Page 30

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling as Losing My Religion by R.E.M.

quietly played from my computer. My thoughts consumed me as Grace’s offer kept circling back, refusing to let me sleep.

She said she wanted to help me find my brother, and the sincerity in her eyes made me believe her.

But she was stepping into a territory that I’d guarded for years.

Even Brandon and Silas knew not to get involved, but Grace.

.. those boundaries didn’t matter to her.

A faint noise outside my door broke the stillness, and I slid out of bed, moving quietly toward the hallway. When I reached the kitchen, I found Grace searching through the cupboards like she was trying to rob the place.

I leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed as I watched her. “If you’re looking for the last packet of biscuits, let me save you time. Brandon ate them.”

She spun around, hand on her chest, looking startled. I bit back a grin at the annoyance flashing in her eyes when she realized it was me. “Ever heard of announcing your presence instead of scaring someone half to death?”

“Didn’t know I needed to. You’re the one raiding the kitchen in the middle of the night.”

She shook her head, turning back around and sighing as she searched the top cupboard.

“Looking for something specific?” I asked, taking a step toward her.

“Hot chocolate,” she muttered, sounding almost defeated.

I neared her until my front was touching her back, and she tensed. Reaching above her, I slowly grabbed the tub of cocoa powder she hadn’t seen and placed it in front of her. My hand lingered against the counter for a few seconds, and I heard her breathing pick up.

She whispered, “Thank you.”

I shook my head, taking a step back as she turned. She looked tired, her usual fire dimmed. For some reason, I wanted to see it come back.

Clearing my throat, I walked toward the fridge and grabbed the milk. “Didn’t Joe ever teach you where he kept this stuff?”

“No,” she said quietly. “But he used to make it for me whenever I couldn’t sleep. He’d sit with me, listening to me ramble about whatever was bothering me until I fell asleep with the hot chocolate in my hands.”

As I warmed the milk up, I glanced at her. “So, you kept him up too, huh? Nice habit you’ve got going on there, Bambi.”

She rolled her eyes, but I caught a glimpse of a smile. “Do you always have to be so sarcastic, hm... huntsman?”

“Only when it’s this easy to rile you up.” I smiled.

She came by with the cocoa powder, and I grabbed two mugs for her.

Before we settled at the counter, she stirred the powder and milk into her cup while I did mine.

Silence stretched between us, and I watched her take a sip.

My eyes went to her mouth as she licked her lower lip, and something inside of me almost shattered.

She wasn’t mine to touch. Wasn’t mine to want. But then why the hell couldn’t I stop staring at her lips?

I cleared my throat, forcing myself to look at her actual face, not her lips, not the way her curls cloaked her features and not the way she swallowed each drop of hot chocolate. “So... what’s the real reason you’re up so late?”

She tilted her head, eyeing me like she was trying to decide whether to answer me or not. “You’re up too.”

“I asked first.”

Her gaze dropped to the mug, her fingers curling around it. “I keep having nightmares,” she said, her voice so soft, I had to lean closer to catch it. “About Lucas, about what happened. About... demons.”

I felt my chest tighten. I knew what it was like to carry that kind of loss, the way it clawed at you when no one was around. The choices you would make just to stop yourself from going insane.

“Can I ask you a question?” she murmured, her eyes still on the mug.

I knew if I said no, she would likely ask me either way.

“Sure,” I whispered, and she hesitated, her brows knitting together as though she was searching for the right words. Finally, she looked up at me.

“What does it mean exactly for someone to be corrupted?”

The question stopped me cold, like all the air had been knocked out of my lungs.

My hand clenched around the mug, so hard it cracked. I dropped it onto the table, as hot chocolate started to slowly spill from the gaps. “Why would you ask me that?”

“Because I want to understand,” she said as I grabbed at tea towels and wiped down the surface. “No one talks about it—I mean, not really. But I want to know more, not just from what they teach us in angelic history lessons or what Joe tells me. I just...” she faltered, shaking her head.

“Grace,” I started, but she cut me off.

“How does it happen?”

I realized she wanted to know because she was afraid, that she would be a target for corruption. Leaning back, I ran a hand through my hair as I wrestled with how much to say.

She stared at me, unrelenting, and I knew then she wouldn’t back down until I told her.

I sighed. “I heard it starts small,” I said finally. “A crack. A moment of weakness, of anger, of desperation. That’s all it takes for them to find you.”

“Them?”

“Demons.” The word tasted bitter on my tongue. “They don’t just show up out of nowhere, Grace. They look for people who are always breaking and offer...” I trailed off, my throat tightening.

“What?” she pressed. “What do they offer?”

“Whatever you think you need. Vengeance, power, freedom, a way to stop pain—whatever it is to pull someone in.”

Her eyes searched mine, fearfully. “And then what happens?”

“They take a piece of you,” I said quietly. “Your soul. Not all at once—just enough to start. And the more you use what they give you, the more they take. It’s slow, subtle. You don’t even realize how much of yourself you’ve lost until it’s too late.”

She swallowed. “And when it’s too late?”

“Then I suppose, you become one of them. A demon, someone fallen...” I shrugged.

“And you?’ she whispered. ‘Have you ever experienced something like that or close to it?”

I tensed. I should have stayed in my room, stayed far away from her. “Let’s just say it’s not the first time that I’ve heard of this happening.”

The silence that followed was suffocating.

I could feel her staring at me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look back.

My instinct was to reach out to her and tell her not to worry about it, that it would never happen to her because I wouldn’t let it, but then a shuffle of feet broke the tension, and I turned to see Silas stumbling into the kitchen, scratching his head and, of course, completely naked.

“Fuck’s sake, Silas,” I groaned, the tension dissipating as he stopped in front of us. “Put some damn clothes on. No one wants to see that.”

Silas blinked, half-asleep, squinting at us as if he’d just realized he wasn’t alone. “What?” he muttered, grabbing a banana from the counter and shooting me a lazy grin as he made his way back to his room. “You weren’t saying that to me the other night.”

Bastard.

Grace tried to stifle a laugh, her face turning pink as she shook her head. “Well, on that note,” she said, setting the mug down. “I think it’s time I head to bed. Hopefully, this will help me sleep.”

“Grace—wait.”

She stopped and glanced back at me.

“Were you serious before?” I asked, the words leaving my mouth before I could second-guess myself. “About helping me find my brother?”

She held my gaze, the warmth in her brown eyes easing the tension within me. “I was,” she said. “I want to help. I... want to try.”

I nodded, feeling that resolve settle over me. “Alright, then if you mean it. Meet me tomorrow at seven. Canteen. I’ll train you.”

A small smile played on her lips. “Really?”

Unapologetically, I smiled down at her. “Yes, really.”

There was a spark in her eyes again that made me want to go back on this, on everything I have done over the last few weeks.

“I’ll see you then,” she said, pausing outside her door. But instead of going in right away, she lingered. “Also... thank you,” she murmured. “For getting people off my back.”

I didn’t say anything. Didn’t need to. She gave me a small smile, one of the rare ones that didn’t quite reach her eyes and disappeared into her room.

I stood there in the quiet, a slow smile tugging at my lips.

So... she knew.

I glanced down at my hand and twisted the gold ring on my pinky.

I was so fucked.