Page 22

O ne. Two. Five. Seventeen.

Evan counted the seconds it took for his pulse to go from fluttering to roaring wildly in his ears. With a dumbfounded look, he glanced between the duo.

Then a soft chuckle broke free from his parted lips.

And another one, louder. Again. The volume of his laughter increased with every puff of breath until he was cackling like a lunatic, doubling over and clutching his stomach, wheezing and choking on his own spit.

Ha ha ha ha, I’m going to die!

After years of being called weird and possessed and a psycho, Evan had all but lost half of his mind to convince people to stay away from him. And standing in front of these two demons, he lost the remaining half.

He’d always known luck was a bitch that had some personal grudge against him. But who would’ve known the depth of that resentment would lead him into such a place?

The demon royalty and his monstrous subordinate both looked at Evan like they were trying to decipher which species he belonged to. That made Evan laugh harder.

He wasn’t laughing because he was amused, nor to fill in the awkward silence that followed the revelation of Xen’s identity. He was simply trying to laugh his throat hoarse so he’d lose his voice and never have to utter another word again.

He vaguely recalled someone saying that his mouth would land him in trouble one day. Turned out, it was a premonition.

What had he called Xen? Perverted ghost? Demon peasant? Lower than a low level? He had been talking shit to an Eternal, a fucking Demon King, with a clear look of disgust on his face all this time.

Even though luck never favored him, life seemed to have been on slightly better terms with Evan because even after insulting an Eternal for weeks, he’d escaped death. Somehow.

That demon had the patience of a saint. Ironic, right?

After laughing himself to tears, Evan coughed with his hands braced on his knees. Slowly his laughter died down, bloodshot wide eyes staring unblinkingly at the ground. From a stranger’s perspective, he looked like an individual who belonged in the secured chambers of a madhouse.

The Doctrine of Blackwood Exorcists. Rule 85: “When facing a force of greater power than yourself, seek immediate aid from fellow exorcists.”

With a sniff, Evan straightened and carefully folded up his shirt sleeves that had rolled down. Dusted the knees of his pants. Calm. Composed.

Then he turned and bolted like his tail was on fire.

“I’M SORRY FOR WHATEVER I SAID! I REALLY AM! DON’T FOLLOW ME!”

He didn’t know why he was running or what human could possibly outrun two powerful demons. All that was going through his mind were two words.

Cliff and jump .

He was going to find a cliff and jump off.

Staring at his retreating form, Xen sighed with a shake of his head, then turned a glare on his subordinate.

Zeev didn’t understand what had happened or why Evan had laughed and then run away, but when he incurred the glare of his master, he reflexively thought he had done something wrong.

“My Lord—”

Xen suddenly drew closer, towering, intimidating. “You scared him away.”

For three centuries, all Zeev could think about in his Hellguard form—until his mind collapsed under the pressure of his saturated demonic energy—was his master. Actually, three centuries was nothing. If he could go back in time, he’d readily suffer through the same curse for Xen, he’d do it a hundred more times if he must. Because right now, as he watched his master’s face, he knew that beneath that twisted scowl, Xen was silently glad to have Zeev back.

That made him want to get cursed on purpose so Xen could see how loyal he really was.

“Bring Reth along,” Xen ordered, staring at the stone doors of the Old Temple.

Zeev bowed, a hand pressed to his chest, a smile threatening to taint his blank face. “Yes, My Lord.”

And he vanished.

Xen turned in the direction in which Evan had taken flight. He picked up Evan’s coat that he’d dropped earlier and dusted it before folding his hands behind his back and trailing Evan’s scent.

On the other hand, Evan was struggling for his life as he sprinted through the densely packed trees and ducked under overgrown branches. He ran and ran, almost tripped over a protruding tree root and broke his face, but it seemed like he was running in circles. In the dark of the night, with the crowding crowns of the trees overhead, barely any moonlight made it to the forest floor.

Coming to a stop under a huge tree with a twisted trunk and a huge hole right at the center, Evan huffed and puffed, hands on his knees, heart in his mouth. Even through the haze of his exhaustion and roaring pulse in his ear, Evan could hear some faint sounds trying to surface from his surroundings.

