“So what is it you want, witch?” I say after Breezy leads me to a room on the lower floor.

Inside is a made bed, a dresser, and a curtained window. Nothing else. The word empty comes to mind.

Empty like my soul and heart.

“Is this really about what I want?” She circles me, tracing her fingernails along my arm, leaving red marks across my flesh. “Because if I’m correct about what you are, then you should want what I want too.”

Great, she’s a Hell groupie. I’ve occasionally ran into them when certain creatures are able to see the real me; the hidden, tainted, shadow inside me. The mark of Hell is what some refer to it as. I call it missing a soul, because that’s how I see it. Soulless. My soul was ruined the day I was taken to Hell and tortured until I could scream no more, until I could bleed no more. It’ll never be the same again—I’ll never be the same again.

“I never do,” I utter numbly. “And you should know before you go there that when I was taken to Hell, it was against my will. I didn’t want to go.”

Her fingernails scratch the back of my neck and my fingers fold inward, my nails cutting open the flesh on my palms.

“But you still went there?” she asks, her fingers traveling down my back.

“Obviously, you can tell that,” I snap rigidly. “I don’t know how, but I can tell you do.”

“It’s part of my gift—to see the light and the darkness in everyone and everything—which also lets me see the mark of Hell.” She stops in front of me and cups my face between her hands, her fingernails biting into my flesh. “You have darkness webbed into you and it’s shadowing the light, but the mark is still there. It means only half of your soul was left in Hell. Did you know that?”

I smash my lips together so forcefully my jaw aches. I’ve often wondered after I returned if my soul was completely destroyed. From what I understand about the creatures who step foot into Hell, my soul should be long gone by now.

She lowers her hands, studying me with her head angled to the side. “You didn’t know that, did you? That you still have a soul.”

“Is this your price?” I ask, not wanting to talk about this with her—with anyone. “To hear me talk about my broken soul.”

“Oh, it’s not broken. Just shadowed.” Her lips span to a smirk as the muscle in my jaw pulsates. “You don’t know what that means, do you?”

I shove back the vomit burning at the back of my throat. “What does it matter if I do or don’t? We’ll still be standing here and you’ll still want what we both know you want. Me talking about what I think I am and how I feel isn’t going to change that.”

“But it could be liberating to let it all out. To talk about what happened to you while you were in Hell.”

I lean forward and whisper snidely, “Not with you.”

“Fine.” She shoves me back and I stumble, falling onto the bed. “I guess I’ll just have to get something out of this deal another way.”

“I guess you will.” I stare up at the ceiling, allowing my self-made numbness to wash over me as she straddles my waist.

Even if Raven’s life wasn’t on the line, I couldn’t stop her. I can’t stop any creature who figures out I’m marked by Hell. It’s part of the curse that the Hell demons put on me. If a creature has the will and desire to see the mark, they can gain control over me for an entire day and I have to do what they command. Only when they twenty-four hours are up am I freed. Well, that is until the next creature spots the darkness in me. But that doesn’t even matter. I’ll never truly be free anyway. Not when I’m haunted by everything that has ever been done to me.

“Relax, I’m not going to bite.” Breezy lines her body over mine, but when our gazes lock, she pauses. “You don’t have a demon inside you.”

“Why would I?” I choke out, wishing she’d just get this over with instead of dragging it out.

She slants back, her hands resting on my chest. “Every creature that has been marked by Hell and returns to the upper worlds has a demon living inside them. There’s no exception to this. It’s a form of transportation for demons and Hell makes no exceptions.”

“There’s never an exception until there is one.”

She shakes her head, strands of her red hair brushing against my face. “Not with Hell. Hell makes no mistakes.” She scrutinizes me while nibbling on her bottom lip. “I wonder…” She twists around, glancing at the door, then back at me. “You and Rhyland are twins.”

“Yeah, so what?” I shrug with indifference, but the curious look on her face has me on edge. “How did you know that anyway?”

“Harper told me about you a long time ago.” The flames in her eyes dance with amusement. “She actually talks about you often.”

“Okay… Why does that matter?”

She rolls her eyes. “You’re completely clueless, aren’t you?”

I flash her a smirk, but it’s all bravado. “Actually, I’ve been told the opposite.”

