"Can't sleep, Princess?" Casadin's low voice broke the stillness as he stirred beside her, eyes adjusting to the soft, warm shadows of their cabin.
They couldn't see the sky from where they were, hidden in the heart of the Noir demons' secret community, but judging from the time on their phones and watches, it was well past one in the morning.
Evadne was lying between the two men she loved most, her heart, wrapped in fire and shadow.
She turned on her side to face Casadin, the motion causing Hades to instinctively tighten his arm around her from behind, pulling her flush against him as he softly snored into the curve of her neck. Evadne smiled faintly at the warmth of his breath, then reached out to Casadin. Her fingers gently traced his handsome face, brushing across his cheekbones and into the dark strands of his tousled, growing hair. Her leg lazily draped across his waist, grounding her in the intimacy of the moment.
"I've been thinking," she whispered. "About whether or not I should go through with the Bloodletting Ceremony."
Casadin laced his fingers through hers, their hands resting quietly between them.
"How do you weigh your decisions, Princess?" he asked gently.
Evadne let out a soft breath. "If I don't do it… there's no certainty what will happen to me, right? Lyxaria said so herself. They don't even know what a narf really looks like. For all we know, I could turn into something beautiful and otherworldly... or end up some terrifying mer-creature that eats people in the dark," she said with a soft, ironic smile.
"But if I do go through with it… I still don't know which side to choose. Should I let go of my humanity and become a full narf? I mean, sure, there are more benefits, but I'd be the only narf on Earth. Alone in that identity."
She paused, staring at his eyes, voice quieter now.
"But if I choose to stay human, I'll be just like everyone else… and somehow, that feels like a betrayal of who I am. Because right now, this is me. Being a halfling is me. It's the balance of everything I am and everything I've been through."
Her voice cracked faintly.
"And it feels like choosing to become one or the other is like choosing between you and Hades. Like if I go through with it… I'll lose part of what makes this", she motioned softly between the three of them, "us… real. And if I lose that, I know I'll regret it for the rest of my life."
She exhaled slowly, voice almost inaudible.
"Am I being selfish?"
Casadin smiled, eyes soft with adoration. He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, then her nose, then finally her lips, slow and sure.
"Yes, you are," he said, brushing his thumb across her cheek. "You're being selfish, Princess. But that's exactly what makes you you. And you can be selfish as much as you want… I won't love you any less."
He glanced behind her toward the sleeping Hades. "And that bastard snoring into your neck? He won't love you less either."
Evadne smiled, eyes misting.
"So don't think about what Lyxaria or the others want from you. You don't owe them anything. But you do owe it to yourself… to stay yourself."
His voice turned more serious, lower, almost reverent.
"You already gave up everything in your past life, for Solmara's safety, for the people who never even knew what you did for them. Maybe this time, in this second life, you get to be selfish. Maybe… this time, you get to choose you."
A quiet peace fell over her heart as her eyelids fluttered closed. Wrapped between their warmth, her body relaxed, finally giving in to sleep.
She drifted off with a serene smile on her lips, her hand still nestled in Casadin's, Hades's breath steady against her skin.
She knew, deep in her bones, that Lyxaria's eyes earlier had betrayed a yearning. A wish to return to Solmara… even if they had been born here on Earth. They all longed for home because Earth had never truly felt like theirs.
And maybe they were right.
But Casadin was right too.
She had already sacrificed her destiny to keep Solmara safe.
She no longer owed anyone anything.
Not Solmara.
Not fate.
Because this life, her second chance, was Lucifer's promise to her.
To be born into a world where she could finally choose what she deserved.
The following morning, Evadne made her decision known to Lyxaria and the others without hesitation.
"I've decided not to undergo the Bloodletting," she said calmly.
"Are you certain?" Nebyros asked, his crimson eyes flickering with concern. "There's no guarantee what will happen if you don't. Staying with your human family might even prove fatal. You don't know how your body will react."
"I'm sure," Evadne replied, her voice steady, though there was a subtle bitterness behind her soft smile. She stepped forward and gently took Lyxaria's hands in hers. "I'm sorry if I can't be of help to your cause. But if I go through with it, I know I'll regret it. I'll lose a part of who I am. And I… I'm not ready to give that up. I hope you understand."
Lyxaria's gaze softened with empathy, and a warm, knowing smile spread across her face.
"We understand," she said, her voice full of grace. "But… if it's alright with you, since you said you'll be turning nineteen in two weeks, would you consider staying here until then?"
Evadne looked slightly surprised, and Lyxaria continued, her tone hopeful.
"Maybe you didn't find our hidden community by accident. Maybe it wasn't just so you could see what's written on the prophecy wall or learn about the demon bloodline. I believe there's a deeper reason you're here. And if something happens on your nineteenth birthday, being here might help you stabilize. You'd be safer among us."
Evadne turned her head and looked at Casadin and Hades. Both had been silently standing behind her, alert but calm.
"Baby," Hades murmured as he stepped closer, his voice low. "Lyxaria has a point. But… we're supposed to be back in New York before your birthday, remember? Our families must be worried. We've been off the grid for almost forty-eight hours now. They can't track us."
Evadne saw the flicker of sadness in Lyxaria's eyes. That longing. That unspoken desperation.
She tilted her head in thought. "Nebyros… You teleported us before. Was that only short-range? And how exactly do you do it? I mean, if I could learn to teleport too, maybe I can go back to New York and still return here before my birthday."
