The Inferno

Chapter 35 Chiaroscuro

T hanks to our previous arrangements, I’m able to keep Sai’s t-shirt.

Which is what I’m wearing when he flits me back to the room I slept in.

I instantly feel the difference when we’re away from his barrier, the coldness Kane emits sinking into me and urging me to get under the covers and sleep.

With a final punishing kiss and ravenous look, Sai forces himself to leave and my body instantly becomes heavier.

I have no time to question what I’d done, how I’d allowed myself to submit to my desires, because I’m already crawling into bed and sleep quickly follows.

When I wake, the room is submerged in a heavy darkness.

Time seems infinite as I stare up at the ceiling and recollect what had transpired over the last few days… hours.

I roll over, muffling my face with one pillow, then place another on top of my head. I take a deep, deep breath, and then I scream.

Alexis had taught me this technique. We called it ‘pillow scream’. Imaginative, I know. But at the time, when I was still raw from the official break up with a certain wolf, and my powers were about to explode from my chest, she didn’t have much time to coin something more original.

It soon caught on.

When Ferne’s grandfather passed away, the last of her father’s side, she’d used ‘pillow scream’ as we plaited her hair and stroked her cheeks. Louise was hesitant at first, frowning when Alexis demonstrated, but she soon created her own version, one which included punching and screaming when she was told of her arranged plans to wed next year. And Lewis, who set the pillow on fire when he realised his sister’s fate. Javier joked about using the technique in the bedroom, but his laughter soon fell into sobs which turned into pained screams of revenge for his brother’s murder.

Somehow, screaming into this lifeless thing just worked.

“Are you OK?”

Just like that, my reprieve bursts. I take another breath, keeping my face pressed into the pillow as I respond .

“Fine.” I cringe into the pillow, hearing the word echoing into the mental abyss which urges me to change the topic. “What time is it?”

“It’s late, I’ve just got back,” Ezekial replies . “Are you able to join us downstairs?”

Us.

Like I could ever ignore the cold slivers brushing against my skin, even though I’d been trying from the second I awoke. Sighing into the pillow a final time, I drag myself out of bed.

“Sure.”

My body shivers as I reach the large wardrobe and search for something warmer.

I remove Sai’s t-shirt, trying not to stare at it for too long before I quickly stuff it into the back corner of the cupboard, underneath a pile of empty bags and boxes.

I never normally felt the cold, until now. At least the soft grey jumper and jeans I slipped on helped to maintain some warmth.

When I reach the stairs, I sense both brothers but only see one. I watch Ezekial carefully as I descend. Thin silver glasses frame his gaze which flicker urgently over the tablet in his tattooed hand, he grips a low ball glass in his other. Only a sliver of amber remains.

His dark suit jacket hangs upon the back of his chair, meaning he’s only wearing a pale grey shirt with the sleeves scrunched up. I study the lines of black ink which trail from his fingers in jagged shapes, following the pattern up and around his biceps until it disappears beneath the fabric straining against the muscle there.

I peer away, concentrating on my steps instead, watching my sock clad feet with utmost fascination. Even when I’m at the table, I do everything I can to avoid looking at Ezekial, to ignore my power swirling with excitement. I take the furthest seat which was quickly becoming my norm at this table.

Unfortunately, the alternative to studying Ezekial appears from the depthless shadows and takes the chair directly opposite.

“When did you last eat?” his immediate question forces me to meet his eyes.

I barely stop my mouth from parting.

The scattered lamps within the room emit a pearly glow and the soft hue casts his caramel skin into an ethereal light. One which emphasises the harsh shadows that kiss every edge of his angular face. Somehow, the contrasts darken his already blackened gaze into pure obsidian jewels.

His deep raven hair is styled as normal, tightly slicked back and short, serious, business like. He's also wearing a shirt, black, but the sleeves cover his arms completely, shimmering cufflinks in place.

Another rush of cold brushes over me, forcing me to meet his stare again. Beneath the table, I cross my arms over my stomach for some comfort and attempt to ease the fluttering I’m struggling to quell.

“I can’t remember,” I finally reply. His dark gaze is steady, unrevealing, whilst mine flickers all over the glimmering table. “Maybe yesterday, after—”

“Yesterday,” he repeats, but the word has become something venomous and my coils sweep around me in caution.

I peer up at him, noting the tightening of his jaw, the tick of a muscle there. It’s a minute action, barely noticeable, but my entire body tenses. “I’ve slept most of the day. I’ve hardly been awake, so there’s been no time to eat.”

“You have to eat.”

The shadows crawl forward.

The temperature drops.

“Brother.” Ezekial’s voice distracts me, breaking the intensity of Kane’s, but he isn’t looking at me.

