TALIA*
The first thing I felt was warmth.
It clung to my skin like silk and smelled faintly of cedar and smoke. The sheets beneath me were far too luxurious to be anything but demon- made. I sat up slowly, every muscle tight and alert. My hand immediately went beneath my pillow and gripped the hilt of my blade. Still there.
Good.
I scanned the room.
Golden archways, heavy velvet drapes, a fireplace flickering low in the far wall. Every detail screamed power and decadence. This wasn't a dungeon. It was a damn palace. Kael's palace, no doubt.
I swung my legs off the bed. My boots were gone. So were my weapons, except the hidden dagger under my shirt. A rookie move, Kael.
The door creaked open before I could make it there.
Kael stood in the doorway, arms crossed, shirt unbuttoned at the top. Casual. Like he hadn't kidnapped me.
"You slept well."
"You're lucky I didn't kill you in your sleep," I snapped.
His mouth curved slightly. "You thought about it."
I hated that he was right.
"Let me go."
He tilted his head. "I should. But I can't."
I narrowed my eyes. "Why not?"
"Because the moment you leave, someone will try to kill you."
I blinked. "You just described every day of my life."
He stepped closer. "This is different."
"Bullshit. You want something. You're watching me. You think I'm someone I'm not."
His gaze darkened. For a heartbeat, I thought he might say it. Whatever secret he'd been holding back.
But then he stepped away.
"I won't keep you here. I shouldn't have brought you at all."
I hesitated.
Why was he letting me go?
No chains. No spell. No threat.
He handed me my boots, my jacket, even my crossbow.
"You're free to go, Talia. But be careful. Things are moving. The world isn't what it was."
I shrugged. I know that.
I took my gear and didn't look back.
But as I stepped out of his home and back into the wet Chicago air, something in my chest tightened.
He didn't feel like the enemy.
And that scared me more than anything.
---
Cara was already waiting when I got home.
She threw open the door and tackled me in a hug. "Oh my God, where the hell have you been?".
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me."
I waved her off and started unpacking my weapons. Caleb was on a mission with the South Unit. Mom hadn't even noticed I was gone.
Figures.
"Is the plan still on?" I asked.
Cara nodded, pulling out the forged ID. "Everything's ready. You start tonight. Bar on West 43rd."
I exhaled. It wasn't exactly noble work, but it was strategic. Demons liked feeding in places soaked in alcohol, music, and desperation. Clubs, parties, underground dens. This bar was neutral territory, no Light Chaser interference.
A perfect place to dig for intel.
"Remember," Cara said, adjusting her ponytail, "you're not hunting. You're watching. Any sign of the high-feeders, the energy-drainers, you report back."
"Got it."
I dressed in a tight black tee and ripped jeans, threw on my leather jacket, and tucked two small silver-tipped blades into my boots. I wasn't going in blind.
----
While I was heading out, Caleb returned early from his mission. Quiet, grim. He didn't say much, but I saw the way he lingered at the entrance hall, brow furrowed. Later that night, after Mom went to bed, he crept into the old archives beneath the house... where Dad used to keep field notes and relics.
I caught a glimpse of him on my comm feed, holding a shard of some broken sigil ,one we thought was lost... Weird. He looked at it like it scared him. Like it didn't belong to this world anymore.
Whatever he saw out there… it had shaken him, I'll ask about it later I guess.
---
The bar was already buzzing when I arrived. Neon signs blinked overhead, casting my face in alternating hues of red and green. Inside, it was all wood grain and soft lighting. The kind of place that tried to look low-key but had enough enchantments on the walls to keep mortals calm.
And still, I could feel it.
Demons.
Not all were feeding. Some were just lingering. Sipping drinks. Laughing. Waiting.
I slipped behind the counter. The owner, a half-siren named Belos, gave me a quick rundown. Don't start fights. Don't flash weapons. Smile.
Easy.
Hours passed.
I served whiskey to a succubus who flirted with anything that moved. Cleaned up after a brawl between two shape-shifters arguing over territory. And finally, just past midnight, I felt it.
A ripple.
Energy drainers were subtle. They didn't flash claws or fangs. They whispered. Brushed skin. Drank aura like it was wine.
He was sitting at the far end of the bar, watching a young woman dance. His eyes glowed faintly. Not red like Kael's. Blue. Cold.
I made a mental note and tapped my comms mic.
"Target confirmed. High-level feeder."
Cara's voice buzzed. "Marked. Log it. No engagement."
I nodded, pretending to wipe the counter.
But my gut twisted.
He looked familiar. Not his face... his presence.
Like he wasn't alone in there.
Like something worse was hiding beneath.
---
When I finally got home, exhaustion hit me like a freight train. I collapsed into bed without even changing. The moment my head hit the pillow, the dream came.
It wasn't like normal dreams.
I was in a forest bathed in silver moonlight. Strange symbols pulsed across the trees like veins of glowing ink. A woman stood in the center of a clearing, tall and regal, her face veiled in shadow. I couldn't move. Couldn't speak.
She raised a hand toward me and whispered a word.
"Awaken."
A jolt of raw energy hit me square in the chest.
And I woke up, gasping.
Heart racing. Skin burning.
What the hell was that?
---
KAEL*
I watched her from the rooftop across the street.
Even now, I couldn't keep away.
She was working behind the bar, arms bare, face calm. But I could see the tension in her shoulders. The way her fingers tapped against the counter when she was nervous.
She'd felt the feeder.
Good.
She was aware.
But she wasn't ready.
Not for what was coming.
Not for who was watching.
Veyros was having his suspicions.
I'd seen his crows in the northern quarter, sniffing through the archives. He knew the old prophecy still lingered. And worse, he knew the signs were showing again.
He hadn't connected the dots to Talia.
Yet...
But it was only a matter of time.
Veyros wasn't just any demon. He was High Lord of the Incubus Court, the oldest and most feared political figure in our realm. My uncle. A being of immense age and cunning, whose power was rivaled only by his paranoia. He ruled with manipulation, whispers, and assassinations made to look like accidents.
He feared anything that threatened the balance he controlled, especially prophecy. Especially Tanya. And now, especially Talia.
The Void inside her was awakening slowly... through pain, instinct, combat. If she kept pushing herself, the seal would break. And when it did, she wouldn't be able to control it.
She would burn the world just to breathe.
And Veyros would see her as a threat.
He'd do to her what he did to Tanya.
No.
I wouldn't let that happen.
Even if it meant defying the Court again.
Even if it meant breaking my oath.
Even if it meant telling her everything.
Soon...
But not yet.
She had to trust me first.
She had to choose me.
Because if I forced it, she'd only run.
And this time, if I lost her...
There wouldn't be a second chance.