“Well, you were lied to. You’re clueless about a lot of things.” She places her hands on my shoulders, pinning me down. “I guess I could let you in on one little secret. An interesting fact about your brother.” She dips her head, putting her lips beside my ear. “Did you know that when a demon comes back from Hell inside a creature’s body, they sometimes transfer bodies when they reach the upper worlds. It doesn’t happen very often because the creatures that the demon transfers to and from have to have very similar blood types and structures. In fact, they have to be so similar that it rarely happens except occasionally with twins.”

I laugh darkly. “Do you think I’m stupid? Rhyland doesn’t have a demon living inside him.”

She pushes back with her brows lifted. “Are you sure about that?”

“Yes.” There’s no way Rhyland could be carrying a demon around inside him. I’d know.

“All right, believe what you want. Doubt the powerful witch doctor trying to help you.”

“Help me?” I gape at her. “All you’ve done so far is blackmail me.”

“And save your girl.”

“She’s not my girl.”

“But you want her to be.” It’s not a question.

“She’s not mine to want,” I say dismissively, but my blood burns under my skin, longing to be tasted by Raven’s fangs.

“But that doesn’t make you want her any less.” She strokes my cheek with her fingertip and smiles when I flinch. “Such a sad thing to be in love with a creature who loves another. I feel sorry for you Kingsley. I really do.”

I laugh hollowly. “I highly doubt that.”

“I’m not as cruel as you think.”

“Yeah, that’s why you brought me in here so you could control me for the next twenty-four hours.”

“I wasn’t planning on controlling you,” she clarifies. “I was planning on liberating you. You just didn’t want it.”

“All I want is for whatever this is,” I gesture between us, “To be over.”

The flames in her eyes flame wildly. “Fine. If that’s what you want then you’re debt is paid to me.”

“Just like that?” I question with doubt.

She shrugs. “I already told you I just wanted to liberate you, but since you don’t want my help, we’ll move on.”

“Yeah, I’m not buying into that.” I prop up on my elbows. “Is it because I don’t have a demon in me?”

“No.” Her words are thick though and I have to question if she’s lying.

She wanted the demon she thought was inside me, but why?

“Are you still planning on helping Raven?” I ask, assessing her reaction carefully.

“Of course. I said your debt was paid, didn’t I?” She sits back, rubbing her lips together. “I should probably tell you, though, that one of my many gifts includes being able to smell the scent of an unleashed demon. It’s sort of like a mixture of sewer water and sugar plum. I know, it’s contradicting, but it’s how they smell. And I smell it right now.”

I instinctively sniff then my gut churns at the disgusting yet sweet aroma dousing the air. “You’re lying.”

“Am I?”

“Fuck.” I shove her off and race out of the room.

Not that I fully believe her, but I’m not about to risk the small chance that perhaps she’s telling the truth.

“Rhyland,” I call out as I jog down the narrow hallway toward the basement.

When silence is my only response, I quicken the pace.

“Rhyland!” I shout, my boots thudding against the floor as I sprint toward the double doors. “Please be okay. Please be okay.” I shove the doors open and barrel inside the basement.

Then my stomach plummets.

Harper is kneeling in the middle of the room with her head bowed over Raven, who’s sprawled out on the floor with her eyes shut, just like she was when I left.

“What happened?” I scan the area, searching for a sign of my brother, my hand hovering near the handle of my sword.

Harper blinks up at me, her eyes huge. “Did you know about it?”

I sink to my knees beside Raven and frantically examine her over for injuries. “Did I know about what?”

“That your brother has a demon inside him,” she asks, her tone a bit shaky. “I’m not sure what kind it is, but it was awful and said such mean things to me.”

I draw my sword. “I didn’t know until just barely. Breezy just informed me.”

Gods, I can’t believe this is happening. How did I not realize this… All this time he has been carrying around a demon inside him.

And I did it to him.

“How did it happen? I mean, I thought a creature had to touch the fire pits of Hell for a demon to latch onto them. But Rhyland’s never been to Hell.” She glances at me. “Has he?”

I shake my head, guilt gripping at my chest, my heart, my soul. “No, he hasn’t.”

“Then how did he get one inside him?”