I watch them as they silently assess each other. There’s something more happening here, this is more than a petty discussion about food, and the quick flash of grey in Kane’s eyes confirms it. The tiniest graze of a deep, sad emotion catches me.

The intense need to quell the feeling is immediate. “You’re right, Javier used to complain I never ate enough. Can I get something from the kitchen?”

Kane’s eyes collide with mine, the flecks of grey scarcely visible. His mouth softens and a small crease forms between his dark brows. He continues to study me, digesting my words.

Wisps of black swirl above his empty seat. Both the room and my skin seem to thaw.

“Does he do that a lot?” I ask, sighing as I adjust to relax my stiff posture.

Ezekial is still staring at the vacant chair until my question. He turns to face me, his silver eyes now holding mine. “My brother does a lot of things I don’t quite understand.”

“Like commanding people to eat and then disappearing? ”

I was hoping to lighten the mood with my comment, keeping my tone soft, but the atmosphere plunges into a thick and heavy sensation. An emotion akin to sorrow slices me and I quietly gasp.

“There’s something you’re not telling me.” I stare intently at Ezekial, and his metallic gaze analyses me carefully.

“It isn’t my story to tell.”

I’m preparing to speak again when a vibration pierces the tension. His eyes flicker erratically over his screen and I watch as he swipes and taps various areas before removing a phone from his pant pocket, tapping that a few times too, before placing it to his ear.

Whoever he calls, they answer immediately.

“Update,” he orders. Like this, he sounds so similar to his brother. I sit straighter in my chair at the deep formal voice which holds a terrifying undertone. “Give me to them.”

Ezekial’s eyes dart to mine briefly, he seems to note the change in my posture and, somehow, the silver glare softens. “Anything?” he asks, his voice slipping into his regular low lilt.

I can’t hear the person on the other side but my skin tingles slightly, running over my spine before expanding over my back and arms.

“How is he hiding this well?” he asks, anger and irritation tinging the air. I subtly inhale and draw them into me, altering them instantly. “I know, we’ll need to interrogate everyone, anyone he’s ever come into contact with, the sooner the better.”

There’s a pause as the person responds.

“Yes,” Ezekial replies and gleaming silver eyes slide over me, accompanied by a small smile. “Julien says ‘hi’.”

Why that causes my body to flood with heat, I’ll never truly know, but I feel the intense burning of my cheeks and force myself to stare at my hands rather than acknowledge it.

Ezekial releases a small chuckle and the heat of my skin intensifies, I pull at the sleeves of my jumper, pushing them up to my elbows to relieve some of the warmth.

“She says ‘hi’ back.” He laughs into the phone again, a deep rumble which causes goosebumps to erupt along my arms and my power to flare within. I stare in horror at my skin.

“See you soon.” I watch as he places the phone onto the table, and the second his eyes catch with mine, the feeling of irritation blooms again. “We’re still searching for the girl. We’ve covered a lot of ground but this is a very large district and he seems to have… friends we weren’t aware of.”

I slowly nod, twisting the irritation into something lighter, but not removing it completely. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

His ash grey brows narrow, causing his scar to bunch slightly and I trace the shape of it in a haze, noting the crescent form.

“Come over here.” My eyes jump back to his at his order, then trail his arm as he pulls out the chair beside him in invitation.

I’m hesitant at first and watch as he places his tablet upon the table, sliding it towards the edge and the empty seat. From here, I can just see a rough outline of a map and my curiosity peaks.

I quickly take the seat, avoiding Ezekial’s gaze at all costs, and place my elbows upon to table allowing me to lean forward and over the image covering the tablet.

“This is a map of the district,” Ezekial explains beside me. His voice seems lower, softer, as though he’s afraid I’ll disappear. I try to ignore my coils which have begun to swirl from the closer contact and focus upon his hand.

Ezekial double taps the image which is currently only an outline, and it suddenly bursts with colour. Now, before me, is a hyper realistic map, one which Ezekial zooms in and out of with the pinch of his ring clad tattooed fingers. I watch in amazement. I’d had a phone but never anything this hi-tech.

“You should recognise this place.” He quickly swipes along the map with ease until an image of a large, ornate building appears.

“The Council building?” I ask.

Without answering, he pushes the tablet towards me and into my hands. “Now, zoom out.”

I bite my lip in concentration, remembering the pinching action he did. The first few times I try, I keep knocking the map back into its outline form, but I get it by the fourth attempt. It takes me five, large pinches to zoom out fully. Each time, the magnitude of the district increases until the building is barely a white speck.

“Wow.” My eyes trace over the map now speckled in undistinguishable marks and dashes. I’d become so engrossed in the task and sharp images, that I turn to face Ezekial without thinking.