His guard, which had ironically failed to raise around two powerful demons earlier, now jerked and extended high.

Something was not right.

When Xen and Evan had entered the grounds of the restricted area, they’d crossed over overgrown weeds and bushes, then the residential area, and finally the old temple.

Evan had taken off in the same direction, so he should’ve first encountered the abandoned residential area, then the overgrown shrubs. It was a straight exit with no detours. But not only had Evan wandered into a strange forest that seemed to have emerged out of nowhere, this forest didn’t look normal.

In simple words, this place didn’t look real. Or at least, not a part of Emberlyn.

Evan walked over to the twisted tree, staring through its gaping hole at the other side, trying to figure out what portal had swallowed him and then spat him out in this place.

Suddenly, that gap in the trunk started widening, and Evan stepped back in alarm. As if drawn by impulse, he pressed his palms together and conjured a long, sharp shard of spiritual energy, shaped like a blade. Only when it was firmly grasped in his hand did he realize what he’d made. He blinked down at the spiritual weapon, recalling the warmth of Xen’s hands on his when he was teaching Evan.

“Who’s…there…?” A voice slurred, sounding like it had just woken up from a deep slumber.

Evan snapped back to the present and held the crystal up in a defensive position. He looked around for the source of that voice but didn’t dare respond.

As he spun around and shot daggers from his eyes in every direction, the sluggish voice spoke again. “Have you lost something, light-bearer?”

This time Evan’s ears were strained in focus, and he whipped into the direction of that voice. Only to stare dumbfounded at the gaping hole in the tree. It was moving, like a mouth.

The voice was coming from the tree.

Wary and a little curious—he couldn’t help the latter—Evan stepped closer to the tree. Just one step, the crystal blade still held firmly in his grasp.

“Who’s there?” He prompted, eyes wandering above the mouth of the tree to try and find its eyes. Although something in the shape of two eyelids was moving in the dark, the crown of the tree was so dense, Evan couldn’t make out the details.

The tree yawned. “You didn’t lose anything. You’re the one lost, aren’t you?”

Although his words were meant to mock, they almost held an undertone of reprimanding, like a father scolding a child.

“I am not,” Evan announced confidently. “Just taking a stroll. Who are you?”

The gaping mouth quivered as the tree chuckled. “You cannot wander into the Dark Woods for a stroll , child.”

Dark woods? This? But Evan had been to the Dark Woods several times and had never come across this particular area or a talking tree, for that matter.

Of course, a massive area of the dense forests surrounding Emberlyn was still undiscovered, but what didn’t make sense was how he had teleported from the Old Temple several miles away to the Dark Woods in a span of a few minutes.

Naturally, Evan was suspicious.

First of all, because he was talking to a tree.

“This is not the Dark Woods, is it?” he asked. “This place is not real.”

Maybe Evan had accidentally dashed into some creature during his sprint and had fallen into a trance. If that was the case, unless his body was startled awake, he couldn’t escape this dream. If Xen had pursued him—which Evan was certain he would—maybe he didn’t have to worry after all.

One touch from that guy would wake the dead.

“Why do humans always believe that the things they can’t see are not real or don’t exist?” The tree scolded again. “Listen well, child. This is an Enclave Passage.”

Evan reared back, surprised. “An Encl— really ?”

Emberlyn was a land of ancient mysteries and sheltered creatures that didn’t belong in the outside world. Sometimes, such creatures were humans themselves, which was worse.

One of the many reasons the Dark Woods was a restricted territory was because of these hidden patches of lands called Enclave Passages. Using ancient spells that were considered forbidden in spiritual practices, some crooks drew arrays around specific places. Either ones that were abundant in naturally occurring divine creatures or to trap powerful dark beings and forcefully draw out their energies. An Enclave Passage would weaken the creatures, making the extraction easier.

These unethical practices caused harm to the balance in nature by exploiting creatures that lived peacefully in their own territories. Hence these spells were forbidden.

Due to the arrays that made up these Enclave Passages, people couldn’t see, enter, or leave the area, not without a “key.” Something used in the formation of the arrays that the spell could identify as the caster. Without a key, it was nearly impossible to breach the ancient spells and enter such an array. If a creature did possess the power to break such spells and enter, it had to be equally ancient.

