LOGINWhen I come back to reality my eyes adjust pretty quickly due to the lights still being off. How long have I been out? Images flashes through my mind about the current events and I freeze.
“Welcome back”. The hunter. I wait silently. My breath comes in short and my heart accelerates. This must be the hunter who killed Peter. My mind grows hazy and my ears ring way too loudly. I can’t possibly lose it now. Get it together. He killed Peter. His broken body. His bloody face. His broken screams. I clench my jaw to hold in the sob that tries to break free, steeling my spine. My arms are tied behind my back and my legs are also tied to the chair I’m on. I wiggle myself to see how tight I am. I don’t think I will be going anywhere. Something is off about this. Why am I still here and why hasn’t he taken me back to the underworld. “You killed Peter.” I blurt out without thinking. The room is quiet and if I didn’t know any better I would think I was alone. “Peter?” He questioned hesitantly. Obviously this fucker doesn’t know who Peter is and yet it still burns me hot when he asks that question. “What?” I seethed. “Killed too many humans to know which is which?” The room falls quiet again and it’s messing with me. “I wasn’t aware you were.. interested in humans.” He said carefully. Is he trying to feel me out? I won’t correct him. Peter ment much to me either way. I want to cry and scream. But- “This is such a hassle.” He muttered, glancing away from me. He sighs and it catch’s me off guard. I narrow my eyes and tilt my head in confusion. ”Didn’t know grown males complained so much.” I try to shift in my seat. I make a face, “It’s a turn off.” He chuckles darkly,” Should I try harder then?” He moves from the corner of my dark room and stands in front of me. He’s so close and yet I can’t do shit about it. “You’re good at being a captive, aren’t you”. I remain silent. He said flatly. Disgust. “Look dude I’m not into-.” Before I can grasp what happened the air in the room shift, he grabs my face harshly and clenches his jaw as he says, “Stop fucking playing already. Why haven’t you shifted your eyes? And why do you smell so much like human?” He so close I can feel his breath on my face.”What kind of demon are you?” He’s fuming, the whole room is started to heat up. Is he doing this? I stare at the dark figure in front of me refusing to shift my eyes and activate night vision. “The kind that tells you to mind his fucking business.” I spit in his face. He wants to be so damn close to me. He stumble back. And loosen his grip on my face. What a fucking rookie. What kind of hunter is this. I plant my feet on the ground and lift myself up with everything I got and twist my body to the side hitting him square in the head. No time to see him recover I hop back a few times and with the small power I still have I slam the chair on the wall and one of the legs break. Fuck it wasn’t much but I’ll take it, when I look up my eyes shift on its own and I wish it didn’t, the hunters face is a mask of fury and grimace. He’s going to kill me. When he rushes for me I lift my left leg which got free from the broken leg and wrapped it around his neck with awkward position. but enough sway to catch him off guard yet again. With my strength and the chair still attached to my back. I lift myself up and dragged him down by the neck with my body weight. He goes down. Yes. The other leg breaks and I wiggle out of the chair. I feel him get up behind me but it’s too late. The hunter pulls on my hair as I’m about to get up and yanks me back to him. I take advantage of his closeness and wrap my hands behind his head. I shot my knees up folding myself and knee him in the face. Thank you Pilates. He doesn’t let up, my hair is still wrap around his big fucking hands. “Kinky. I like it.” I say trying to diminish how fucking frustrated I am. My adrenaline is started to rise higher and higher. I start going crazy. I won’t hold back anymore. I scream some battle cry and start kicking and punching in his direction. “Fuck what the hel-“ I connect my fist with his face one time, two, three before he lets go of my hair with many strands wrapped around his fingers. “I’m going to end you.” I punch him again right in between his eyes. His face is all covered in dry blood and his nose looks already healed. He looks a fucking mess. What do I look like? Ha He’s a bit hazy from the punches and I place my hands on the side of his face and hold him. I use any power I have left which isn’t much and I slam my forehead on his face, his hands reach for my waist and I snap his fucking neck before letting go. He slumps to the floor immediately. I’m breathing heavy and my vision starts to blur. Fuck no yet. I can’t pass out right now. Knowing he’s down my adrenaline is wearing out. I run downstairs controlling my breathing. I search frantically for the things I need. I make two concoction I thought I would never be using and head back upstairs. Seeing this big fuck in the middle of my room pissing me off more than I care to admit. I bet he’s fucking heavy as well. I drag him by his legs and lift him onto my bed, I bind his wrist and legs to my bed post. Wide. I dipped the ropes in the one of the concoction I made careful not to get any on my skin beyond the gloves. “You fucked with the wrong demon, hunter” I say to no one. After I’m done. I wait.I stand by the door. “What?” Race doesn’t look at me at first. His gaze is fixed past my shoulder, toward the bathroom. “Your shower,” he says. “You used half my body wash.” I release a slow breath. Fuck. For a second, I thought— “Oh.” I force a shrug. “Had to wash the dirt and blood off from the fight.” I walk over to the door. “Thanks for helping me,” I say, already stepping away. “I’ll be leaving now.” The air changes and he’s in front of me before I can blink. “You aren’t leaving.” The finality in his tone snaps something ugly in my chest. A statement carved in stone. My spine stiffens. “Move.” He doesn’t. He doesn’t say anything. I snap, temper flaring. “You think you own me now?” I reach for the handle. Pain flashes—sharp and sudden—as he grips my wrist and twists just enough to remind me how easily he could break it. I suck in a breath but I don’t cry out. “Don’t,” I say voice low and shaking with fury. “Fucking. Touch. Me.” His grip tighte