I realise his gaze has been fixed upon me the entire time. And, like the first time I saw him, I become transfixed by his eyes and the subtle differences of greys. I feel his power brush over me like a gentle wave, soothing me, and I think we’re closer than before.

“Where are we?” I’m surprised he hears me.

But at my question, he drags my chair closer to him, angling himself over the tablet and cornering me with his large body. I remain perfectly still, my eyes busily soaking up this new angle, the hard muscles briefly outlined under his silk shirt.

I try to remain focused upon the map but the invisible coils tracing my skin flicker into solid forms when I feel the heat of his body. When he reaches out, his bare arm momentarily grazing mine, my power fully forms into thick lines of swirling black.

I bite the inside of my cheek and concentrate on ensuring my power doesn’t dare latch onto him, whilst trying to ignore his power which is brushing, caressing, all over me.

I take a stunted breath and forcibly nudge the screen towards him with my knuckles. I can’t look at him. I don’t dare.

Our arms nearly touch again, whilst his fingers move the virtual map towards the very edge of the district. Each time, I clench my fingers and mentally reprimand the sliver trying to expand.

Ezekial continues to move the map, completely unaware of my inner turmoil, until he reaches a large forest area where there’s no other colour except green. He removes his hand from the screen.

I frown, staring hard into the area he’s moved to. “I don’t see anything.”

“Exactly,” he murmurs.

His voice slides over me, adding to his power which hasn’t stopped expanding.

Is he even closer? Am I? I don’t dare turn to see but when I feel his leg skim mine, my power compels me to.

Again, he’s already watching me. Liquid silver flickering like metallic flames from my eyes, to my mouth, and back again.

“Why?” I murmur, unable to move away, wondering when I’d turned my body towards him.

“The other house you were in, the one you fled.” His eyes close for a moment and a sudden memory flits before me: an empty room, shattered glass, an intense feeling of fear . Then it’s gone; his eyes are back on mine. “That was just a building, a place in the capital for show,” he explains, his voice matching my soft volume, his power softly slinking over my spine. “But this.” He taps onto the screen gently, but I don’t look. “This is our home. I wanted to make sure we had somewhere, something, to keep us all… grounded, centred.”

I nod gently, remembering my own home, the only thing that was mine and was now gone… My chest aches at the thought.

“I didn’t mean to upset you.”

My gaze flares and coils become transparent once more. Why would he say that? How does he know that’s how I felt?

“I’m not, I was just—I understand, that’s all.” I finally peer away, back at the mass of virtual trees, knowing somewhere, between the mask of trees, we’re there. “I appreciate you sharing it with me.”

Just so, warm fingers brush mine and my power explodes, solidifying, wrapping and coiling with Ezekial’s calming waves of grey. He watches our powers physically collide, tracking the way they twine carefully.

He’s the epitome of control and the calming sensation coaxes my power to retract slightly. But his ability to soothe my sudden release makes my eyes race to his.

“It’s the least we can do,” he says, the certainty in his words like a physical caress, completely unfazed by our powers reacting. “What happened to you—” He physically flinches, cutting off his words, and my fingers instinctively flex outwards, eager to calm his bubbling anger until his eyes meet mine again. “I… We will never let anything like that happen again.”

Shadows erupt into the room and the screen’s light casts us into an artificial glow. My power reacts, pulling completely from Ezekial and creating its own shadows which clash against the ones just formed.

When they connect, ice bites into my skin and the hairs upon my neck stand.

Kane reappears, slipping out from the darkness that clings so desperately to him. My own shadows instantly retract when he appears, sinking into me, and the ice thaws into a milder sensation.

That’s when I realise our fingers, mine and Ezekial’s, almost grazing, and Kane’s gaze devouring the sight. The violent buzzing of the air makes their silent conversation obvious, the two brothers now watching each other, wisps of black and grey flitting in the air.

When I tug my fingers away and under the table, it seems to break the haze. Ezekial stares down at my hand, frowning for a moment .

“Is that all for me?” I ask, eager to change the silent conversation and finally able to notice the four white plastic bags in Kane’s hands. The smell urges me to learn closer as he places them upon the table.

“I didn’t know what you’d want,” he says, pushing the bags towards me before taking his seat again. “Eat.”

Ezekial tilts his head, raising his brows at Kane, but I’m already grabbing the closest one, pulling it onto my lap and eagerly searching the contents. Their silent staring continues whilst I remove a large burrito and begin peeling the foil wrapper away.

“Thank you, Kane.”

I’m too busy taking my first bite to see Kane’s response to my gratitude but I hear Ezekial’s, a chuckle which he doesn’t try to hide.

“Aren’t you guys eating too?” I ask, peering up from my burrito to see flashes of grey in Kane’s heavy gaze.

