LOGINOops. Are we getting a Kaziel jr. soon? Or nah? Find out more in the next chapter 👀
DANIKA The house feels wrong. It's been that way since six months ago when I regained consciousness but Kaziel didn't. Black fabric drapes the banister downstairs. Candles burn in careful little lines along the hallway, their flames steady.I sit on the edge of the bed, my belly heavy and swollen. Kaziel's framed picture is pressed to my chest so hard it aches.The witches confirmed it.'He's not coming back,' they said.I laugh weakly, tears sliding down my cheeks."I miss you so much it feels illegal," I whisper to the photo.My thumb traces the glass. His smile is soft, his blue eyes shimmering and full of life."I'm not going," I tell him. "You don't get a funeral if I'm still breathing."I lean forward slightly, pressing my forehead to the frame, my shoulders shaking."You should be here," I choke. "You were supposed to be here. You promised you'd stay until—""—until you started yelling at me for hovering too much?" A familiar voice interrupts me.The air vanishes from my l
KAZIEL (The Hollow) When I awoke inside his body, every memory rushed in at once. The smell of dust and blood in that basement. The crack of bone. His mother's voice. His affection for her. His prayers. His hatred.For ten days after the transfer, I could not heal.I didn't understand why at first. I tried again and again to knit broken skin, close the wounds and stop the bleeding. Nothing responded. His body rejected my nature. Magic slid off him like water over stone. I felt everything. Every blade. Every strike. Every violation.I learned pain in those ten days.Real pain.When healing finally came, it came imperfectly. And it left scars behind. I learned then that this body would never obey me fully. It would demand effort.Humanity was not given. It had to be studied.So I learned.I learned how to walk without drawing attention. How to breathe when I was anxious. How to speak without sounding like an animal. How to smile without baring my teeth.I learned how to be ‘norma
DANIKA "Focus on your core," Kira commands, her voicesteady. My hands tremble as I press my palm to my chest. My heart is hammering so hard it feels like it's trying to free itself. I reach inward, taking a deep breath.At first, there's nothing but heat. A familiar warmth. Then it deepens and spreads in my chest."Good," Kira says softly. "That's it. Now hum. Don't force it. Let the vessel speak."I draw in a shaky breath and part my lips.The sound that slips out is soft at first. Barely more than a breath. It vibrates in my throat, unfamiliar and wrong, as if my body remembers a language my mind never learned.I gasp, my knees buckling, and suddenly I'm not there anymore.I see him.A ten-year-old boy with his wrists bound in a basement that smells like blood. His face is bruised, blood is crusted at his lip, and his eyes are too old for his small body. He's moaning in agony, his back arching as he bleeds out on the dirty floor."No," I sob, my tears rolling down. "No—plea
DANIKA Kira moves without warning. She grabs my arm to shove me behind her just in time for the door to jerk open. And then I see him.My father.He looks... ordinary. I expected him to look more like the devil. Possibly with two horns growing from his forehead. But even his head has gone bald, with slight wrinkles on his face. Horrible taste in fashion too. What's with those ugly red boots?There's not a shred of recognition on his face. Because to him, I'm not a daughter. I'm a resource."Well," he says, his gaze sliding past Kira and locking onto me. His mouth curves. "There you are, baby girl.""Don't call me that," I snarl. "You didn't raise me."His brow lifts, his eyes swimming with amusement. "My, my, look who inherited her mother's temper."I bare my teeth. "You tortured my mate.""Oh, him?" he says, glancing towards Kaziel like he's nothing more than furniture. "Necessary inconvenience."Kira growls. My father doesn't even look at her when he moves. With only one bli
DANIKA I'm seated on the couch, clutching Kaziel's phone on my lap with Kira and Isaiah making calls. It’s been hours since my mate went missing. I feel helpless. Tears well up in my eyes, and I sniffle, trying to be strong. I’m painfully aware that Kaziel had been lying to me when we'd spoken earlier. Scratch that, I feel it in my bones.I know my father has him. He's the only enemy left. He must've taken him for the ritual, and that means he's probably at the cult house. Eve might know where it is. Since she was close to her sister.I watch Isaiah clench his jaw, his brow deeply furrowed, while Kira heaves a sigh.They still believe this is a search.It isn't.It's a countdown.I lower my eyes to Kaziel's phone, my thumb brushing over the cracked edge of the screen. If I tell them what I know, they'll stop me. They'll insist on plans and backup and waiting.Kaziel doesn't have time for waiting. So the question isn't if I'm leaving. It's how.How do I walk out of this room w
KAZIEL I scream before I'm even fully awake, the raw sound tearing out of my throat. My skull feels like it's splitting down the middle, as if someone drove a spike straight through my temples and left it there to vibrate."Fuck—!"The word rips out of me as I try to curl in on myself, only to find that I can't. Cold metal bites into my wrists, and they sting. These are not ordinary restraints. The realization hits me hard.I jolt, panic overwhelming me as my body refuses to move the way it should. My arms are yanked back and tied high, my shoulders screaming in protest. My legs are folded beneath me, numb and stiff, my back pressed against something solid.A pole.I'm sitting on the floor."What the fuck—" I snarl, thrashing instinctively, the restraints digging deeper into my skin. The movement sends a fresh wave of agony crashing through my head, and I choke, gagging hard as bile threatens to flood my mouth.I hold it back with a growl, breathing through clenched teeth."Son







