather not make her my enemy.
CHAPTER 55
Tasia
I DIDN’T THINK IT was possible for me to feel this happy, not since everything that happened in October. It’s morning and I’m on my way to breakfast, but all I can think about is Rynne. He kissed me yesterday and it felt amazing. And it’s real. It isn’t something that a demon forced me to feel. It’s much more powerful.
I consider going to Rynne’s room so I can go to breakfast with him, but I don’t want to seem pushy and he might already be there. I forgot my phone in my room, so I can’t text him and find out. It’s probably for the best. I heard guys don’t like clingy girls.
Once I’m in the cafeteria, I get in line for breakfast. Then I scan the tables, searching for Rynne.
“Come sit with me.”
Fiona startles me when she puts her hand on my shoulder, and I almost drop my tray.
“S-sure,” I reply.
I follow my godmother to the table Gold Team is sitting at. Divya is there too. Fiona slides in next to Divya and I slide in next to her. There’s still room on the end of the bench for one more person.
“Have you seen, Rynne?” I ask.
Miguel rolls his eyes at my question, but for once the gesture doesn’t seem entirely antagonistic.
“Behind you,” Sherri remarks.
“What?”
I turn around to see Rynne making his way to us with his own tray of food. A smile instantly finds its way onto my face as I look at him, the beautiful angelic boy that he is. He smiles back without reserve. He doesn’t try to shield his own happiness. He isn’t doing it in his usual calculated way. This is him. This is Rynne.
He sets his tray down next to mine, but before he sits beside me, he leans in for a quick kiss. I was hoping he’d kiss me, but I also didn’t think he actually would. We’re in front of his team and my godmother!
My face grows hot as his lips leave mine. I let out a nervous laugh as Rynne takes his seat.
“What was that?” Fiona exclaims. But there’s a smile on her face. “It’s about time.”
Donovan hollers with laughter and smacks Miguel on the back. “I win the bet, Miguel,” he says.
“Decided to man up, huh?” Miguel asks as he points his fork accusingly at Rynne.
Rynne simply states, “It was Tasia.”
Miguel shakes his head. “Good luck with this one, girl.”
I feel my face turn an even deeper shade of red. I’m so embarrassed right now. Rynne must see just how embarrassed I am because he takes my hand underneath the table and squeezes it reassuringly.
“Congratulations,” Divya says with a grin.
Fiona nods. “Yeah, yeah. Have safe sex and all that, all right?”
I blanch. “W-what?!”
“Fiona!” Divya exclaims and smacks my godmother. “That was unnecessary.”
“You think so?”
Everyone starts laughing and joking along, but I stay quiet and eat my breakfast. I smile and listen to the conversation, but I don’t have anything to add. This is all new to me. It’s not like I’ve ever had a boyfriend before. I’m not really sure how I’m supposed to act or anything. When I’m alone with Rynne, it’s easy. I don’t know if I’m supposed to act a specific way when we’re around other people though. I’m just thinking too much about it now. It’s not that complicated.
“You done eating?” Rynne asks, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll catch up with you guys later,” he announces to Gold Team.
We ditch our trays, and then I follow him out of the cafeteria.
“Sorry,” he says once we’re mostly alone, aside from a few other hunters roaming the halls. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Would you prefer me not to kiss you in public?”
“N-no!” I say quickly. “It wasn’t that. I just… this is all new to me. And I’ve never been good about knowing how to r
eact to teasing.” I touch the diamonds hanging around my neck, seeking their comfort. I add in a whisper, “I like it when you kiss me.”
I grab his hand and stop walking. I look into his blue eyes with longing. He returns my look just as intently. Then he does what I was hoping he’d do. He leans down to kiss me again. I could get lost in his kisses. Holding his hand, and especially kissing him, floods me with euphoria every time. Thoughts of Arsen, thoughts of anything bad, seem to vanish in his presence. Everything is right when he’s holding me. Everything is right when he’s kissing me.
I’m rebelling against my parents’ wishes for the first time. I’m at a Halloween party. I’m dressed up as a monster, too. My parents always told me to never celebrate Halloween. They told me that it’s evil. I always listen to my parents. I trust them. I never used to mind that they don’t want me to celebrate Halloween. I still don’t, but practically the entire high school is going to the party, and I’m feeling emotionally compromised because I saw the boy I like kissing another girl. I made an impulsive decision, and that’s how I made it to where I am: at the Halloween party.
I know it’s not the place I want to be, though. I get separated from Didi and Connor and find myself cornered by Wyatt. He’s trying to be nice, I guess. He wants to dance, so I agree, but then he gets too close, and then he kisses me. He says weird things too, like someone put him up to this terrible prank. That’s when I have enough. That’s when I drive home, angry, sad, tears falling from my eyes, to find the front door of my house broken down. To find blood coating the floors. To find my parents murdered. To see him.
His eyes blaze a color I’ve never seen, vibrant against the dark as he holds me against the wall. He grins at me, showing sharp fangs and the animalistic intent to devour me. I’m shaking, and I’m sure I’m going to die.
“Tasia.”
Something’s moving over the monster’s shoulder. It’s my mom. She’s still alive! She’s crawling across the floor to get to me.
“Mom!” I scream. “Help me!”
“Help me,” she echoes.
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