“No. The food is for you,” he states, eyes never leaving mine.

“But I—”

“Please, let him have this.” Ezekial’s soft request makes me pause; I may not know the full story, maybe I’ll never know, but I can give him this.

“It’s really good.” I emphasise that genuine compliment with another bite.

Without looking, I can feel Kane’s response to my words. There’s a lifting sensation and the lamps seem brighter. Although, I have noticed a small shadow which has crawled around my sock.

I choose to ignore it.

I continue to eat as Ezekial relays the information from his conversation with Julien. I’ve almost finished the burrito, nodding happily at the feeling of a full stomach, feeling almost content, when Ezekial and Kane simultaneously turn to a corner of the room.

Barely a second later, crackles pierce the air and icy blue eyes appear.

“Hey, Red.” His wild gaze matches his dishevelled appearance, his enforcer uniform lacking its normal chest piece, his t-shirt covered in stains, possibly blood, and his markings pulsing vibrantly as I trail his bare arms.

I follow them down until I still at what he holds in his right hand. The scruff of a uniform, attached to a person.

An unconscious one .

“Sleep well, baby?” His smirk sends a crackle over my skin, the slight insinuation in his tone as the others are completely oblivious to our conversation, to what we had been doing the last time we were together, makes my stomach swirl.

“Fine,” is my short reply. His smirk forms into a grin and crackling skitters all over me.

“Sai, you know we have rules about bringing people here.” Ezekial’s tone is laced with disapproval and wisps of silver twist into the air as he begins to stand.

“I know, I know, but what if said person is unconscious? What if said person would be very helpful in finding a certain someone? What if—”

“There’s no exception to the rule,” Kane interrupts.

Immediately, I feel their gazes land on me. I decide to busily rummage in the bag again, the humming around me making it very clear of the ‘exception’ they’re discussing as I pretend to be oblivious.

“Maybe, just maybe, we need to be a tad more specific with the rules if you want me to follow them.”

“Like that would make a difference,” Kane quickly grumbles.

I almost laugh at his grumpy response. Instead, I study Kane again. His stoic aura only blemished by the slightest curl of his fingers, it’s barely a movement, but I noticed.

Then he stands, moving towards Sai, and I quickly avert my vision to my own hands, trying to replicate the small action.

A gentle hum permeates the air as I watch the three men, now towering over the injured body, staring down upon it with a mixture of disgust and indifference. But there’s something else, a tinge of sourness, something vile and familiar seeping out from the crumpled mess.

My power unfurls, twisting around me in soft vines, as I move closer to the source.

I see the body fully now, I see its chest barely rising, a chest covered by a uniform with a crest, one I instantly recognise.

“It’s one of them,” the voice inside me whispers.

The memory of being beaten, dragged and collared flashes to life.

My fingers rush to my throat, then my chest, as aftershocks of pain flicker like lightning. I flinch, tightening my arms around my stomach, reliving the horrific moment again as I try to protect my organs. Every single kick repeats in quick succession and the agonising pain reverberates against my bones .

Someone is speaking but it’s barely an echo. My coils turn into defensive spikes eager to cause harm to anyone and anything. I try to block out the memory, try to restrain the darkness and dull the screaming consuming my mind.

But I lose my control.

I feel the spike which escapes, forming into a deadly noose around the unconscious man’s throat. When it tightens, my spine erupts with heat, but the pain doesn’t come, because I direct it entirely into him.

Kill him, destroy him, make him pay.

My eyes turn, the room is cast into a greyscale form as I stare at the man convulsing on the ground. Because of me. Because of my darkness.

They need him.

I’m arguing with myself, whilst enjoying the torment I’m inflicting, and no one even tries to stop me.

That thought makes the room flicker in and out of colour.

Why aren’t they?

I drop the mental barrier I hadn’t realised I’d created.

“Why aren’t you stopping me?” The familiar darkness has returned to my voice, the sound I now recognise as my own.

I don’t look at the enforcers, I continue staring at the body, which is barely hanging on, my singular strand of darkness engulfing its entire neck.

“If this is truly what you want, we won’t stop you.”

“It’s your choice, Red.”

Just like at the barrier, when I had the three guards spasming and bleeding on the ground. Not one of them intervened. Not even him .

“He might know where the girl is.” Just saying it mentally makes my coils flicker with uncertainty. My hold loosening but remaining around his raw neck.

“Or he knows nothing," Kane interjects. Finally, I tear my gaze away and seek out his.

He’s closer than any of the others, an arm’s width away, his dark gaze mirroring mine in every way, filled with a compulsion to damage, avenge, destroy. The sight urges me to continue, to take the vile creature from the world, twist his body into ash: eliminate him.