I wake to the smell of citrus and smoke. For a moment, I think I’m still dreaming. My body is warm. Too warm. The air feels heavy, charged, like something has already happened and I missed it. When I finally open my eyes, I know instantly. This isn’t my bed. I push myself up slowly, my pulse kicking harder with each second as my gaze drags across the room. Dark walls. Minimal light. Shadows clinging to the corners. Books littering the floor. Race’s room. The realization settles in my chest like a held breath. I run my hands through his sheets, grounding myself in the sensation. Silk-smooth. Cool. Clean. Everything here is black and gray, sharp and intentional. Masculine. Him. I check myself quickly and release a quiet sigh when I see I’m still dressed in the same clothes as last night. At least he didn’t cross that line. The hair on my arms lifts anyway. I feel him before I hear him. “Didn’t know what you’d do to me if I changed you out of those clothes.” My head snaps le
*Flash back to when they were entering the portal to the underworld.* — Chyne watches Race as she enters the portal. And I watch her. Her head disappears and I face him. “How did u find me?” “Let’s skip the pleasantries.” Calm and collected. The mask he always wore. This should be interesting. I eye him expectingly. “While you were playing .. house,” He pauses and gives me a look. The hairs on my arms stand under my clothes and I fight the urge to shove him. Has he been watching Chyne as well? Or just me? And for how long. “Ive been busy.. the king seems to have made himself disappear.” He eyes me. As if he might catch something on my face. This is news to me but I won’t show my surprise. “Didn’t know you were into watching.” I say with indifference, placing my hands in my pocket. “Nothing worth staying up for.” He smirks when my skins starts to smoke of its own. Asshole. “Made himself disappear?” I repeat changing the subject looking down the portal. What is
Damien’s POV The heat hits first. Not the comforting kind—the kind that crawls under my skin, restless, wrong. I look up from the book in front of me and shot to my feet. She’s hurt. The thought slams into me with enough force to crack stone. I sprint out the room. The corridors at Races place blur as I cut through them, steam bleeding off my skin in sharp bursts. Soldiers scatter. Someone tries to speak to me. I don’t slow. By the time I reach Race from teleporting the first thing I pick up is the smell of burned magic, it’s thick in the air. Holy fire. My chest tightens. Race stands near the boulders, calm as ever, like the ground didn’t just witness a slaughter. He’s cradling her against him—too close, too familiar. Her body is limp, head tipped back, dried blood at her jaw. Something in me snaps. “What did you do?” My voice isn’t loud, but the ground beneath my feet hisses. Race looks up slowly. Annoyed. “Saved her.” I’m in front of him before I realize I’ve moved. H
I wake up coughing, dust coating my throat. I blink and take in my surroundings. I’m seated on the floor by the window. I must have fallen asleep there—thinking about Race. I grimace and brush myself off. I need to keep my distance from him. Damien doesn’t seem too fond of him, and if we’re going to be allies, I’ll side with Damien… for now. It’s early, and my loyalty is to myself alone. There’s still something Damien isn’t telling me. Until I know everything—inside and out—I keep my guard up. My power hums beneath my skin, stronger now. I use it to push the dust out through the windows and doors, cleansing the house in one smooth sweep. The air clears. The place feels lighter. I’ll need new bedsheets. Pillows. Basic necessities. I’d always like to stay to myself here as much as possible. Going to the village will give me a chance to think over everything that has happened. The walk to the village is long, but with my body is finally back in place, it feels more like a st
When I get outside, Kennedy’s emotionless face flashes through my mind. The urge to laugh bubbles up, sharp and inappropriate. I shove it down and put one foot in front of the other. I know better than to show emotion here. The bear-paw boots I brought from home do little to steady me. Every step slips on jagged stone. There’s literally no sane explanation for why there are so many shitty rocks everywhere. The irritation simmers, fast and hot. Fuck. This place is messing with my head. My emotions are everywhere—too loud, too close to the surface. I want to scratch something. Anything. I force myself to breathe. Deep. Controlled. It takes effort, but I manage to cage the turbulence clawing inside me. After half an hour of walking—yes, walking, everywhere, because of course—something shifts. The silence starts to empty my mind, and I recognize the danger in that. I shake my head lightly, but my chest tightens anyway, pressure blooming for no goddamn reason. I ground myself th







