“So, you know that I know you’re lying?”

“I’m not lying.”

“To yourself, you are.”

“I’m not doing that. You’re searching for goodness in me.” His eyes were bleak, but a flash of anger sparked in there, just a flicker in the background. “The only good thing in me, is you. If you die, there’s no redemption for me. I’ll become a full demon.”

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“I told you I’m not like normal demons. I’m not. The only spark of humanity in me is from you, because I love you. If you die, so do I. The only difference is that you’ll become a full messenger, and I’ll become a full demon. You go up. I go down.”

“Like heaven and hell?”

“Maybe,” he said softly, eyeing my mouth. “I’ll probably stay on Earth, working for my father. You’ll probably... I don’t know what will happen to you, but you’ll be my enemy. That’s all I know.”

“So if the human side of me dies, then…”

“...then everything is over. That’s the end of us.” His hand found mine. My heart skipped a beat at his words. I watched as he lifted our hands in the air, lacing our fingers together. We were together. We were holding on to one another, but I felt the heaviness from what he said. He wasn’t lying. He wasn’t lying to himself even. I could feel the truth emanating from him and my throat swelled up. A deep sadness pressed down on me, pushing me further into the bed.

“I love you, Kellan.”

It was a quiet testament from me, heard perfectly in that quiet room.

“I love you, too, Shay.”

He held me for the rest of the night, waiting for the others to wake. I knew two things. One was that I loved Kellan with all of my being, and two, nothing was going to happen to us.

Nothing.

We were hiding. We drove that night for hours, eventually finding a home set deep in the woods somewhere. It was clean with fresh laundry folded in piles on the kitchen table. Everything inside the house was modern and chic. Outside the glass patio doors, right by the kitchen, let out to a patio overlooking a large lake. Trees wrapped around both sides of the patio, giving the house a treehouse feel to it.

“Do I want to ask if there was an owner here when we arrived or not?”

Vespar and Giuseppa were sitting on stools at the bar-end of the island. They shared a look, both grinning to the other.

“Never mind.” I changed my mind. “I don’t want to know.”

“He’s not dead,” Vespar offered. “If that helps.”

“Only because Damien wouldn’t allow that.” Gus sneered at the messenger as he walked into the kitchen behind me. “Speak of the devil.”

Damien grabbed an apple and paused, shooting her a look. “Don’t start, half child. I can eviscerate you with a thought.”

“No, you can’t.” She raised her chin, challenging him.

“You don’t think I can?” He stepped next to me, stepping toward her. I felt the anger radiating out of him. His entire body tensed up and he was ready for a fight.

“Gus,” I said, shaking my head. “Maybe not this fight, not today.”

She snorted, rolling her eyes. “I meant it when I said he really can’t, because he can’t. Kellan did a spell. No messenger-on-demon action going on in this house.” Her nose wrinkled, and her top lip lifted in a sneer. “I don’t think he wanted to get up this morning and find half his backup obliterated by the other half.”

“Yeah.” Damien grunted. “You guys.”

“Let’s take this up outside where it’s not charm-free, buddy.” Gus swung her long and tanned legs off the stool, standing in a sensual fashion. She was dressed, but barely. A white top clung to her, fitting around her breasts and resting a few inches above her waist. She was showing off her stomach muscles and how fit her body was. Sticking her hands in the pockets of her white shorts, which stopped at the top of her thighs, she struck an alluring and cocky pose at the same time. She could’ve been in a yachting magazine. She looked him up and down, noting how his hand had a tight grip on the apple. “Imaging that thing is my neck?”

And on cue, the apple exploded, but a cold smile told me it wasn’t by accident. Damien retorted, “How’d you know?”

Gus cooled, just a bit. A tiny amount of caution entered her gaze and she glanced to Vespar, seeing that he had a bored look on his face. “What? The thought of me fighting a messenger is putting you to sleep?”

“Fuck off, sister. You’re not going to do shit and you know it.”

“Yeah?” Anger sparked in her eyes once again. The little bit of fight that had left her, returned and it was doubled. “You don’t think so?”

“No, because he’ll wipe the floor with you. If by some miracle he doesn’t, Kellan will wipe the floor with you right afterwards. This guy has juice. Kellan’s smart. He knows we need him around.” Vespar had slowly risen to his feet as he talked. He wasn’t dressed in the nice clothes Gus was, but he looked every bit as dangerous. He had pulled on a torn black shirt over jeans. Standing next to his sister, the two were striking together. Both blond. Both gorgeous and both deadly, but Damien didn’t seem disturbed. He came around the island, regarding both of them. All three were locked on each other. Damien skirted between the two, but he didn’t look scared. He said, “So, you think I’ll wipe the floor with your sister, huh?”