“But.” Kane takes a step towards me .

I watch him warily as my spikes retract and alter course to be directly in front of me. He’s unperturbed by the action but stops just before the flickering points.

“There’s a chance he may.” His gaze never leaves mine. “What is more important, your desire to kill someone who inflicted immense pain upon you or your urge to find the girl? Whichever decision you make, we will accept. But it is a decision you and you alone must make.”

“I—” I stumble, the protective spears splutter, retreating into softer forms until I regain my footing again.

It’s too much. My two contrasting desires keep clashing and pulling, taking, wanting more.

But large, baby-blue eyes flash before me—long, dark, unkempt hair; malnourished, pale arms; and a small, sad smile.

“The girl. I choose the girl.”

Shadows submerge everything.

The soft light splutters until it is completely eradicated. A biting coolness engulfs my leg and quickly rushes over my stomach, ribs, throat, everywhere, soothing the aching memory of pain in a trail of frost. The sensation smothers out the sour emotions, the ones seeping from the guard, and soon my coils settle around me once more.

Kane isn’t touching me, but his shadows are. I’m surrounded by them, they cover every inch of my skin until the room becomes drenched in colour again, the light slowly filtering back.

I take a long, shuddering breath as I meet his gaze. “Thanks.”

He just watches me from the same close distance and I catch the same, minuscule finger flex from earlier.

“Well, fuck.” Sai laughs, but it’s quickly evident no one else is in the mood for his humour.

“Why would you bring one of his guards here? ” Ezekial’s voice is a wicked whisper, darkness lacing the words and metallic spikes thread the air, but Sai ignores him, his piercing gaze focused purely upon me.

He’s closer too, but when he tries to come towards me again, Kane deliberately stands in front of me, partly obscuring Sai from view.

Sai instantly stops, his worried gaze flickering between Kane and me.

“I’m sorry, Red. I didn’t even think you’d be with them when I turned up,” Sai explains, his regret mixing with frustration and concern, his eyes soft and solemn, all of which dissolve the final remnants of the pain and darkness previously infecting me .

“It’s OK,” I murmur, shivering slightly but also wanting to console Sai.

“This is why we have rules,” Kane adds, dismissing Sai’s words instantly, his stance solid before me.

“Well, there’s not exactly any phone service where I was.” Sai glares at Kane, all sincerity instantly erased. “Julien is busy with the others and I needed a helping hand that won’t kill this guy.”

“Explain,” Kane demands, his cold, monotonous tone making my skin crawl.

“What can I say, maybe I’ve gone soft? Maybe I’ve lost the touch? Maybe I—”

“Sai,” Kane grumbles.

This is a new sound. A sound of petty irritation, so similar to a sound I’d used many times with Javier. It’s that small connection to Javier which causes a small huff of air to bubble from my lips.

There’s a pause, Kane turns and I feel three pairs of eyes dart to me. I no longer feel cold as my cheeks instantly flush.

Deciding I definitely need some distance, I take a few steps to the side and ease myself onto the arm of the nearest chair.

“He won’t talk,” Sai finally explains. “Prospero’s done something to that mind of his and I just can’t break him.” He delivers a hard kick into the man’s ribs. There’s a loud thud but no movement. “And I’ve tried everything. I even got the demons to use the iron—”

No one speaks, aloud anyway, but Sai instantly goes silent.

“Basically, I need Daddy Darkness here,” Sai concludes, pointing directly at Kane with a full, dimpled smile.

His nickname for Kane makes my previous huff of air evolve into a sudden laugh, I try to stifle the sound but it happens too quickly. It attracts their attention again but I’m staring intently at the unconscious body.

“Don’t call me that.”

My gaze flickers back, the two men standing closer now. Brilliant blue eyes gleaming against stormy black.

“What, ‘Daddy’?”

“Stop.”

“What about, ‘Sexy Shadow Man’?”

“No.”

“I agree, ‘Daddy Darkness’ suits you more, it has an authoritative ring to it.”

“Don’t say it again.” Kane’s low voice bubbles like lava about to erupt, shadows slowly unfold upon the ground around him, unfurling towards the body and around Sai.

I lean forward, intently watching, coils swirling around me with excitement.

“Dad—”

As the serpent-like shadows strike, a transparent barrier erupts from the ground, scarcely separating the darkness from cracking bolts of blue. Ezekial sways between the two, stepping into the barrier that blocked anything else from passing through.

“Enough,” Ezekial declares, casting his metallic sight over both men, especially Kane. “Get what you can out of this guard and then you two can deal with your disagreements after. After we’ve found Prospero. After he’s chained in the Pit bloody and raw. Agreed?”

