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She let out a short laugh, a smile forming on her lips.

“Hyacinth,” she started. “We're not going to be just friends.” My heart was about to suffer yet another heart attack at her words and my eyes widened.

Then, her eyebrows furrowed again, her smile staying.

“You really forgot everything, didn't you?”

“Hyacinth,” Niko called through the other side of the door and we snapped our heads to the banging. “Hyacinth!” He began knocking hard, I thought it might break down. I turned back to Celestine, but she had disappeared. “Hyacinth!”

I blinked and daylight had set into my room. The windows were closed and there was no hail storm outside. Jerome was somehow sleeping through Niko’s yelling .

Was that all really just a dream?

“Hyacinth!” Niko continued to pound on my door.

It felt like I'd been asleep for a couple minutes, but it was ten in the morning, though I had already decided not to go to school today. I took my time reaching the door, not looking forward to what Niko had to say about what happened last night.

“What is it?” I asked him, opening the door.

“You've overslept!” he shouted. “And why did you lock your door, you know I don't like that!”

“I… I thought you wanted me to stay away from Reaper,” I reminded him. “That's why I didn't wake up for school.”

His eyes turned cold. “That doesn't mean you can become lazy and sleep all day.”

I didn't respond to that.

“I had a chat with Silias last night and he wants to see you now.”

“Now?” I asked. “Are you coming as well?”

“No. Just you alone.”

That… Did not sound good at all, but I'm not afraid of Silias, just the conversation ahead.

He glanced behind me at my bed, seeing Jerome still snoring and taking up the majority of the bed. He really sleeps like he has no responsibilities. Niko shook his head at his lack of survival instincts. If someone wanted to kill Jerome in his sleep, he wouldn’t even notice.

***

Silias was already waiting for me at the Underworld Bar. I was led to the back, Leo and Sterling personally guarding the door, scowling and muttering curses at me, but I didn't respond to them. They let me enter the room and closed the door shut behind me.

Silias sat behind the table, Celestine curled up in his lap. “Hyacinth,” he greeted with a false smile, as I took my seat across from them. “It's not been long since I last saw you. ”

Celestine didn't look at me, her face buried in Silias's shoulder. I think she was asleep.

“You're not stupid, I know you aren't,” he started. “You know Cel’s a Demon.”

It wasn't his place to tell me that. What if I hadn’t figured it out?

He caressed Celestine’s hair. “She's very precious to the clans and I know you're secretly loyal to Stygia.”

I'm not loyal to Stygia, Niko is. Religion is stupid and only separates everyone more than is needed.

Silias moved his eyes from Celestine to mine, a certain coldness in them.

“We're looking for someone who's able to control her, well.” He tossed his head side to side. “Her or Bernadette. It could be either of them.” He went on to continue to explain. “All you and Cel do is argue and last night you upset her so much she wouldn’t even speak–Nikodemus filled me in on the things you said to her. You don't control Cel nor do you have a connection with her. Otherwise, you wouldn't have attempted to kill her, and I know the only thing that’s stopped you from doing so is because you know she’s a Demon.”

I didn’t respond.

“Cel is loyal to me and only me, but I'm not the one we're all looking for. Cel also hasn't yet developed her powers, she's still young, so they won't come in for a couple more years.”

That's not true, none of that was true.

“Do you know what powers female Demons possess?”

“Mind control.”

“Influence,” he corrected me. “Males can transform twice their size and strength, but females can influence people to do things they wouldn't normally do. That's what makes them so incredibly dangerous.”

It’s why Angels killed female Demons when they’re infants, because they’re a threat. Celestine’s head turned towards me, her eyes faded, pupils dilated to the point where there was no blue left. I only saw her face for a brief moment before Silias adjusted her back to him again.

Ice coursed through my veins, and I had to take slow, deep breaths. “Is that why you drugged her?” I asked, barely able to contain the disgust in my tone. “Because you're afraid of her?”

Silias let out a low, deadly chuckle. “She only needs to be sedated when she's acting out,” he said. “You remember Grey when he was a teenager with all his hormones?”

Of course I did. He was a menace and drove me up the wall to the point where I beat him so bad he was hospitalised. That's why he has a restraining order against me.

“Hardly anyone could control him and females are much, much worse. Especially when her previous family had her on pills that suppressed her emotions.”

“Pills to suppress her emotions?” I asked. “Wouldn't that have been dangerous?”

“Tell the Vicarys that,” he grunted. “Now, I am the one who has to deal with her becoming overwhelmed and the only way to help her is to sedate her.”

“And she lets you?”

“It's either this or putting her back on those pills that make her sick,” he said. “She prefers to sleep. So to answer your question, yes.”

I'm sure there were other ways that didn't require drugs.

“Now,” Silias said. “Have you noticed anyone around Cel that she seems to be naturally drawn towards?”

I thought about it for a moment. “No.”

He nodded. “Perhaps, the child has not been born yet, or it really is Bernadette.” Then he let out a short laugh. “We really thought it was you. You fit the criteria, though you don't have any powers.”

He’s right there. I can't see in the dark any better than the average human, I don't manipulate darkness, nor do I crave blood for food. “I'm only human, Silias,” I confirmed .

There was a point in time where the entire city demanded I take a blood test to prove that I didn't have Demon blood. Their blood count was significantly lower if they hadn't eaten in a while and was also contaminated with multiple different blood types. That test came back negative for me.

His smile was eerie. “Just as I thought.”

“How do you know it's either Reaper or Siren? What if the female isn't born just yet.”

Silias took a sip of his whisky. “You know the story of the phoenix, don't you?”

“Yes.”

The legend was woven into bedtime stories for generations.

The phoenix with a lifespan of a hundred years, the only one of her kind, capable of transforming into a bird of flames.

Indestructible, she moves across realms to establish peace and restore balance—a sign that something monumental was on the horizon.

“What of it?”

“The phoenix of this century already knows her mission and she'll step onto Soulesity soil within the next few years.”

“How would you know that?” I questioned.

“I have connections everywhere, Vulture.” Silias smirked proudly. “And according to a reliable source, she's been informed of her duties.”

“Do you know who she is?”

“No, that, as you can imagine, is kept secret for obvious reasons.”

I let out a breath. “Honestly, Silias. I don't know why you're telling me any of this.”

“Nikodemus already knows of everything we've discussed thus far, but I want to ask you.” He paused, checking on Celestine when she stirred. “To join the Kokkino clan and publicly confirm that you are Stygian.”

“Why?” I asked. “I almost killed Reaper several times, I constantly and knowingly put her in dangerous situations. Why would you want me anywhere near her? ”

“Though you're human, you're a very powerful and valuable asset. Having you on our side would further assist us in what's to come.”

“And what is to come?”

“War,” Silias said, his voice dropping. "When the phoenix arrives, it will confirm the beginning of the War of Wars. The last time she appeared in Soulesity, the world nearly burned and the Demons were brought to the edge of extinction."

I tried not to show it on my face. Everyone could feel the tension on the streets, something big was coming, and it was only a matter of time before the world turned to chaos once more.

“Soon everyone will have to choose a side.”

“And what has Niko said to this?” I questioned.

Silias's lip twitched. “You're eighteen now. I assumed the decision is up to you. Unless, Nikodemus really does control you.”

“Nobody controls me,” I muttered. “But I will think about your offer.”

He nodded. “Of course.”