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I twisted out of the hold I was in, pulled my butterfly knife out of my pocket, and held it out against Elijah’s neck.

At the same time, Jerome managed to escape his captivity and pulled out his weapons, a deck of cards made of metal, the sides of it sharpened to cut a sliver of a tomato with ease.

He held the cards out, prepared to throw them at anyone who came towards us.

The men and women around us took out their own weapons, ready to protect Elijah.

No one moved, the room turning to tense silence.

Elijah took a deep breath. “So, just three years until I come and get you.”

“Only if you find me.” Reaper smirked.

He raised his brows. “Oh, I’ll find you, don’t worry about that.”

My eyes darkened at the audacity he had to threaten her in front of me.

“Elijah, what are you doing?” a woman yelled, though, he didn’t take his eyes off Celestine and I didn’t take my eyes off him. “Get your hands off that little girl!”

“This little girl is the Grim Reaper,” Elijah snarled. “Stygian scum.”

Gasps and murmurs broke out.

“Release her, Elijah.”

I waited for Elijah to do so, then put Celestine safely between Jerome and I, before pulling my knife away from his throat. The woman was a giant, an entire head taller than me, and stepped closer to us before crouching down in front of Celestine.

“You’re the Grim Reaper?” the woman asked her in disbelief.

“You have Angel blood,” Celestine said in response.

The woman nodded. “Yes, my name is Aaliyah, leader of the Corpse Killers. ”

Celestine pursed her lips, uncomfortable with the name. “Why do you call yourselves Corpse Killers?”

“Because that’s what we do. One day we will rid this world of all evils.

” Aaliyah grazed the back of her hand across Reaper’s cheeks.

“You have such sad eyes.” Her face hardened as if she were in pain.

“You know, you’re still young, it’s not too late to cleanse your heart to the good side. You’ll be safer and happier with us.”

Celestine moved away from her touch.

Aaliyah stood upright. “It’s best if you three leave here, Stygians are not welcomed.”

I didn’t say anything as I pushed Celestine towards the exit, Jerome following close behind.

“See you in three years, Reaper,” Elijah called as we exited the building.

***

Jerome followed us back to the apartment, and I was a bit glad he did because I wasn’t in the right headspace to watch my surroundings. None of us spoke the entire way.

“Hey, Daddy Vulture,” Jerome said with a smirk when we entered.

Niko stood in the kitchen on the phone. He turned to us, nodding at Jerome in a greeting before his eyes shifted to me in a glare. “I really had no idea.” He paused as the person on the other side of the phone spoke. “Yes. Right.”

Jerome quickly made himself at home, getting a glass and pouring himself some juice before plopping down on the sofa. Celestine followed him to the sofa and took the other end. She pulled her legs to her chest and tucked her head into her knees.

“You alright, Reaper?” Jerome asked.

She didn’t respond.

I cautiously went towards her and patted the top of her head. Her hands trembled as she reached up and took my hand in hers, holding onto it tightly.

“I felt her.” Her words were muffled .

“What do you mean?” I asked. “Aaliyah?”

She nodded her head. “I felt her inside me.”

I exchanged a look with Jerome who gave me one equally confused.

“I’ll let him know,” Niko said before ending the call. He let out a large breath, leaning against the counter.

“What’s up, Daddy Vulture?” Jerome asked.

He was not in the mood for Jerome’s jokes. “Celestine, the twins will be picking you up at city hall. Jerome, do you mind taking her there?”

“I can take her,” I said, but when he looked at me with such rage and disappointment, I shut up.

Celestine lifted her head, letting go of my hand. “Why?”

“Silias heard about where you were tonight. He wants you home immediately.”

She shook her head. “We didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Celestine. Not only were you in Etherian territory, you were in the Corpse Killers’ territory.

” Niko’s voice was sharp. “You know the rules.” Any clansman who steps foot in another’s territory is usually beaten or killed.

The fact that they let us go without any consequences, knowing who she was, could start a clan war.

“It’s fine, though, they didn’t do anything to us,” Jerome piped in.

Niko’s eyes moved to Jerome. “Only because you two were there and because she is underage. Do you two understand the danger you’ve put her in?”

“She should know the other side and what she’ll have to deal with in the future,” I argued.

