Curse Of Tethys, Hellblades Series Part 3 of 3

Manolya’s POV

Two years had passed since that day in the interrogation room, and now here I was on my first real stakeout with Kenan Karga as my partner.

Fate, it seemed, had a twisted sense of humor.

Back then, I had sat handcuffed in a dim cell, defensive and terrified, as Kenan and Aylin’s sharp gazes pierced through me like a blade.

They stripped away my defenses with every unflinching glance, as if he could see the truth I had not yet dared to speak.

But now?

Sitting beside him in the passenger seat of our patrol car, I had gotten to know the man behind the uniform. He was rough, honest, and thorough in his investigations.

The best partner in crime I could have ever asked for.

“What, are you counting me out already?” Aziz snorted, perched on my shoulder, invisible to anyone but me.

His white fur glistened in the light from the car window, his feline ears alert.

“No,” I giggled through our mind link. “But let’s be honest, he is my partner in crime. I guess you can share number one place with him if you would like.”

Aziz’s tail whispered in agitation. I had struck a nerve again. “Me, sharing first place? We all know I am superior to that.”

I only smiled.

Kenan still carried that same intimidating energy. The sharpness of his cheekbones and jawline remained, though softened slightly by years of experience.

Deep lines etched the corners of his dark brown eyes, not as signs of weakness but as marks of a man who had witnessed truths no one else dared to uncover.

His unruly black hair still defied all his efforts to keep it in place.

He raked his fingers through it absentmindedly, a habit he did not seem to be able to get rid of, despite his wife nagging.

He was dressed exactly as expected: dark blue matte shirt, black tie and vest, dark chinos that made him look both sharp and effortless.

Dark brown loafers peeked from under the hem, and his heavy wool trench coat lay discarded in the backseat.

Black sunglasses shielded his calculating gaze from prying eyes, though I knew better than anyone that he missed nothing.

I stole a glance at him, trying to reconcile the gruff interrogator I once despised with the mentor I now trusted more than anyone.

The man beside me had become my partner as we had delved deeper into the twisted depths of the supernatural and human darkness alike.

It was almost poetic, in a cruel, ironic way.

“Lost in thought again?” Kenan’s voice broke through my toughts. It was a low rumble, rough like gravel yet strangely reassuring.

“Just waiting for trouble to find us,” I replied, smirking faintly.

He snorted. “It always does.”

I returned my gaze to the window, watching the back alleys of Akyaka stretch like veins through the heart of the town.

The streets were narrow and tangled, the buildings tightly knit together, their terracotta-colored roofs bathed in the last rays of a waning sun.

White-washed villas clung to the foot of the mountains, surrounded by dark green forests that swayed in the breeze overlooking the steady flow of the Azmak River below. The town looked peaceful, serene even. But I knew better.

Who would suspect that so much darkness could hide here?

Akyaka wore its beauty like a mask, the kind that lulls you into false comfort before the storm hits you.

The azure Aegean stretched like a jewel in the distance, sparkling under the setting sun’s glow.

Ottoman architecture blended seamlessly with modern touches: intricate wooden balconies, well-tended gardens, and cobbled pathways.But underneath it all, darkness lurked.

Nothing was as it seemed.

The sun dipped below the horizon, leaving behind streaks of gold and crimson that faded into a bruised violet sky.

Twilight settled, marking the transition from day to night. That’s when everything changed.

A chill pricked at my spine.

I glanced toward Kenan.

He felt it too. It wasn’t just the temperature dropping.

The weight on my right shoulder shifted slightly, and I turned to see Aziz my Angelic companion.

He looked regal as ever, his piercing blue eyes reflecting the evening sky.

Gone were the days when my grief weighed heavy.

He sniffed the air delicately, his nose wrinkling in displeasure. “I can smell something wrong. It’s faint, but it’s definitely there.”

I nodded absently, our telepathic link giving me the luxury of silence. “I’ve had this feeling all day,” I replied. “It’s not pleasant.”

Aziz turned his gaze toward me.

His presence filled me with a sense of gratitude and belonging a bond stronger than earthly love but something far different. I finally knew what that strange pull between us had meant.

My heart would belong to someone else someday, as it should. I just hadn’t found anyone worthy yet.

A sudden thunderous crack jolted me upright. It sounded like the very mountain above us had split open.

“What was that?!” I exclaimed, my pulse racing as I searched for the source of the noise.