"Be still my beating heart," Aiden says, grinning. "You heard the lady. See you, boys at dawn."
I pivot on my heel and rush out of the Diamond, breathing shallowly. I could feel something when I spoke. I felt anger, envy, and regret swirling through me. But they weren't my emotions. They didn't belong to me. Alien and heavy and powerful. On the street, I glance back at the door. I know Kane is behind it. I imagine I can see shadows curling under the door. Kane. But how?
“Where to?” Aiden asks, stretching.
“Anywhere,” I mutter, pushing away my thoughts of Kane’s mysterious new influence. “Come on.”
“What’s gotten into you?” Aiden jogs to catch up with me.
We weave through the thinning crowd as I walk aimlessly. The few streetlamps in this city are being lit, but soon the streets will be mostly empty. No one wants to be the Nephilim’s next victim. “Kane’s plan to break me,” I say bitingly. “When we’re done in Verstad, I’m going home.”
“You think Kane will just let you leave?” Aiden snorts.
“Kane won’t have a choice in the matter.” I turn cold eyes on the older brother. “He’ll be dead.”
Aiden studies me, his eyes searching my face for hesitance he won’t find. “How do you plan to do it? He isn’t some mortal man.”
“I have a dagger that’s been passed through my mother’s family for generations,” I say. The cold silver is warming at my back. “According to the stories, it can kill anything. Even one of the Three. Even you.”
“You’re sexy when you’re pissed, did you know that?” Aiden grins, unbothered by my threat. He sighs. “Alright, I’ll help you.”
“Help me?” I narrow my eyes at him suspiciously. “Why would you do that?”
“Didn’t you hear?” Aiden cocks a brow. “I’ve been trying to kill him for thousands of years. What’s one more attempt?”
We turn down a random street, and I see a man scurry inside his house. The air feels different here, and I shudder. "Why?"
“Because my brother is cruel, and he’s been in power too long – he’s a tyrant,” Aiden says, a hint of anger in his voice. “And he’s always shoved his superiority in my face.”
My lips pinch unhappily at the bitterness in Aiden’s tone. The rift between the brothers runs deep. “I can do it,” I say, even as guilt curls in my gut. “I just need help getting back to Ryrn.”
“If you kill my brother, I’ll get you back to your family,” Aiden says darkly.
“Alright,” I murmur.
We fall into silence as we wander the streets. Guilt pools inside of me, and I chew on the inside of my cheek. I should want to kill Kane more than ever. Only an hour ago, I did, I think ashamedly. But now that it could be a reality, and with the help of his older brother no less, something about it feels wrong. I stare up at the shadowy gray clouds overhead, blocking out the stars. I shouldn't feel guilty for killing someone like Kane. After all, hasn't he proved just how cruel and evil he can be? My eyes soften. Evil isn't the right word for Kane.
“Did you hear that?” Aiden asks, stopping sharply.
I glance at the rooftops, following his gaze. “No,” I whisper, fear lancing through me. I haven’t forgotten how it felt to be without a soul.
Aiden sniffs, brows furrowed. “Follow me.”
Fear squeezing my heart, I trail closely behind the minor god. He leads me into an alley, walking purposefully. The further into the alley we go, the darker it seems to get. My eyes strain to make out shapes in the darkness, and I stumble over a loose stone. Suddenly, the stench of blood hits me. I jolt, choking on my own breath. I can taste the iron tang of it in my mouth. Gagging, I cover my nose with my sleeve and stumble to a stop beside Aiden.
Blood pools in the cracks of the cobblestones, seeping toward our toes. In the center of it, lies a corpse. The woman's prone body is twisted on the ground, her arms stiff and forced at odd angles. A thick red line streaks over her throat, and I see pale tissue and bone. But it's her eyes that are the most haunting. Empty and void, they're like dark windows to an abandoned house. Aiden crouches beside her and lays a hand on her forearm. I grimace.
“She’s still warm,” Aiden says, rising. He glances around the alley. “She hasn’t been dead long.”
I spin, eyes wide as I try to pierce the darkness and make out the Nephilim. “Is it close?” I ask breathlessly.
“Maybe,” Aiden says darkly.
I swallow hard, heart hammering. The light tapping of footsteps reaches my ears and I freeze, spine-tingling with fear. I can't move or tear my eyes away from the source of the sound as it grows closed. Suddenly, a child barrels out of the darkness, skirting the corpse, and sprinting past us. I watch him go, jaw slack, as he skids around the corner and disappears from view. The young boy wasn’t even concerned with the dead, bloody body.
“He didn’t look,” I whisper to myself.
“Go, Briar. Run!” Aiden shouts.
"What?" I turn skin-crawling.
Aiden runs towards me, arms outstretched. Behind him, I see a massive shadow with glowing red eyes. It hurtles towards us, leaping over the woman’s corpse. Aiden reaches me, wrapping a hand around my arm and tugging me behind him. The Nephilim hisses, gaining, and I’m snapped from my shock. Aiden and I sprint through the streets, dodging loose cobblestones and missing pieces. I don’t dare to look over my shoulder to gauge how close the Nephilim is, but I imagine I can feel his hot breath on my neck.
I don’t want to die.
Aiden pulls me into a narrow side street, and we wind our way through, taking sudden sharp turns in random directions. My arm aches from the force of his pulling, but I don't protest. Aiden slows,