“Is that why you brought her there?” Niko ran a frustrated hand over his hair with a curse. “You are supposed to train her to become strong and independent enough to take care of herself. You are not meant to introduce them to her, that’s dangling meat in front of a wolf! ”

“They know about her anyway, you’ve heard the threats they’ve made.” I glared back.

Niko took large steps towards me so we were face to face, but I wasn’t intimidated by him and stood my ground.

“You are just so bloody lucky she looks like a child, otherwise they’d have had no hesitation killing her!

You clearly don’t think about the risks before you do something, nor do you seem to grasp the responsibility you hold to protect her. ”

“I calculated the risks, and I knew they wouldn’t–”

“Knowing what you were doing is even worse, Cinth. I cannot trust your judgement anymore, so I will be taking over training Celestine. You’ve been a bad influence on her and continue to disappoint me by constantly putting her life in danger.”

He’s right.

I’ve been conflicted by my feelings towards her.

I didn’t know if my intentions were because I wanted her dead or if it really was to help her.

Training her was supposed to teach me responsibility, but I only hurt her.

I had allowed Symeon and Grey to scare her, she was assaulted and tortured to reveal information about me, and now she had been threatened to her face by the Corpse Killers.

And I allowed all of it to happen. If I really cared about her, I would have done something, right? The thought made me sick to my stomach.

“No,” Celestine protested, standing up from the sofa. “You can’t do that.”

“I’m sorry, Celestine, but you are too na?ve to understand.”

Her eyes flickered red, and she grabbed onto me, but I pushed her off. “Hyacinth,” she breathed, cautiously taking a step towards me. “You protected me, I’m safe with you.”

If I really had been protecting her all this time, she wouldn’t be so careful to come near me, she wouldn’t look at me with that damaged expression.

“Shut up,” I snapped. “Don’t—Just—I like being the villain, I like killing people, I don’t give a shit about anyone, and I like it like that.

Stop trying to see me as some Angel, as if there’s something good in me.

There’s nothing in my heart.” It was like breathing through a straw, my lungs couldn't grasp a single particle of air. “You’re seeing things that aren’t there. ”

Her lips tightened.

“Why do you like me, Reaper?”

She hesitated. “Why do you find it impossible for someone to like you?”

“Because I’m not a Demon, but I’m much, much worse. You haven’t even seen me at my normal, this.” I gestured to all of me. “What you see right now, is not me.”

She furrowed her brows. “I don’t understand.”

As I stared into Celestine's eyes, a flicker of something unrecognisable surged within me—an urge to let her in, to share these thoughts. For a brief moment, I imagined a world where I could be vulnerable, without fear of losing control. But that thought was a dangerous fantasy.

I swallowed hard, shaking off the warmth that spread through me.

No.

My eyes darkened. “I’ll scare you. I’ll make you suffer, and I’ll enjoy every second of it.”

Her eyes lowered at my words and she whispered. “You shouldn’t talk out of anger.”

“You need to understand that I will never see you as anything more than something that will one day die. You’re nothing to me, Reaper. So, stop acting like you are something to me.”

Her eyes flickered red as they welled up with tears. “One day, you're going to realise–”

“Enough,” I growled. “I have had enough of you.” My hand twitched, but I refrained from touching her.

“Ever since you came into my life, everything started falling apart, my reputation that I spent years creating is ruined because of you.” Training Celestine made it difficult to deny that I stand by Stygians when I want no association from any of the clans.

“Do you remember when we were kids, we– ”

“Stop. Talking. Reaper.” Every time someone mentions the past we shared, this throbbing ache begins in the core of my brain.

“I don't know what you remember from when we were kids, but that's not me anymore. Get over the past.” Being stuck in the past of how we used to be won’t solve the issues of the present.

Niko’s eyes travelled down to my white fists. “Hyacinth, get control over yourself.”

“If I see you again. I'll kill you.”

Before I could move, she grabbed the sleeve of my shirt, holding me firmly in place.

“When we were kids, you and I made a blood bind.” What?

Blood binds couldn't be broken, if they were, the other could see as much blood from the breaker as they pleased.

“You promised me. You promised me we would be together. Always. And that you would be the one who would take me for my Aldring.”

Aldring was a highly important Stygian ritual. When Demons turned twenty, males would decide their clan and females would decide who they would bind with. “We were children, Reaper,” I said coldly.

Celestine shook her head, her eyes filled with despair. “Don’t say that.”