And according to Evan’s limited knowledge, he was just twenty-seven. Not really ancient .

“How did I enter this place without a key?” Evan muttered to himself as he glanced around the woods. The sky was laced with innumerable stars, as if the storm clouds that haunted Emberlyn every day couldn’t sneak into this spellbound area.

“You do have it,” the tree yawned again, sounding bored of Evan already. “The key.”

“No, I don’t.”

“What is that in your pocket then?”

Frowning, Evan’s free hand unconsciously patted his pant pockets. There was only Aaron’s phone in there and…something else. Something pointy. Evan dug into his pocket and fished out the sharp, golden-green object and held it up against the glow of his crystal blade.

It was the earring Victor’s spirit had been holding onto. The one Choi had identified as a belonging of the Covenant of the Nightshades. Evan had mindlessly slid it into his pocket.

But if this earring was the key to this Enclave Passage, that meant this area was a secret hideout for the Covenant of the Nightshades.

Evan’s eyes widened. “Aaron…”

“There, that is the key,” the tree’s voice suddenly took on a sterner, almost displeased tone. “So, you’re one of them . And here I thought you were someone worth talking to.”

Evan’s eyes rolled before he could help it. “I’m not one of the Nightshade freaks, if that’s what you’re implying.”

“Then why do you have the key?”

The green stone at the center of the earring was gleaming, a faint, imperceptible amount of energy buzzing within it.

“I found it on a spirit,” Evan traced the dried blood on the stud. From the looks of it, it was snatched from someone’s ear.

“Are you even trying to be convincing, child? What spirit would dare to—” The tree suddenly stilled, its mouth freezing mid-babble, then it opened wide. Too wide. “Quickly, step inside my mouth.”

Evan stared at the mouth dumbfounded, then scoffed before pocketing the earring. “Are you so hungry, Grandpa, that you’re asking the food to come to your mouth?”

“Silly child, if you wish to live, step inside and hide,” It opened its mouth wider, voice dropping. “Quickly.”

That’s when Evan sensed it, the distant shuffle of footsteps. Many footsteps. A crowd of it.

He quickly dissolved the crystal blade in his hand before it could attract attention to him in the dark, then turned to the tree with a wary look. “Promise not to eat me. Or I’ll stab you through—”

“I’m vegetarian.”

“But you’re a tree. Wait, you eat other plants? That’s horrible.”

“I don’t eat humans!” The tree snapped. “Step inside now. Or die.”

A sane person knew which of those options was preferable, and even though Evan was far from sane, he pretended he knew better.

Hesitantly, he stepped inside the huge mouth. Surprisingly, the whole trunk of the tree was hollow, so he comfortably curled on the crisscrossing roots. The mouth closed as soon as Evan settled inside, but there was a gap in the unevenly carved wooden lips, allowing Evan a peek outside.

Faint golden lights were the first to disturb the darkness of the night, then the sound of dry leaves crunching under several feet as they marched in unison across the forest bed. Soon, figures clad in rich purple cloaks filled Evan’s limited line of sight.

Hoods drawn and burning torches in hand, the figures walked in a single uniform line, none of them uttering a single word or shuffling a step away from the lot. If not for the scent of sweat and an incense burning somewhere in their midst, one could have mistaken them for inhuman creatures.

Their purple cloaks were lined with golden borders, shimmering in the firelight. Although seemingly normal at first, on a closer look, it was evident they were spells woven into the fabric. Evan could bet each of them wore a green earring under those cloaks.

These were the Covenant of the Nightshade, the children of the Dark Spirit.

The fuckers who had kidnapped Aaron.

Evan’s jaws clenched as he watched from inside the tree and counted every hooded head as they passed.

One hundred and three.

Towards the end of the line, as the last cloaked figure trailed behind, Evan noticed his gait was a little strange. He was limping but kept up with the rest nevertheless. Until abruptly, he came to a stop.

Right in front of the tree where Evan was hiding.

