Page 69 of Saints & Sinners (The Fallen Souls)

The tires screeched as I yanked the wheel hard, the car skidding to a stop in a cloud of dust and gravel. I didn’t wait for the engine to cut off—I was already throwing the door open before the car had even fully stopped.

The door hung open, creaking on its hinges like it might fall off, but I didn’t care. All I could focus on was the building in front of me—the rotting, hollowed-out skeleton of what was once a hotel.

I didn’t hesitate. My hands curled into fists at my sides, and I barrelled toward the door, shoving it open without a second thought.

It groaned in protest, but I was already inside when the stench of alcohol and cigarettes permeated the air.

My breathing was harsh, my chest tight with anger, but I forced myself to stay steady.

A few flickering torches dimly lit the lobby, and laughter sprang through one of the rooms. I entered and saw that the space was filled with demons I’d been associated with for a while.

One sat sprawled on a broken sofa, flexing his tattoos at others. Another leaned against a collapsed pillar, blowing out puffs of smoke as he grinned at what someone else was saying.

But the only person I wanted to find was Eden.

I pushed past a few girls before finding Eden laughing and holding a glass of wine.

She looked almost unchanged from the Eden I had known at Celestia—still poised, still sickly beautiful—but there was something even darker now, something unhinged.

Her eyes gleamed with malice, and her smile was a weapon of glee.

The laughter died down as I stormed toward her and roughly turned her to face me. Drops of wine spilled across the dusted floor, but that didn’t matter to her as she looked up at me with that lustful smile, she’d always given me.

I felt sick.

“If it isn’t the golden boy,” she chuckled, setting her glass down on a broken table. “Or should I say the tarnished boy?”

“Stop,” I said through gritted teeth. “This isn’t a fucking game, Eden.”

“Isn’t it? Because I think it’s been a spectacular game so far. And you, Hunter, have played your part beautifully.”

I stared at her, disgusted by everything that fell from her mouth. “What are you talking about?”

Eden stepped closer, and internally I squirmed.

“Don’t act like you don’t know. I thought placing Grace in your dorm would prompt you to fall deeper into corruption.

The human girl and the Ascendant, who hated the idea of one ever coming after his brother, were rejected.

” She scoffed. “I mean, you did so well, making Grace like you. I didn’t even have to tell you to do anything, and she still fell for you.

See, I knew something was off with you both when you no longer looked at her like you despised her.

I figured it out the night of the ball, watching you two.

.. it was priceless. Imagine how the Council.

.. Joe will feel knowing little Grace was charmed by someone like you. A corrupted soul.”

I grabbed her upper arm and shook her hard. “You went too far. All of it. Killing Celestials, Nadael, destroying everything, all for what? Because you were bored?”

She laughed, a harsh, grating sound. “Don’t act like you’re so noble, Cain . No one in power is truly good; that included Nadael. Have you forgotten that? Or have you forgotten who you were before Grace came into the picture?”

My jaw tightened as she smirked, adept at manipulating me. She had allied herself with demons, preyed on me at my lowest, and dragged us both into damnation by selling our souls to them. But whatever she’d once been, she wasn’t anymore. Eden had officially lost her grip on reality.

“Or perhaps you have forgotten all about Aaron.”

I stiffened. “Don’t bring him into this.”

“Why not?” she said. “Isn’t that why you’re here? Still clinging to the hope that you’ll find him? That the letter he sent you means he’s out there somewhere.”

I swallowed what felt like glass. “I haven’t found him. The letter... it must’ve come too late. I’ve looked everywhere—”

Eden burst out laughing, causing others inside the room to chuckle along with her.

“Oh, I can’t—” Amused tears welled in her eyes as she clutched her stomach.

“I tried to keep it in for a bit longer, but—” She sighed dramatically.

“The look on your face... oh, Hunter. I should probably tell you that the letter you received wasn’t actually from your brother. ”

My blood ran cold. “What?”

“It was me,” she said, her look turning into a pitiful mock. “I forged it. It wasn’t hard, really. All it took was finding a few scraps of his handwriting hidden in your notebooks, copying it, and making sure you found it. It was incredibly easy how you fell for it.”

“Why?” I couldn’t stop the crack that tore from my throat. “Why would you do that?”

“To break you, silly,” she said simply. “You were so distant from us that I needed to reel you back in. To corrupt you further. And look at you now, Hunter. You’re everything I wanted you to be.

” Her smirk returned, and she gestured to the shadows.

“But enough reminiscing. It’s time for you to embrace what you’ve become.

For both of us to embrace it. Just how we had spoken of it in the past, remember?

” She touched my shoulder, and I flinched away from her touch as she circled me.

From the darkness, a figure stepped forward.

Seorin Yun.

An ex-alumnus at Celestia. She’d suffered the same fate from the Riftkeeper’s, and now, only recently, had she become a full-fledged demon.

I barely saw her whenever I came here, but she was still striking. Her midnight-black hair reached up to her shoulders, and her wispy fringe framed her pale face and golden eyes.

Despite how beautiful she was, there was still a coldness about her, a detachment from that reality that no one ever dared question.

“Shall we?” I heard Eden say before realization dawned on me.

“Eden don’t—” I turned, but it was too late as Seorin came at me with a blade in her hand and plunged the cool steel into my side.

Pain exploded through me, sharp and blinding, as I staggered back and Seorin smiled at me, my own blood dripping from the blade in her hand.

The room then blurred as I pressed my hand against the wound and looked up at everyone else, staring.

I took two steps forward before I collapsed onto the ground, and Eden crouched beside me.

“Have I ever told you how a corrupted soul becomes a full demon, Hunter?” Her voice was soft... taunting.

Blood bubbled in my throat as I tried to get up but failed and fell again.

“When a corrupted soul dies...” she whispered, and I could no longer breathe. “They don’t pass on, Cain. They transform, awakening as their true selves.”

No.

“I’ll see you again in a few hours. We’ll talk about what to do next then. I already have so many things planned.”

I reached out, wanting to fucking strangle her, but darkness suddenly consumed me, and the only person I could think of was Grace.

Her face flashed across my mind. The hurt in her eyes turned to pure hate.

I whispered her name, hoping she would somehow come to me, but Eden’s shrill laughter was the last thing I heard before everything went black.