“I have no idea.” The lie singes against my tongue, but my scars aren’t ready for the world to see them yet. I’m not ready for the world to see me yet. The real me. “Where did my brother—the demon go?”

Harper points to the door. “He ran out there after he asked me how to get out of the shimmer blob. Or well, demanded. He was pretty upset, but I think Rhyland was still partly himself when he took off.”

“Wait? He left the shimmer blob?” Worry whips through me. If Rhyland took off suddenly, that means things were really bad. And he didn’t leave any blood behind for Raven to drink.

Shit.

She nods. “When the demon started possessing him, he said he had to leave or else no one would be safe. I kind of agree with him. It’s probably for the best until he can regain control. And I already told Shiny not to let Rhyland back in unless he was him again.”

“That’s good.” I slant back as shock and guilt weighs down on my shoulders. How can this be real? How can my brother have suffered all this time and I never knew it?

Then again, I was sort of suffering too in my own way and he never knew it.

How did we become this distant? We used to be so close. But even before the curse, we started drifting apart.

My gaze descends to Raven.

When we both started falling in love with the same girl. It’s when our relationship started to crumble. When lies formed between us. When I stabbed him in the back.

“Don’t worry, the demon will eventually release him from the possession.” Breezy strolls into the room, not appearing bitter at all.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d guess that somehow she got exactly what she wanted. I just hope that’s not a bad thing…

Something dawns on me then. Nadine was with me in Hell.

Does Nadine have a demon inside her?

I shake the though of Nadine out of my head. I’ve got bigger problems to worry about right now.

“So now what do we do?” Harper looks to Breezy for help with complete trust in her eyes.

I, however, greatly distrust the witch doctor and vow to keep my eye on her. If at any time she shows any signs of hurting any of us, I’ll kill her. I don’t care if that taints my soul more. Up until a few minutes ago, I thought I was soulless anyway.

Breezy gathers her dress and drops to her knees in the dirt. “Now, we temporarily fix the girl and then send her on her journey to Fate.”

My head whips in her direction. “Send her to Fate? Are you fucking kidding me? That’s too dangerous. And only Eternal Readers are supposed to communicate with Fate. Plus, that seems like it might take a lot of time and we don’t have time. In fact, we’ve been running on borrowed time for a while.”

“I never said any of this would be easy.” Breezy unclasps her necklace and removes it. “If the girl wants to break the curse and live, she’s going to have to be willing to risk losing everything. And the journey to Fate isn’t hard or long. It’s just risky because if Fate doesn’t accept her visit, she won’t return.”

My chest tightens, my fists clenching.

Why does everything have to involve Raven?

“But she’s already lost so much.” I smooth my hand over the top of Raven’s head. “How much more can this curse take from her?”

“Let’s hope you never have to find that out,” Breezy says. Attached to the end of the necklace is a vial filled with a powdery silver substance. “Now, I’m going to need everyone to be quiet for this. One wrong word or movement and the girl could remain like this forever.”

I gulp down a shaky breath. “Will she become conscious before you send her to Fate?”

Breezy nods. “But just long enough for her to agree to go. You’ll only have seconds to explain it to her. If she doesn’t agree in time, the chance will be gone. And we only have one chance.”

I swallow shakily. I used to be so strong. So stable. But the last few days I feel as though I’m walking on a frayed tightrope. A part of me just wants to fall, for this to be over with. But I vowed a long, long time ago that I’d protect Raven—that I’d be her sworn Blood Protector. And if there’s one thing in these lives that I’ll get right, it will be that. I owe her that.

I owe her so much more.

Not just because I love her, but for accepting that damn vial the queen gave to me the night of the curse. And for dumping it in Raven’s drink. If I could, I’d take the decision back. Make the right one. But back then I was naively stupid and truly believed that if I could kiss Raven, she’d realize she was in love with me and the whole thing with Rhyland and her wouldn’t be a problem anymore. That because I wasn’t king, things could work out between us. That she could’ve been with me without risking getting beheaded. That she could love me like I love her.

But I never should’ve done what I did. It was beyond wrong and stupid and the worst sort of betrayal. I took so much away from her that night. And one day, when we make it out of this and I can speak freely again, I’m going to confess the truth to her.

In the end, I know she’ll hate me.

But it’s what I deserve.