Evan held his breath. The figure slowly turned his head, face shrouded in darkness even though he held a bright torch in one hand. He was staring straight at the closed mouth of the tree, as still as the forest around him. There was something so unsettling about being watched when you couldn’t see the eyes watching you.

Evan prepared to conjure a weapon if that figure took one step in his direction, but he didn’t. Instead, he turned around and limped his way forward to join the line.

With a muffled sigh, Evan’s shoulders relaxed. He waited for a few minutes, his keen hearing strained to make sure the footsteps had marched a good distance away before slowly knocking on the trunk of the tree. “Are you asleep again, Grandpa?”

With a creak, the mouth opened, looking like it intended to spit Evan out. “Get out, silly child.”

Evan stepped out and dusted his sleeves and pants, glancing in the direction where the line of figures had disappeared. If the members of the cult were around, then surely their rat burrow—or a so-called temple—would be nearby. So would the people they’d kidnapped.

Aaron.

There were around five days until Reaping Moon—until the Bloodbath ritual—enough time to secure a plan. Because right now, even if Evan followed their trail and discovered the kidnapped people, he couldn’t ambush them. The Nightshade freaks had over a hundred people. It would be suicidal to recklessly raid their cave alone.

The only way Evan could presently think to save those people—and Aaron—was with Xen’s help.

Keeping aside his mixed feelings about why a demon royalty was in the mortal world and not in the demon realm where he ruled, Evan had to admit that Xen had not once failed to come to his aid. Whether it was saving him from the fire at the Greene Mansion or helping him exorcise that one-eyed demon, Xen had been genuine while lending a helping hand.

Even though Evan was an exorcist and, by nature, should’ve been wary of creatures of the dark, he’d personally experienced Xen’s company. Yes, he was a little cocky, sometimes pervertish and insufferably irritating, but he certainly wasn’t dangerous.

Bearable . That was the word.

Xen was bearable.

If the truth about his origin hadn’t come to light, Evan would have continued to let Xen hang around and never once notice how just a fraction of his demonic aura could suffocate the air in a room. Like back at the Greene Mansion.

Now that he thought about it, why had Evan freaked out so much after finding out Xen was an Eternal? Why had he been in denial?

Perhaps the enormous difference in strengths had been overwhelming to the point of driving him insane for a moment. In his mind, when Evan had assumed Xen was a low-level demon, he had developed a false confidence that if things ever went south, he could defend himself and maybe exorcise him.

But even though Xen had helped Evan on multiple occasions, all he’d asked in return was help to find the relic, Reth. And Evan had run away before he had the chance to look inside the Old Temple.

He rubbed his forehead with a sigh. There was no time to sit and think. Xen had already agreed—somewhat—to help find Aaron, and something in Evan assured him that Xen wouldn’t go back on his word, even though Evan had himself quite literally trampled over his own promise.

That’s very mean. Evan’s conscience grumbled.

I know! Shut up!

Evan glanced again in the direction where the cult had headed. “This is why no one could track the Nightshade freaks. Fuckers are hiding inside an Enclave Passage.”

The tree trunk stretched with a creak as the mouth opened. “You don’t seem afraid of them.”

“Well, under different circumstances I’d have been a little nauseous,” Evan’s face darkened. “But they took my friend, so right now, I’m just pissed.”

A hum stirred from the tree, echoing as if the trees behind him had joined in on the conversation.

Evan blinked away the murderous look from his face. He had to get back to Xen, no matter how mortifying the reunion would be after fleeing like that. “Grandpa, how do I get out of this Enclave Passage?”

“I’m not your grandpa! Stop calling me that!” The branches trembled as the tree scolded Evan.

Evan turned a deaf ear and continued. “If you don’t tell me a way to get out, I’m afraid someone from the outside might break in.”

The tree chuckled. “Silly child, this Enclave Passage has been unbreached for centuries. No one can—”

“I bet a demon can.” Evan pocketed his hands, a thoughtful look on his face. “Perhaps…an Eternal?”

The tree froze, along with its innumerable leaves. Along with several other trees nearby, as if they all had ears.

Is this whole forest alive?

