LOGINThe headquarters of the Supernatural Department was in a pocket dimension hidden beneath the Flatiron Building, in the heart of Manhattan. I expected dungeons, chains, and stone walls, something medieval, consistent with the creatures that watched over the underworld.Instead, I found white corridors, illuminated by fluorescent lights, and interrogation rooms that looked more like corporate meeting rooms. Metal table, padded chairs, a mirror that was certainly fake.“Sit down.” Ordered the agent who escorted us, pointing to the chairs.I sat down. Mortyss sat down beside me, the silver handcuffs still burning on our wrists.“Will someone interrogate us?” I asked.“Counselor Z.”Mortyss reacted. His violet eyes flashed, and his jaw tightened.“Do you know him?” I asked.“I do.” His voice was controlled, but I felt the tension pulsing through the bond. “Z is… practical. Rigid. Follows the law to the letter. He cannot be bribed, cannot be intimidated, and has no sense of humor.”“Is that
The Shadow Market was in an uproar.The stalls opened for me like a sea parting for a storm. Vendors gathered their merchandise. Succubi averted their gaze. Even the Market guards, three-meter-tall ogres, took a step back when they saw me pass.My wings were still partially open, my horns gleaming, my violet eyes burning like torches. I was not there to negotiate. I was there to get answers.Kellar, the informant, was in his shop at the back of the Market. The bone bead curtain swayed when I entered, and he looked up from a dusty scroll. His expression went from boredom to terror in half a second.“Mortyss!” he squealed, his hands trembling. “What… what an unexpected honor! Again! So soon! How can I…”“Where is Evelyn?”“E-Evelyn? I don’t know who you’re…”My hand closed around his throat. I lifted him off the ground, his feet dangling in the air.“The Lilim. My Lilim. The hunters took her. You know everything that happens in the underworld, Kellar. Tell me where she is or I’ll rip ou
Jess’s apartment was destroyed.The furniture had been pushed into the corners, the television still on the Super Bowl — an absurd irony —, and shards of the door scattered across the floor. Jess was kneeling near the sofa, a cut on her face, her eyes red with anger and fear. Derek was beside her, a bruise on his jaw, fists clenched even while immobilized. And Nox…Nox was trapped in a silver net, his iridescent fur scorched, his crystal horns dull. He was moaning softly, a sound I had never heard the guardian make before. A sound of pain.“It’s a trap!” Jess raised her head when she saw me. “They…”One of the hunters covered her mouth.“Silence.” He ordered.The woman leading the group stepped forward. She was the same one I had seen in the bathroom at the horseback riding competition, or rather, her twin. The same posture, the same gray eyes. The same Council symbol shining on her collar.“Mortyss.” She said, her voice drawling. “We finally meet in person. I am Kaela, agent of the S
The Rockefeller garden was being transformed into a sports arena, nothing modest, of course, because modesty was not the family’s style.A giant screen was installed near the oak tree, cushioned chairs were arranged in a semicircle, and a long table displayed enough snacks to feed an army.Victoria was in charge of logistics, tablet in hand, giving orders to the staff as if she were coordinating a corporate merger. Eleanor ran back and forth with New York Jets flags and pom-poms, the family’s team, apparently, although I had never paid enough attention to confirm it. William was in his favorite chair, a whiskey in hand, grumbling about “these modern players don’t play like they used to.” Celeste supervised the snacks with the precision of an experienced hostess.And Evelyn…Evelyn was sitting on the improvised sofa, wearing a Jets t-shirt that Eleanor had lent her, her golden eyes shining with excitement. She had never watched a Super Bowl before, had grown up without television, with
It wasn’t a knock, or a break-in. It was an explosion.The wood splintered into shards, the frame flying through the air, the sound tearing through the air like thunder.I was thrown backward, my back hitting the wall, my vision blurring.“JESS!” Derek shouted, trying to run to me.But he didn’t make it.There were four figures entering the apartment. All dressed in dark clothes, with a symbol I didn’t recognize, all armed.The first figure reached me before I could get up. Something cold — metal, silver — touched my neck, and a wave of shock ran through my body.My legs gave out. My arms went numb. I tried to scream, but no sound came out.Nox roared.He transformed in the middle of the room, his small body exploding into his true form. The crystal cat, claws gleaming, horns sparkling.He charged at the invaders with a fury I had never seen, but they were prepared.The second figure raised a weapon, not a regular weapon, something that glowed with dark runes.He fired.A silver net e
The day was surprisingly peaceful.After the shampoo incident, Derek and I spent the morning practicing strength control.He gave me objects to hold — a cup, a book, a pen — and I tried not to break them. The results were mixed.The cup survived. The book lost a page. The pen… well, the pen was crushed into dust.“Progress.” Derek declared, sweeping up the remains of the pen.“Is this progress?”“Yesterday you broke a toothbrush and a door handle. Now, only a pen. This is progress.”“The cup survived.” I reminded him.“The cup survived.” He agreed. “Let’s celebrate with pancakes.”“We already had pancakes for breakfast.”“Then we have pancakes for lunch. Pancakes are versatile.”Nox, from his spot on the sofa, emitted a meow that sounded like: “you two have a terrible diet.”“You don’t eat.” I retorted.“I feed on vital energy. It’s much healthier.”“Snob.”“Realist.”The afternoon brought the Super Bowl. Derek set up an improvised configuration in the living room, the sofa turned tow
The white light of the hospital hurt my eyes. Or perhaps it was the fact that I was returning from the limbo, from the shadows where I drifted for endless days, without dreams, without memories, without pain.Dorian.My name came first. Then, the sensation of a strange body—numb arms, heavy legs, a
The sound of wood being broken echoed like a gunshot through the silent house. Male voices, firm and authoritative, shouted orders my mind couldn’t process.A flashlight beam cut through the gloom of the bedroom, illuminating Dorian’s body on the floor, the gun still wrapped around his lifeless fin
The midday sun reflected off the windshields in the parking lot, creating a suffocating heat inside the car. I waited in the passenger seat, my mother had gone inside to buy “just a few things”—and it had already been twenty minutes.My phone vibrated once more. Dorian. The sixteenth unanswered cal
Morning arrived with the softness of a punch to the stomach. I woke in my office, where I had slept, or tried to sleep, after coming home the night before with Lara’s scent still imprinted on my skin. My phone vibrated incessantly on the desk, an irritating buzz that seemed to echo the tremor in my