Nebyros nodded, folding his arms. "Full-blooded demi-humans draw power from nature's energy. That's how we perform magic, including teleportation. But as a halfling, your human side limits your reservoir. You can tap into mana, yes, but Earth has very little of it. Outside our village, the mana concentration is nearly nonexistent. That's why you've only been able to perform minor water manipulation so far."
"But here…" he gestured around them, "inside the Noir village, the mana is thick. Saturated. It accumulates from us, like a byproduct of the carbon emissions demi-humans produce. Since we don't use mana, it builds up. That's why you can do magic freely here."
"I remember in Solmara," Evadne said slowly, "we used mana stones. We stored mana for later use. Can't we do the same thing here?"
"We don't use mana, Evadne," Nebyros reminded gently. "We've never needed to. So we never studied how mana stones work."
"But I have," Noctarelle said suddenly, breaking her usual silence. Everyone turned to her. She looked slightly startled at the attention but continued. "I mean… I've read about it. Wait here, I'll get something."
She vanished for a few minutes, only to return holding a thick, worn leather-bound journal. Its pages were yellowed with age, the ink faded but still legible.
"One of my ancestors was a halfling," she said. "Before he underwent the Bloodletting, he was obsessed with mana and the technology behind it. He experimented with using manacrystals, he even forged weapons using them. They became useless to him after his Bloodletting, of course, but according to this…" she opened the book and pointed to an entry, "he tried storing mana in gemstones instead of traditional manacrystals."
Noctarelle turned the book so they could see. "Specifically, he used diamonds. Most stones lose mana quickly when repeatedly used, but diamonds, while they store less mana, become a renewable source. He called it a perpetual conduit."
She showed them a drawing of three rings.
"A diamond?" Evadne murmured.
"It doesn't give you much," Noctarelle said. "But for a halfling… it might be just enough."
Evadne stared at the sketch of the three rings etched in the journal, her heart thudding softly in her chest.
"My ancestor successfully created three perpetual conduits," Noctarelle said, flipping the page to reveal a detailed drawing of three rings, each one unique, embedded with a different diamond. "Unfortunately, we've lost track of where they ended up. We never thought they were important… we don't use them, after all."
"Wait!" Evadne's eyes widened in sudden realization. She looked over at Casadin and Hades. "I have them. The diamonds I won at the stone auction, they hold mana. But they were in our bags. We left them in the tent near the waterfalls."
A small smirk curled Nebyros's lips, and with a simple nod to Zorynox, the silent lieutenant vanished in a wisp of black smoke. Moments later, he reappeared, holding their bags.
Evadne immediately unzipped her backpack and pulled out a small velvet box. She opened it carefully.
Inside were the blue, black, and grey diamonds.
Nebyros stepped closer and held his hand over the gems, sensing the subtle pulse within. "Yes," he confirmed. "There's mana inside. It's faint, but enough. If you use this in conjunction with your natural water energy, teleportation is possible. Especially if you're submerged. Water amplifies your affinity."
"We can forge rings with these diamonds," Lyxaria offered. "Let them become your conduits. If you stay here just a little longer, we can teach you how to use them properly."
"Can you really make them?" Evadne asked, her voice lighting up with cautious hope.
"I have another journal," Noctarelle chimed in, already flipping through a second, thinner volume. "It details exactly how my ancestor crafted and used the conduits. You can study it while you're here."
Evadne turned to Casadin and Hades. Their eyes met hers with unwavering loyalty.
"Whatever you decide, Princess… you know I'll follow you," Casadin said, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
Hades let out a slow breath, his voice slightly exasperated but affectionate. "Can we at least contact our families first? We've only got ten days left on this road trip, but they've probably been freaking out. No signal, no GPS… If we come home unannounced, your Oscar-worthy acting won't save us. All three of us are getting grounded."
Evadne laughed softly, and even Lyxaria cracked a smile. Then she gave a small nod of approval.
Nebyros stepped forward. "I'll bring you back to your camper van."
Within seconds, they were back inside their vehicle. The sunlight spilled through the windows like nothing had happened, yet everything had changed.
Hades took the driver's seat and glanced at Nebyros. "So… how do we escape the loop?"
"Follow the North Star," Nebyros said cryptically.
Casadin groaned. "How are we supposed to follow a star in broad daylight?"
But as he looked up through the sunroof, his voice caught.
"What the fuck," he muttered.
There, glittering faintly in the blue sky like a celestial mistake, was a single star, bright and pulsing despite the midday sun. And worse, it wasn't in the north.
"It's south," Casadin said, horrified. "So… we should be driving backward?"
Nebyros didn't answer. He only gave them a knowing smirk.
"What kind of escape room bullshit is this?" Casadin muttered, shaking his head, making both Evadne and Hades burst into laughter.
It was absurd. Who would've thought to look for the North Star during the day, let alone in the wrong direction?
Still, Hades carefully shifted into reverse and began to slowly backtrack down the road.
After a few minutes, a loud blare echoed behind them, another camper van speeding up to overtake them.
"What the hell are you doing? Why are you driving backward?" the other driver shouted out his window as they passed.
Evadne blinked. "Are they going to get stuck in the loop, too?"
"No," Nebyros replied. "The loop has existed for a very long time. Our ancestors created it, likely as a protective barrier. But very few humans ever enter. Only those sensitive to mana can even brush its edges. Most never make it past the two streams that mark the entrance. You three… you went beyond that. Past the threshold. To the falls. That's never happened before."
Evadne exchanged a long look with Hades and Casadin, her fingers unconsciously brushing the velvet box in her lap.
Something inside her whispered that this was only the beginning.