“An…Eternal?” The talking tree whispered, shock evident in its voice. “Are you talking about the Abyssal Trinity?”

“The youngest of them, yes,” Evan said. “If you don’t let me out, he will break in. And let me warn you, I won’t be able to stop him,” Evan spoke with such confidence that he almost surprised himself by how convincing it sounded.

What break in ? What stop him ?

Xen had probably taken the relic from the temple by now and wandered off to who knew where with his Hellguard servant in tow. Even though Evan had run away before actually digging out Reth, he had helped to break the curse of the Hellguard and to find the relic. That definitely had to count, right?

And if it did, that meant the conditions of the blood bond were fulfilled. Which also meant the bond should be released by now. That finally meant that Xen had no compulsion to come to Evan’s rescue anymore.

For some reason, Evan’s expression soured.

“What are you saying, child?” The tree asked, hesitantly shaking off Evan’s threat like a joke. “The youngest King of the Demons hasn’t been sighted in ages. He has most likely perished by now.”

Some trees around them hummed in approval.

Well, they weren’t wrong. Xen had been imprisoned in a containment mirror, so naturally no one had seen him. The trees looked like they’d breathed a sigh of relief when they heard Xen had perished. Would they choke Evan with their branches if he told them he was the one who’d released the King of Demons from his containment?

Evan didn’t want to find out, so instead, he asked, “How long has it been since he was sighted?”

Just how long had Xen been in that mirror?

The tree went silent as it pondered, then said, “Around three centuries ago.”

A small furrow dented the skin between Evan’s eyebrows.

Three centuries…

Three centuries ago, the Hellguard was cursed. Three centuries ago, Reth was placed in the Old Temple. And coincidentally, three centuries ago, Xen disappeared.

What the fuck happened three centuries ago?

Just as he was about to ask, a rumble shook the skies, and the earth beneath his feet quaked in fear.

“What—what is happening?” The tree grumbled in fright.

Some small plant screeched from behind. “The array! Someone is trying to break in!”

“The power is too great! The earth is going to cave in!”

“Save me! I’ve barely sprouted into a shrub!”

Commotion erupted, and Evan swayed with the tremors wrecking the place. It turned out his bluff had manifested into reality.

Who else in Emberlyn right now was powerful enough to tear open this ancient array with their bare hands?

Only one person.

Even though it was probably fruitless, Evan tried to call to Xen in his mind.

Is that you trying to break into the Enclave Passage?

There was no response.

But it seemed like Xen was waiting for confirmation that Evan was really inside and, upon hearing his voice, started tearing through the array more aggressively. The forest bed groaned, cracks splitting the earth and lightning roaring across the night sky. There was an earsplitting screech, like a nail grating against a ceramic plate. It made all the creatures in the Enclave Passage, along with Evan, groan in pain.

This was bad. If the Nightshades came back, they would not even spare Evan a glance before killing him on the spot for this wreckage. Then they’ll probably dance naked around his body and drink his blood.

Gross.

A chill ran down Evan’s spine.

He cupped his ears shut to drown out the deafening sounds of the lightning and shrieks of the trees around.

Stop it. He said in his mind. Stop tearing down the array!

Of course, Xen didn’t listen. Stubborn little piece of—

Evan groaned, remembering he was talking about a literal Demon King before he diluted his thoughts.

What was Xen’s dealbreaker? What could possibly rattle a furious Eternal into reconsidering his actions? He didn’t know much about Xen to begin with, so coming up with a solid solution was nearly impossible.

But Evan had another weapon. His vivid imagination. If he didn’t have a solution, he’d conjure one out of thin air.

After quickly racking his brain, a presumptuous thought rose in his mind, and in his panic, he blindly grabbed that thought.

If you don’t stop, this place is gonna collapse on itself! Along with me !

Abruptly, everything stilled.

Even the air and the lightning in the sky froze, as if it wasn’t reality but a picture that captured a horrifying prelude before destruction. The earth sighed beneath Evan’s feet in gratitude as the quakes ceased, and the trees quietly whimpered, waiting for another round of tremors. But it never came.

Evan blew a breath of relief, dropping his hands from his ears. Who knew hanging his own life as collateral damage would actually startle Xen enough to make him stop?