Sai emits a long, dramatic sigh whilst Kane continues to stare at him. Shadows sway against the invisible forcefield Ezekial creates, one I was sure wouldn’t last if the men decided to continue.

“He’s right. Come on, Da—Kane.” Sai’s glimmering eyes catch mine. His smirk descends into a wicked smile when he sees me because I have one hand clamped over my mouth, desperately trying to smother my laughter. The way Sai irritates Kane has become a new form of enjoyment.

Sai grips the unconscious body again in preparation to leave when he suddenly stops.

“I almost forgot,” he announces, slipping his free hand into one of the many pockets on his combat pants, before removing a small rectangle. He checks it over quickly before sliding it across the table, the object stops just before me with a little flicker of violet.

“Why are you only giving her this now?” Ezekial asks, his annoyance, yet again, crystal clear.

“Oh, I was a bit distracted earlier.” Sai smiles, the type that reveals his dimples. He’s not even looking at me but my skin heats at his words and I watch his markings pulse in quick succession. “Better late than never, right? ”

“Is this for me?” My voice sounds strangely loud. I tentatively reach out and take the phone into my hands, running my fingers over the screen and watch it turn on from my touch.

“Yep, so you better text me, Red,” Sai instructs with a wink, before melting away into flickers of violet crackles.

Kane leaves instantly, without a word or a look, his wisps of black grapple with the blue until they disintegrate together. The darkness dissolves and light flares back into the room.

“Will they be OK?” I find myself asking, watching Ezekial take his original seat, the one directly next to me, my knees almost touching his arm.

My chest becomes tight at the silly realisation and I quickly distract myself with the loading dots now appearing on the screen.

“Are you?”

I nod, unwilling to fully answer. Even with the darkness subdued, I still feel it rushing through my veins.

“They’ll be fine,” he assures me, and I catch him running a hand through his hair. It causes the stark silver strands to mix with the black. “You can’t begin to imagine how we used to be with each other. The disagreements, the arguments, the fighting. This is actually a huge improvement,” he comments, chuckling slightly in remembrance of something.

“Really?” My brows rise at his admission. “That seemed pretty… intense.”

He nods, running his fingers over his tablet screen for a moment. “We used to fight constantly, at least once a day, and they weren’t pretty.”

“Is that why you vote over everything?”

He arches a brow and the corner of his lip tilts into a smirk. No longer does he look like a stern council member and my heart beats a little quicker.

“Yes, that was something I introduced but, as you’re quickly learning, not everyone follows the consensus.” I laugh lightly before he continues, “But I suppose we were always bound to clash, it’s what tends to happen when beings like us group together. You see it a lot with fresh enforcer units.”

“So, why did you? ”

His eyes finally slide over his screen towards mine, the entrancing silver gleams, reminding me of the moon’s reflection in water. “Why did we fight?”

“Why did you become a unit?” I ask, unsure why I even want to know, why I’m even asking such a personal question.

We stay silent for a moment, his gaze a soft glow of silver. “Why does anyone seek out others?” His voice is low, gentle, like the sound of the night tide swaying against the shore.

“For company?” I offer, my voice just as soft. He doesn’t respond, his gaze studying me carefully, waiting for me to continue. “Nobody wants to be alone.”

“Is that why you stayed with your... family ?” he queries. There’s no malice, no threat in his tone, only genuine curiosity.

“I guess, I mean…” I wet my lips, frown a little when the words don’t seem to form as easily as they once did. “I didn’t have anyone and they gave me somewhere to belong.”

“And did you?”

My chest feels tight, there’s a sharp sensation there which makes my power gently pulse around me. An invisible comfort which reminds me I’m never truly alone.

“You were supposed to be answering my question.” My gaze flickers to his and I realise he’s turned towards me.

Ezekial smiles at the light annoyance in my voice. “It seems we’re both using avoidance as an answer.”

“I—” I stop myself. Why didn’t I answer? Why didn’t I just say, “Yes, I belonged there.”

“Avoidance is often easier than the truth.” Ezekial’s glowing gaze holds mine, even as it flickers between him and my fingers tapping gently against the phone.

“Is that what you feel with the others, a sense of belonging?” I’m not quite ready to look up, my fingers interlocking over the phone’s screen.

“Something like that,” he answers and I somehow know he’s closer even though I never heard him move. “Do your powers always form this way?”

I feel his fingers hovering my skin before I peer down. His eyes are tracing the invisible coils which flicker to grey wherever he moves. It’s embarrassing, seeing my power helplessly reacting. Even when I try to pull them away, they refuse .

“What do you mean?” I ask, the mental toil of having my powers ignore me slightly apparent from the strain in my voice.

