Chapter 1
Seven Years Later
“Please, I need help… Anyone… Please help me.”
Even if she was whispering, it was like I could hear it as though she was standing right beside me.
It’s then I hear Mister. “She needs you. They… need you.”
I don’t even look at Sydni before running off back toward Xera and Kairhyse, because if her Familiar was reaching out to me through the Phantasm, something I’m not physically capable of reaching through, then I know that I have not but a second to waste.
Even if it was already too late.
Sidence is bathed in blood, but that’s not what drives me to my knees.
The splash as I hit the ground is nothing compared to the agonized sounds tearing from Xeraphine’s throat.
I haven’t drawn breath in hundreds of years, yet seeing her clutching my friend’s severed head—holding it as if it’s the last thing keeping her tethered to this world—forces air into my lungs.
“No…” The word slips from my lips before thought can catch it.
It’s as if she hadn’t expected me to come. Her head jerks up, eyes wide, and in them all I see is fog. They aren’t shrouded in darkness, nor are they silver. They’re empty. Void of everything. Red veins splinter back from the corners, disappearing behind her swollen eyelids.
“H-help… him…” Her voice shakes, just as violently as her body does. “Help… me… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
I move toward her, reaching for them. But, as though she’s terrified I’m coming to take him away, she screams bloody murder.
I bolt upright in bed, heart racing faster than its usual snail’s pace. My ears feel clogged, so I slap my palm against the right one, hoping to dislodge whatever’s stuck. Though I know there’s nothing there. They’ve been like this for weeks now, ever since that night.
Drawing my knees up under the sheets, I rest my elbows on them and drop my head forward. I take a deep breath I don’t need, then let it out in a heavy sigh.
It’s been two weeks since Xeraphine and Kairhyse were laid to rest in Alaric’s basement. I haven’t slept much—and while Vampire’s like myself don’t require it, I’ve always liked to rest my mind, the way I did when I was Mundane.
That solace hasn’t come.
A constant feeling of failing them haunts me. It’s what has kept me from getting any semblance of peace.
It’s not just the memory of her screams or the sight of his head cradled in her arms that keep me awake—it’s her parting words.
“I need to tell you something.”
I thought she was going to blame me for not defying their request and just staying with them to help fight against Tali.
No, it was something far worse.
“Lucifer. I saw him in the Beyond… with his father.”
I hadn’t thought about him in centuries. Not until Kairhyse called me to meet his girl, Xeraphine, who just so happened to be a Succubus. Even then, talking about him with that firecracker only brought back good memories—a strange kind of nostalgia.
But hearing that he’s just in the Beyond? With his father? That pissed me off.
Lucifer, that damned Incubus, left without even saying goodbye. No breakup. No nothing.
I grip the navy blue blanket, my upper lip twitching.
It isn’t like he couldn’t have come back to me and done it. I’ve seen him cross through the gates; he’s absolutely capable of giving me closure.
Pushing my shoulders back, I take in the room I’ve been occupying in that Fallen, Alaric’s, mansion of a home. I’ve convinced myself to stay here; to not do something reckless enough to get me killed.
That logic has kept me grounded… until this morning. Which I’m taking as a sign.
I need to stop waiting for what may never come—that Xeraphine and Kairhyse will wake up from their deaths, and move on with their lives.
I’ve got to stop holding onto hope I can ask Xera to open the gates to the Beyond, so I can drag that damned Demon out myself, just to make him pay for leaving me like he did.
It’s a selfish notion, wanting them back just so they can help me…
Alas, with Sydni, Xeraphine’s best friend departing today, it’s time I move on and find another way to the Beyond.
Throwing off the blankets, I move to the en-suite bathroom.
After showering, brushing my teeth, and combing through my hair just to throw it up into a messy bun, I head out into the hall toward the living room.
This two-story mansion is far beyond anything I’ve lived in since I had Lucifer in my life.
Everything is white on white: marble floors, sterile walls, not a hint of color except for the occasional painting.
It all screams wealth and vanity. From the vases tucked between archways leading to unnecessary dens and offices, to the glass chandeliers overhead.
Even the few rugs that line the hallways are lush enough to make me want to piss on them.
I’d never, of course, I’m not an animal, but gods it’s just so prissy of the Fallen to quite literally bring the Vayl here after they kicked him out. My distaste for him only heightens my disgust with this place. But I’m too old to sit in that irritation.
Even if he’s standing right in my path to the living room.
From the bedroom I’ve been staying in to where I’m heading now, runs the same hallway that houses the dungeon door. I still don’t understand why he has one. His excuse of “It came with the house” grates on my nerves, so I stopped asking.
Alaric—said Fallen—is standing at the door, beating the handle like it’s an enemy. I’ve gotten to know him quite a bit over the past month or so, and I’ll admit, I hate him just as much as I did the first time we met.
He’s an Angel cast out by the Vayl, stripped of flight, and banished to the mortal world.
Or Earth. His indiscretions? Well, let’s just say I’m not exactly upset over what brought that gavel down on him.
Choosing not to kill Xeraphine when she was only a child was the right call, even if the Divine didn’t think so.
Still, his reasoning for helping Xeraphine to get an offspring of Demon and Divine blood pisses me off.
“The door isn’t going to suddenly summon them back to life, Fallen.”