“That was dramatic,” Evan wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, then glanced at the tree with the gaping mouth. Two of its old branches were broken, swaying limp in the aftermath of the assault. Guilt flamed in his chest. “Sorry about that.”

The tree groaned. “On second thought, I think it’d be better if you left too.”

His companions from around agreed out loud, waving their branches aggressively like a human would wave their arms.

“Send him away! Out of here!”

“He is a pawn of great evil!”

“I’d just started growing new flowers! Now they’re dead!”

Evan scratched his neck and cleared his throat. Why was he getting berated for someone else’s actions? He wasn’t really Xen’s accomplice or anything.

“An Enclave passage has few doors in, but several that lead out,” The tree said and opened its mouth unbelievably wide. Although Evan had already been inside once, he felt like something had shifted in the chilling air blowing from the hole. “Go on, child. And for heaven’s sake, don’t come back.”

Too bad. I will.

“Night, Grandpa,” With a twisted scowl, Evan raised a foot and stepped into the mouth of the tree. But instead of firm, crisscross roots or anything solid—

There was only cold, thin air.

Evan hadn’t considered exactly how the tree would teleport him back. Which was stupid of him, because he was pretty sure he’d just stepped into a portal to hell.

Evan yelped as he tumbled into the bottomless void of the tree’s mouth. “ Motherfuckers! ”

His heart leapt into his throat as darkness swallowed his falling body, limbs thrashing to find something—anything—to grab onto. He was free-falling into an endless pit that led to—

A sudden burst of blinding light erupted beneath him. Evan squeezed his eyes shut against the glare, just as cruel gravity yanked him downward.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuc—”

His curses came to an abrupt halt when he hit something. Not the ground, thankfully. Instead, his fall was broken by a pair of strong arms. Chest heaving raggedly and gulping down the fright of the fall, Evan cracked open one eye.

A pair of narrowed eyes stared down at him, gorgeous and dark and utterly pissed off.

Evan blinked once, then groaned as he turned limp in Xen’s arms. “Fucking hell, that was the scariest fucking moment of my whole fucking life.” He spat, hanging from Xen’s arms like a dead body. As he cursed up at the heavens, he noticed a tall tree, its trunk slanted towards the ground with a gaping hole right above where they stood.

That was where he’d come out of after falling into the talking tree’s mouth.

Thank God, Xen had been standing below the hole, or Evan would have become a squashed lump of meat on the ground.

All of a sudden, a thought struck Evan, and he turned from a limp dead body to a tense reptile in a second. He grabbed Xen’s suit collars, wide-eyed as he announced, “I found it! I found the Covenant of the Nightshade’s hideout.”

That annoyed look had made a home on Xen’s face. He didn’t even try to look impressed by Evan’s discovery.

Evan stared at him expectantly, still in Xen’s arms, still holding onto his collar. “What? That’s good news. That’s great news. Now we can plan out how to ambush them and rescue Aaron, along with the others.”

After running a brief eye-scan over Evan’s face as if searching for something, Xen gritted out, “Three days.”

“Huh?”

“You were gone. For three days.”

Evan stared at him like he was speaking a foreign language. “I…” His eyes widened. “I what? ”

Xen, still upset about something, pressed his lips into a thin line, refusing to explain.

Three days? Evan had hardly been in the Enclave Passage for an hour. How could he have been gone for three days? Then Evan realized that he was staring up at the gloomy afternoon sky of Emberlyn. It was only around midnight back in the Enclave Passage just a few minutes ago.

Had he really been away for…

When Xen showed no signs of letting him down and Evan was too perplexed to notice, he turned and vigorously shook Xen’s shoulders. “What do you mean I was gone for three days? Are you trying to get back at me for running away at the Old Temple? Because that is not funny. Are you listening? Tell me what— Aaah! ”

A shriek tore through Evan when a masked figure suddenly materialized from behind Xen. Already panicked beyond sense, Evan wrapped himself around Xen’s neck and shoulders, almost climbing onto his head.

Xen didn’t move, merely supported Evan’s ass with an arm as he perched himself higher.