“The way they wrap around your body,” he clarifies, finally dropping his hand and watching my coils become transparent once more.

“Always, from the first moment I remember,” I murmur, thinking back to that time. When I awoke to five strangers surrounding me and my power burst, quickly surrounding every inch of skin. “It’s protecting me, always, like a layer of armour.”

“It’s constantly defensive, which means it’s constantly restricting you.”

Our eyes meet, mine are narrowed as they consider, and instantly want to reject, his words.

“Of course it’s constantly trying to defend me, have you seen who I’m around lately?” My tone becomes one of exasperation at the end, something I wished I’d hidden.

Soft laughter fills the room and my power practically flutters at the sound, swirling in soft coils of grey which I forcibly disappear.

“I understand.” He chuckles before peering up at me again. “But we both know that isn’t true. Even though we messed up, even though you shouldn’t, even though you don’t want to admit it, you know you’re safe here, with us, and your powers know it too.”

As though agreeing with him, my coils decide to flash from clear, to grey, to black, to violet and back again. I’m furious at its deception. I’m desperate to prove it, and Ezekial, wrong. I refuse to accept anything coming from his mouth.

“That’s because your buddies are the ones who awoke this dark part of it.” My jaw clenches in irritation as I say it. Definitely not because I quickly envision the moment when Julien and Sai touched me simultaneously, and the way my body felt like fire. “Alexis said it should have been her, that she should have—”

“Who?” The cold tone of his voice halts my words, my thoughts, even my power recoils at the sound.

I’m reminded of the reaction Ezekial had to my mark, the terrifying change he went through, his murderous intentions and metallic gaze becoming hindered by a darkness which instinctively called to me even in my throws of terror .

I try to answer but his eyes are darker, covered by a hue of intense stormy grey as they watch me. I feel his anger bordering fury and quickly attempt to alter the emotions.

“Alexis, my friend… the mage from the club,” I quickly explain. “She helped control my darkness with her magic and…” I instantly see the effect of my words, his softened anger begins to build again.

Without thinking, without even considering my actions, I allow my power to do what it had been desperately seeking from the second I saw him.

The coils reach out instantly, capturing his fingers in a coat of grey. They eagerly smother his hand before expanding up his arm, disappearing under the fabric at his bicep.

“Are you trying to distract me?” Ezekial’s voice is quiet, yet remnants of anger tinge each syllable. His stormy gaze follows the trail of my coils as his metallic strands begin to entwine with it. The sensation emits soft waves over my entire body. I almost shiver. “Because it’s working.”

His eyes seek out mine, his anger slowly fading, the darkness speckling his irises dissolving.

My plan backfired.

I’m completely entranced by the feel of him, his power, his gaze. I’m trapped, entirely focused upon him and all memory of our previous conversation fades into the abyss.

“This is how your powers should form,” he begins to explain, his voice finally returning to its gentler tone—a melody I can’t ignore. “When they’re restricted, they’re harder to control because you’re constantly battling within yourself. Your mind, your body, your powers; light and dark, they’re constantly in conflict with one another.”

He watches me carefully as I listen, the lull of calm created by simply letting go just confirms everything he says.

“But when you allow them to harmonise, even just for a moment.” He raises his hand and we both watch the ribbons of our powers twirl around his ringed fingers. “That’s when you’re truly in control.”

“But what if I lose control?” I ask, my concern and vulnerability drenching the air. “The darkness always wants more, it’s never satisfied. The only reason I didn’t kill that man was because Kane intervened.”

“You can’t fight yourself forever,” he asserts, a semblance of a lost memory almost flits to the surface when he says those words but it quickly dies away. “Harmony brings control, and to be in control, every part of you needs to be sated. ”

During Ezekial’s final words, I feel my vision dip into the darkness. Our powers continue to claim one another, fading in and out of colour as they blend and merge before becoming separate once more.

“We will help you,” he suddenly proclaims, the metallic glow of his gaze entrancing me again. “Now, call it back.”

I clearly hear his order, but I still hesitate. Partly because I’m not sure I want to call my power back, because the feeling of his power combined with mine is the first bit of peace I’d had since… Well, since I could ever remember.

Both light and dark, both parts being simultaneously met.

“Unless...” His sensual voice compels me back to him.

His darkening gaze dances over my face, lingering upon my lips for just a moment too long before locking with my eyes.

A cheerful jingle erupts from my hands and my power plummets into me with a hard jolt.

I almost fall off the chair, thankfully, my coils flare out to steady me, stopping me from dying of complete embarrassment.

The phone in my hand flashes to life, the screen slowly brightening as my eyes return and a bright red fingerprint appears in the centre of the screen, pulsing with urgency.

I frown down at it.

