TALIA*
The streetlights buzzed above her head like angry insects as Talia walked home, hands buried deep in the pockets of her jacket. The air was thick and damp, the kind of night that clung to your skin and whispered secrets in your ear.
She hated the way the shadows felt alive tonight.
The trio from Pale Lantern hadn't done anything overtly threatening, but there was something off about them... too composed, too smooth. Their confidence wasn't the cocky swagger of drunk men at a bar. It was the stillness of predators waiting to strike.
And she couldn't shake the feeling that their smiles were masks.
Her fingers toyed with the tiny charm at her neck... the rune Kael had given her in case of emergencies. She hadn't activated it yet.
She was hesitant,but she activated anyway.
---
As she reached her block, she slowed.
There was something on her window.
Talia's breath caught in her throat.
The sigil was faint, etched into the glass like ash. Almost invisible unless the light hit it just right. It wasn't Light Chaser script. It was older... more primal. The markings curved and clawed like talons.
Her pulse skipped. She didn't recognize it by sight, but she felt what it was:
A tracker.
Her stomach dropped.
She brushed her fingers across it and felt the Void flutter beneath her skin, like something shifting in sleep.
She took a steadying breath and touched the rune charm.
It flared briefly in pale gold.
---
She was inside, double-locking her door, when the shadows in her living room deepened.
Kael stepped out of them like smoke condensing into flesh.
His eyes were storm-dark, his jaw tight.
"Why didn't you call sooner?" he demanded.
"I just did," she said, lifting her chin. "Or did you want me to scream your name across town?"
Kael didn't laugh. He looked furious... but not at her.
He ran a hand through his dark hair, pacing once across her living room like a caged animal.
"They were at Pale Lantern," Talia said. "Three demons. Gorgeous, deadly, and definitely not tourists."
Kael stilled.
"Golden-haired one called himself Brynn. Pretty-boy face. The scarred one? Didn't smile. The other? Felt like he might eat someone just for breathing too loud."
Kael cursed under his breath. "I should've known. I should've known Veyros wouldn't wait."
"You knew them?"
"They're his lackeys. The worst kind. Brynn charms. Zarrok kills. Ilaith destroys souls. If they've shown up in the human realm, it means the search is escalating."
"You didn't send them?" she asked, voice sharp.
Kael turned toward her. "Do you really think I'd send them near you?"
"I don't know what to think!" she snapped. "You're still a demon. You're still one of them."
"And yet I came when you called."
They were close now. Close enough to feel each other's breath.
Talia's heart pounded. Her fingers twitched.
"I don't trust you," she whispered.
"You don't have to... ," Kael said softly. "But your body does."
The tension snapped taut between them. The silence stretched.
Kael leaned in, just slightly.
Talia's breath hitched.
He smelled it.
Her arousal...
His nostrils flared, pupils darkening.
"You want to hate me," he said lowly, "but part of you remembers."
She didn't answer. Couldn't.
His lips were inches from hers. So close she could feel the heat of them.
She tilted her head, just slightly...
And then a voice cut through the moment like a blade.
"I see my instincts weren't wrong."
They jerked apart.
Ruth stood at the threshold to the hallway, arms crossed, face unreadable.
Talia's cheeks burned. Kael's expression turned to stone.
"You felt them, didn't you?" Ruth asked without preamble. "The three demons?"
Talia nodded, still breathless.
"And something else," Ruth added. Her eyes flicked to the window. "The Void. It's awakening, isn't it?"
Talia swallowed hard.
"I found a sigil," she said. "Not ours. Demonic."
Ruth stepped inside, examining Kael with a look that made Talia bristle.
"You're not safe here anymore," Ruth said, turning to her daughter. "Not with that inside you. Not with what you are."
Talia opened her mouth, but Kael spoke first.
"She needs to understand what's coming," he said. "Let me help her."
Ruth looked like she wanted to spit fire. But she didn't say no.
"I'll allow it... for now. But the moment I sense a lie from you, Kael, I'll put an arrow through your heart before you can blink."
Kael inclined his head. "I believe you."
Ruth turned to leave but paused.
"I'll expect you both downstairs at first light. We'll talk then. No more secrets."
When she was gone, Talia finally exhaled.
The moment was shattered.
Kael stepped back into the shadows.
"I'll be close," he said. "Don't trust anyone but your blood."
And then he was gone.
---
That night, Talia dreamed of fire.
A woman cloaked in ash and smoke stood in a ruined city, her voice echoing like thunder and wind.
"One spark... and the storm begins."
Talia woke with her fingers glowing faintly blue.
And something deep inside her pulsing in rhythm with her heart.
The Void was no longer sleeping.
It was listening.