EWAN

Vee pulls away and grabs clothes slung over a nearby chair, almost falling over as she pulls her jeans on. I prop myself up on the bed, and stare in disbelief as she closes me out.

"Vee?"

She ignores me as she pulls on and fastens her bra, then grabs a shirt.

"What's wrong?" I sit. "What happened? Let's talk." I reach out to her, but she shirks away.

I fucking knew this would happen. Nobody listened when I said our union would change her. That giving in to the all-consuming need for sex with Vee, to give my heart and soul to her would transform the girl she is into something else.

The incredible, mind-shattering moment we looked into each other’s eyes, and I saw my love reflected in hers, dropped away as they filled with terror. At first, I thought I’d hurt her, and then she filled me with fear something was in the room with us.

The only thing I could see was the girl I love struggling. Lost. In pain.

And now this.

"I need to go." Her voice is low, different, and when Vee looks around it's as if she sees right through me.

"Go where? Back to the party?"

She reaches for a hairband from the desk and snaps her hair back into a high ponytail. "I need a knife. Where are they?”

"For what? Vee, what the hell is wrong?"

Holding her temples with her forefingers, Vee stares straight ahead. "Actually, it's okay. I don't need one."

I jump from the bed and drag my jeans on too, as Vee opens the room door. "Look, wait for—"

The door slams behind her before I can slip my boots on to follow.

What the hell?

What the fuck have I done?

Is this my worst fears realised?

Jacket half-on, I stagger from the room, boots half-laced, desperate to catch up with her before she does god knows what. I picture her rampaging through the house, singling out anybody she feels is a threat and hurting them.

Because the girl who walked out of this room is not the one who I opened up to and gave myself to.

The opposite door opens and Seth stands wide-eyed, fully clothed.

"What did you do?" he hisses.

I snap my head back. "None of your business, mate."

"Did you argue? I heard you argue. Is that why she walked away?" I stare at his reddening face. "Please tell me that's the reason, and that you didn't—"

"Assault her? Is that what you're about to say?" I step forward, the suggestion I'd ever hurt Vee building anger in my belly. "I would never touch her without consent."

He flicks a gaze over me and narrows his eyes. "Did it happen?"

"Did what happen?"

He lowers his voice. "You and her. Did you screw her?"

Bad move. I grab Seth’s jacket in both hands and drag his face close to mine. His breath stinks of the alcohol that's caused this issue. "Watch your mouth."

"You have!" He tears at my fingers. "Do you know what you've done, you fucking idiot?"

Seth’s face reddens, drunken eyes suddenly switching to a glittering anger, and I drop his collar and stand back as he drags fingernails across my hands.

"Fuck!" Seth yells, his voice echoing along the small hallway. He turns his back and walks away from me hands behind his head, elbows at right angles. "Fuck!"

Yeah, fuck this weirdo; I need to find Vee. Now. I turn away and pick up my pace to leave.

“Don’t you walk away from me!” Seth spits.

I choke a laugh and turn back. “Mate, seriously, you’re lucky I’m not punching you to the ground for what you just said. I need to find Vee. I’ll deal with you later.”

Seth’s expression shifts, transforming into an anger that makes his features unrecognisable. I've seen many things in Seth’s expression I think the others missed, but never a shaking fury to match Xander's. There’s no sign of the pathetic, drunk guy I left in his room earlier.

"Deal with me?" Seth shouts. “You have no fucking chance of dealing with me. None of you morons do.”

I ready a retort, unprepared for his next move. Seth strides over and shoves me in the chest with both hands. The world blurs and I find myself halfway along the hallway, landing heavily on my backside, as he hits me like a truck.

What the fuck?

I push my arms behind me attempting to sit, and Seth strides over. Without pausing, he kicks me in the stomach with an unnatural force and the pain screams through my body. "You shouldn't have done that! You've fucked up everything!"

I struggle to breathe after the blow and can’t move. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" And how?

Seth sneers down, and I attempt to tackle him to the ground, arms around his legs, but he slips through them like the snake he is. I drag myself to my feet and support myself against the wall, doubling over as I take painful breaths. I’ve been kicked before, many times, but this feels like he’s pummelled my insides. "I knew it," I gasp. "I fucking knew you were trouble.”

I study him. He’s the same man, the same body, but something’s wrong. The brute force he hit me with isn’t human, nor is the person looking at me through those eyes. Hell, I’ve looked into enough eyes in my time here to know when something isn’t human, and there’s a hollow darkness; one I’ve not seen before.

I take a deep breath and wince. “What are you? How did you hit me that hard?"

Seth leans in and places his face close to mine. "I guess I don't know my own strength." Then, right in my face, he gives the sly smile, the one I see when nobody else does. “Like Xander, if I lose my temper things don't go so well for the people around me."

"Are you a demon? How come Joss and Vee didn't know?"

Seth's face sours. "Please. I'm nothing like those low lives.” He pulls away. “One thing I'm in total agreement with is demon scum shouldn't be in this world."

I don't scare easily. I've stared down enough demons to see them as part of my job, but whatever stands in front of me now projects an energy that fills the corridor and sucks oxygen from the room. His eyes blacken and an energy shimmers around him to match the light I see around Vee sometimes.

Is he suffocating me? Or is my tight chest and struggle breathing genuine fear? I steady myself on the wall and stare back. The weak human I suspected worked for someone, who I swore I could take out, isn’t even human. I don't know what the hell he is, but this is no demon.

"What are you then? Fae?"

Seth rests against the wall next to me, then holds out his palms towards me, but this is no gesture of surrender. I focus on gathering my strength to move as I watch the space in front of him blacken, as if somebody dragged the light and air away, until all that remains resembles a dark, starless sky.

He stares at the void. "Nope. There's only one person in this world more powerful than me, and she just walked out of the door. And that’s really fucking inconvenient for me."

I shuffle back as fast as I can as he turns his palms in my direction. The dark space grows around us both, obliterating everything as if somebody scrawled out the world with a black marker pen.

Holy shit.

Seth drops his hands with a satisfied look as he laughs at my fear, and the consuming darkness snaps away too. "I'd kill you, but there's no point until I've killed your friend Death and, of course, made sure Vee never fulfils the destiny they gave her."

Still doubled over, I continue to edge back along the wall, but the pain won’t stop spreading through. I bow my head and concentrate on summoning energy I’m shocked I don’t have.

“What happened to her?”

“You fucked her and now you’ve fucked things up for me.” He rubs his temples. “I guess I’d better bring forward my plans now.”

His words seethe anger through me, and I look upwards and picture how I could attack him. Do I have the power?

"Don't even think about it, Ewan. Believe me, you’d wish you could die if I really hurt you." His glittering black eyes meet mine again. "I’m saving that fun. I cannot wait to take down that condescending arsehole, War. That will be the highlight of the show, and you can be the encore."

I remain slumped against the wall, unable to move further.

Seth grabs my hair and yanks my head upwards, face in mine again. "I guess this is a tender goodbye for now. Shame this happened before Syv found what I needed and the time was right."

“Get the fuck off me,” I snarl.

"You were very intuitive, by the way, which surprised me because I thought you were incapable of thinking for yourself." Seth pats me on the cheek. “Clever boy, you almost figured me out.”

He releases my hair and steps back, and I stare as he closes his eyes, and the void I saw before grows around him. The space where Seth stood empties as his figure disintegrates and merges with the darkness.

I slump back to the floor, gripping my stomach, filled with a fear, but not only for myself.

What the hell is he?