He sighs and turns just enough for his deep blue eyes to meet mine. I have no sympathy for anyone in this mess except Sydni, so his disheveled look does nothing but make my balls itch. If he’s so keen on waiting for his revenge against his own kind, fine. Let it die out, like my friend did.
“I wish you wouldn’t call me that.”
I shrug. “I wish for a funnel cake to appear in my hand…” My hand comes up between us. “Oops. Well that didn’t work now, did it?”
He grumbles. “Childish.” Dragging his fingers up through his hair, he huffs, “I’m not summoning her back.
It isn’t that. Even if she woke up suddenly—which is unlikely because let me be frank, I don’t think he’s coming back at all—as badly as you all so desire that, the odds are stacked against that outcome.
” He releases a heavy sigh and turns back to look at the door.
“Sydni is saying goodbye, and has been for nearly an hour.”
Belial himself.
Without needing instructing, he steps aside to let me pass and open the door. He doesn’t follow, thankfully.
Of everyone, I’ve known Sydni the shortest, but her intuition is sharp, and she’s never hesitated to stay close. Our bond is solid. I may not call her Princess or Butterfly, but she’s a friend—without question.
I’d say she became comfortable around me almost instantly, but I can attribute that to my calm demeanor and natural charm. Nothing to be shy about; I know I’m wonderful company.
The hallway lights up, revealing a stark contrast between the white marble upstairs and the dark grays and browns down here.
I pass the medical room, where Taks, a friend of Alaric’s I guess, is leaning against the doorframe.
He’s been watching over a permanent guest of this place—who I can’t hear, which means he’s probably passed out.
Just as I nod to him, I hear soft crying.
I move swiftly past several metal-gated cells, and when I turn the corner at the end of the hall, I see her.
Sydni sits on the floor, back pressed to the cement wall, curled into a tight ball. Her blonde hair hangs over her arms, her body shaking as she struggles to get herself together.
A soft sigh comes from my nose, and she jumps.
“You’ll get use to the hearing thing.” I approach her slowly, and only briefly look between the bars to see a large metal casket, resting in the middle of the dark cell.
No movement.
No heartbeats.
All three of them—Xeraphine, Kairhyse and Mister—still gone from this world.
I lower myself onto one knee beside her and rest a hand on her shoulder.
“Hey, Sydni.”
“Hi.” Her voice breaks on the word as she lifts her head. Her eyes are blood-red, veins threading through them like cracks in glass.
“Hungry?” I ask. No point in asking how she’s doing—it’s written all over her face.
She shakes her head.
I press my lips together as her gaze drifts to the cell in front of her.
“I don’t know how to move on, Kayn.”
Honestly, I don’t blame her. It’s an ache that never really fades.
Being a Vampire means outliving almost everyone else.
Death—at least the kind that isn’t ours—is something we just have to live with.
But losing her best friend like this… Something Xera herself chose? That’s a wound that won’t close.
I know firsthand how painful that is. Fucking Incubus. If I get my hands on you…
“You don’t need to ‘move on,’ Sydni.” She looks up at me, confusion pinching her eyebrows. “That doesn’t mean you should kill yourself over it. Xeraphine wouldn’t want this. Live the life she’d want for you, the life she gave you.”
When she shakes her head, I grin. “Yes. If she’d stayed, you’d be the one watching her deteriorate.”
“She once got mad at me… saying I’d choose Brice over her. I’d have never done this to her if the roles were—”
“You would have.” I cut in before she can get too deep.
“You gave Xera everything she needed, and now it’s Kairhyse’s turn.
” Footsteps approach us. I slide my hand to the back of her neck and force her to look up at me.
“She gave you what you needed, too. Don’t let that go. Hold onto her in whatever way you can.”
Her cheeks flush as she sniffles. “Okay…”
When her eyes flick over my shoulder and back to me, she drops her gaze and whispers, “Kai was right… you do know you’re pretty, don’t you?”
Throwing my head back, I let out a full, unrestrained laugh.
“I heard that,” Brice’s deep voice echoes down the hall.
Before I even hear his footsteps round the corner, I’m already standing and stepping back from her. The last thing I need is to start a fight with that Werewolf. Sure, I could kill him with my index and thumb, but I’d rather not add to Sydni’s pain.
Brice turns the corner, eyes narrowing to slits. He’s built about as big as I am—maybe a little broader, courtesy of genetics—and though he’s taller by a few inches, on my tiptoes we’d be eye to eye.
He brushes past me without a word and crouches beside her. Sydni doesn’t hesitate; she lifts her hands and lets him help her to her feet. She’s maybe five and a half feet tall, but she holds her head high, unafraid even with two giants boxing her in against a wall.
I shouldn’t be surprised. Nothing’s scarier than having a Succubus for a best friend.
“She isn’t wrong.” That comment has the Werewolf growling. “I know I’m pretty, but don’t worry your furry tail, I’m not interested in my own kind.” I look down to her, seeing the makings of a smile forming. “As I once told Xeraphine, I like to feed while I fuck, and I—”
“Please, just shut up,” he says through a groan.
“—can’t do that on Vampires. Now you, big boy, I definitely can if you’d submit.”
Sydni giggles.
We’ll all be alright, but it’s time we get out of this house and let Xeraphine and Kairhyse be together, like they wanted.
As for me, it’s time I find that ex of mine and figure out why he’s with his father. No—I need to know why he left me. That’s what matters. I couldn’t give a shit that his dad is Belial himself. I’ve got a bone to pick with them both.