“It needs to scan your fingerprints,” Ezekial explains, the glow of his eyes slowly fading. “To ensure no one else can access it.”

I do as the phone says, placing my index finger upon it and following the instructions as I tentatively lay each part of my finger down exactly as it shows. Ezekial has begun swiping and tapping his tablet again, checking my progress every so often.

We stay silent and my power remains around me. It’s comfortable.

Soon, the red fingerprint turns green, accompanied by a large tick and another loading screen briefly appears.

This time, when the loading screen disappears and the home screen flares to life, I nearly drop the phone.

Filling every inch of the screen, in HD detail, is a bare chest. A toned, muscular chest, one decorated by vibrant markings, markings which lead lower and lower, de-marking a clear V-shape just as the image cuts off.

Crackling courses through me, igniting a fire which sends my heart pulsing. My chest and cheeks heat instantly and I force myself to squeeze the phone into my jean pocket to ensure I don’t look again.

“Would you mind checking he’s put all of our numbers in there?” Ezekial asks, tapping something twice before peering up at me again. “I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Sai only gave you his.” He smiles and the heat previously created by Sai is amplified by Ezekial.

I just nod, pulling the phone back out and staring at the image until I swipe it away. I quickly find the contacts and, this time, I don’t stop my reaction.

I giggle at the names I see there. I can’t help it as each one appears:

Big Guy

Daddy Darkness

His Highness

Sir Dimples

“What did he do?” Ezekial groans, but he’s smiling as he listens to me laugh.

“He’s given you all nicknames.” I smirk, pulling the screen closer when he tries to look. “Nuh uh, only I can access remember?”

The mischievous glimmer in Ezekial’s gaze makes my heart thud and my throat feel dry. In all forms, he’s gorgeous, but when he smiles and his eyes hold a glint, he’s truly a god.

“Fine, at least send me a text so I know he’s got the numbers right.” He shakes his head slightly, still smiling, as he reaches to grab his own phone.

I instantly click onto ‘His Highness’, type out a quick ‘Hi :)’ and send.

Almost immediately, Ezekial’s phone vibrates in his hand. He smiles down at his phone and my stomach flutters, how can someone so scary also be so adorable?

“At least he got one thing right,” he murmurs. I assume he means the numbers until he adds, “He’s given you a nickname too.”

“Red?” I query, leaning forward to see. Ezekial quickly slips his phone into his pocket.

I stare at him, opening my mouth in shock over his childish action but it soon turns into laughter. “Oh, I see. For your eyes only?”

“Something like that.” He grins whilst clicking his tongue and the sound somehow increases my heart rate.

I shake my head in fake annoyance but I’m actually enjoying the light-hearted conversation, something I’d deeply missed since leaving my family.

I quickly brush over the pain that thought causes me by busying my mind with questions. “So… Am I training with Kane in the morning? ”

“I was going to tell you this earlier but, thanks to Sai’s interruption…” Ezekial doesn’t need to finish his sentence for me to understand, he seems to know this too. “We decided it would be best to pause the training, for a while.”

“Oh.” I can’t hide my disappointment. “I made progress though?”

“Kane had the final say.” He doesn’t need to elaborate further, it’s clear what those words imply.

Kane doesn’t want to train me, he doesn’t want to spend any more time with me than he has to and those inferences create a sharp ache in my ribs which I try so hard to ignore.

“I see.”

“It’s also been harder than we thought to keep one of us with you,” Ezekial continues. “Our schedules are… complicated. So, we decided it would be easier for to come with me, to the Council building.”

His eyes finally flick to mine, his uncertainty to my response clear. Although initially I’m unsure about the idea, I soon realise the benefits. I’d be out of the house being one.

“Ah, so you drew the short straw?” I say, adding a small smile.

“No, not at all.” His low voice and silver gaze captures all my attention. “I’ll feel much more at ease this way, we all will.” I frown slightly but allow him to continue, “And we want you seen, remember? If there’s a mole, they’ll be in that building, and we need them to see you, to make a mistake.”

“Make sure I’m seen. I can do that.” I nod.

“I’m sure you can,” he says softly, a flicker of concern fizzling quickly as he pinches his nose just below the bridge of his glasses. “Now, go and get some rest, we’ll be leaving around six am.” He suddenly stands, empty glass in hand.

I watch him for a moment, selfishly admiring his broad shoulders and muscular back as he pours himself another drink. Glancing at my phone and the bold ‘3:03AM’, I decide to take his advice and begin to leave.

“Jasmine.”

He doesn’t turn to face me, thankfully, as my body physically reacts to my name from his lips, my heart thuds and my skin heats. When the silence stretches, I wonder if I’d imagine it, but the way my power coils and uncoils indicates otherwise.

“Sleep well.”