Page 45

44

As soon as we step through, the shift is instant.

The Evergloom isn’t just a place—it’s a presence. A living, breathing thing that presses in the moment I set foot inside, curling tight around my ribs like a beast testing the strength of its prey.

It isn’t just watching. It’s judging. Weighing the weight of my existence, deciding if I’m something to reject… or something to consume.

And it sure as hell doesn’t want a demon like me here.

The air is thick, damp, pushing against my skin like it’s trying to squeeze me out, trying to force me to break. The scent of rot and damp earth slithers through my nose, settling heavy in my throat—cloying, wrong. Like stepping into the belly of something starving. Something ancient. Something that remembers hunger but has no mouth to feed itself.

But I know hunger.

I am hunger.

And the Evergloom can choke on it.

The tether is still blocked.

Every breath I take chafes against that emptiness where Parker should be. The bond that always burned low in my chest—constant, alive—has gone cold.

And I hate it.

I reach for it again anyway, like pressing a bruised wound just to feel something.

But there's still nothing. No spark. No pull. Just that familiar slick wrongness, slithering where she should be.

Steorfan’s doing. I can feel it now, how he twisted the thread and snapped it tight around her. A leash made of shadow. A seal meant to keep me out.

It won’t hold forever.

Not when I’m this angry.

I bare my teeth, letting the rage pulse beneath my skin like second heartbeats. I’ll rip him apart piece by piece. I’ll make him watch while I unmake the Evergloom around him.

Beside me, the human stumbles.

Not that I blame him. The Evergloom isn’t built for flesh and bone—it’s barely built for monsters like me. It’s a place of unraveling, where things lose shape, where the rules of existence fray at the edges.

Hudson lets out a strangled breath, boots scuffing against not-quite-ground. “Jesus Christ?—”

I cut him off with a snort. “Yeah, don’t think he’s got jurisdiction here, human. ”

Hudson glares, jaw clenched so tight it might snap. On the outside, he looks annoyed, though calm, but his pulse? It’s erratic. I can hear it. Smell the spike of fear creeping in, even as he fights it down.

I tilt my head, amused. “First time’s always rough.”

He flips me off without looking. Charming.

I shift my attention to the inky, writhing tendril of his blood stretching outward, sinking into the Evergloom’s terrain. It moves like it’s alive, slithering ahead, pulling us deeper into the dark. Drawn onward like a compass needle pulled toward the edge of the world.

Hudson notices. “So, what? My blood’s some kinda fucked up GPS now?”

I flash my teeth. “Something like that.”

Hudson exhales, still getting his balance. “I’m guessing there’s a catch.”

“Oh yeah,” I purr, watching the darkness shift. “Your blood’s waving a big, red flag to anything looking for a snack.”

Hudson follows my gaze—and finally sees what I already know.

The shadows move. Not like wind through trees. Like something breathing. Like the trees themselves aren’t just trees. Their limbs don’t sway—they reach.

Their bark pulses.

So does the ground.

Something big is beneath us, asleep. Waiting.

But it’s not the worst part.

The worst part is the eyes.

Lurking in the dark. Hidden between gnarled roots and the twisted spaces between trees. Watching. Waiting. Hungry.

Then—the clicking starts.

A deep, guttural clicking sound echoes through the air, vibrating through my bones.

Hudson stiffens. I grin, the danger appealing to my baser instincts.

The clicking grows louder. Closer.

His breath hitches. “What the fuck is that?”

I flex my claws, tilting my head toward the noise. “Something that doesn’t leave enough of you behind to bury.”

Hudson’s heart slams against his ribs—loud enough, frantic enough, that the scent of it hits me sharp and thick.

I breathe it in, the taste of his fear raw and bitter on my tongue.

I slap a hand on his back, claws tapping once against his spine. “Well, shit. Sure didn’t take them long to find you.”

Another click.

This one behind us.

I turn, baring my teeth.

“We move,” I growl. “Now.”

But as we run, I keep reaching.

Because the silence in my chest where she used to burn?

It’s not just wrong.

It’s unforgivable.

And I don’t care how deep we have to go—how much blood I have to spill, how many monsters I have to break—I will find her.

Even if it means tearing this cursed realm apart at the seams.