“Time is funny within an Enclave Passage,” the masked figure said.

“What the fuck! Where the fuck did you come from?!” Evan’s fingers clawed at Xen’s suit, trying to get a better grip. “Who the fuck are you?!”

The mask that figure wore was truly something out of a horror movie. A white face with two dots for eyes and a straight line for a mouth. It wouldn’t have been too creepy if dark strands of hair weren’t cascading around the mask and the figure himself wasn’t dressed in all black.

Evan paled. “Grim Reaper…?”

The masked figure craned his head to meet Evan’s eyes because he had climbed so high up Xen’s body, he could sit on his shoulder.

Seemingly confused for a moment, the figure reached up and shifted the mask aside to reveal a face that bore the exact expression on the mask. Blank eyes, straight mouth. “It’s me, sir.”

Evan stared wide-eyed at the familiar face, then croaked out. “You—rock head?”

“Zeev…” The Hellguard pressed a palm to his chest and bowed. “I’m terribly sorry to have startled you, sir.”

With a thick swallow, Evan pushed down every curse word in his dictionary that surfaced, threatening to make Zeev’s ears bleed until his organs decided to flee out from his apertures.

One more of these shocks and I’d surely descend into hell.

A hot breath fanned Evan’s stomach, the heat of it radiating through his shirt.

Evan froze.

The realization of the position he was in slowly sank in.

Sitting perched on the crook of Xen’s left arm, Evan’s legs were curled so high he could easily rest them on Xen’s shoulder if he shifted. He’d also wrapped his arms around Xen’s head in his moment of fright, thinking he could save him from the Grim Reaper.

Or…maybe I have already descended into hell.

Hastily, as if he’d touched a scalding iron, Evan removed his hands from Xen’s head. “Sorry! I’m sorry. I—I didn’t mean to…”

At his sudden retreat, Evan’s body slid down Xen’s front, and a grunt left the grumbly demon. “Stay still.”

Xen had already looked upset when he had caught him, and now, Evan had gone and slithered up his body like a fucking serpent in heat. If this was the moment the King of Demons decided he wanted to eradicate this world of Evan, he won’t even blame him. Actually, he’d prefer it so he could escape the embarrassment.

Yet, when Xen tilted his head up to look at Evan, still supporting his entire weight with just one arm like he was a lightweight baby, his expression softened. “Please, don’t ever do that again. Don’t ever disappear like that.”

Evan stilled.

In that brief moment, he caught his reflection in the dark pools of Xen’s eyes that went on forever and back. A human’s eyes would never be this clear, this…striking. Evan’s reflection in those eyes was like staring into a mirror, even though that reflection didn’t quite look like him. His hair was lighter, his face softer. Perhaps younger too.

It was him…but not quite him .

Evan stared into those eyes and unconsciously leaned forward to study the reflection closely, missing the sudden rigidness of Xen’s body or the way his fingers tightened under Evan’s thighs.

There was something… A familiarity he felt with that reflection he saw in Xen’s eyes, like he’d seen that image somewhere but couldn’t recall where.

His fingers traced the smooth skin under Xen’s eyes, and his long eyelashes quivered. Evan didn’t notice that either.

Only when sounds of footsteps and voices echoed at a distance did Evan’s focus break. He leaned away from Xen’s face, which had turned completely impassive, almost frozen in time.

“Did you look for him properly?” A male voice grumbled. “Or were you busy clicking pictures of the forest?”

A girl clicked her tongue. “Are you projecting your habits, dear? I only click pictures of myself.”

Evan instantly recognized those voices as Nick and Elysia and jumped down from Xen’s arms, almost face-planting into the dirt. Xen steadied him, then wrapped Evan’s black coat—which he’d thrown God knew where—over his shoulders.

“Thank you,” Evan muttered, stealing one peek at Xen before turning to the group approaching them. But as soon as he looked up, his breath hitched.

Surely, the group of five teenagers was headed his way, too absorbed in their argument to even bother looking ahead.

All except one.

A towering figure trailed behind the lot, a pair of eyes locked straight on Evan.

Dusty brown hair, dark blue eyes, and a familiar smile.

Aaron.