Cassie woke up in a quiet unfamiliarity she almost mistook for peace.
Her eyes fluttered open to the warm darkness of Adrian's bedroom. The soft bedding beneath her still carried a faint warmth. For the first time in days, there had been no whispering, no shadows dragging nails across her subconscious, no pleading dead standing over her bed. Just... silence.
A miracle.
But now it was morning or something close to it. She couldn't see a clock anywhere, and the curtains stayed thick and heavy, trapping the light outside. Still, her body felt the pull of waking.
Sitting up slowly, she rubbed her eyes, feeling as if she'd aged ten years from exhaustion.
But she'd slept. Really slept.
The thought brought tears to her eyes. She wiped them away quickly, standing and moving toward the door. She wasn't sure what she expected, maybe to find Adrian standing sentinel again or more likely that she had dreamt the whole thing.
But the hallway was real, just as cold and elegant as she remembered.
The kitchen was quiet, empty.
She found him standing on the balcony, overlooking the city skyline. He didn't turn as she stepped closer.
"You're up," he said, his voice as smooth and emotionless as ever.
"I slept," she murmured. "Thank you."
He said nothing.
She stepped beside him, arms folded against the chill.
"Is this what your life's like?" she asked. "Always alone. Always quiet."
"Peace is a luxury most take for granted," Adrian said.
Cassie tilted her head. "You like the silence?"
"It is preferable to the clamor of dying regrets."
She shuddered, remembering the way one ghost had whispered over and over again, "Tell her I'm sorry. Tell her I didn't mean it." The same whisper, the same words, repeated every time she blinked.
Cassie wrapped her arms around herself. "I don't think I can handle this alone."
"You are not alone," he replied.
She stared at him. "Aren't I? You said I could stay for the night. That's one night. What happens after?"
"I do not coddle mortals," Adrian said flatly.
Cassie flinched. "And I didn't ask to be coddled. I asked for help."
"You seek comfort in a world ruled by death. It is not my place to offer it."
"Maybe not," she snapped. "But you're the one who roped me into this!"
"You touched the relic. Your fate changed. That is all."
She clenched her fists, her voice rising. "I didn't know what it would do!"
"You wanted answers. Now you have them."
"That's not fair..."
"Life is not fair," he cut in coldly. "Death is even less so."
Cassie turned away, breathing hard.
A long silence stretched between them, broken only by the distant city sounds below.
"I can't go back to my apartment," she said finally. "They won't stop. They're always watching. Waiting. And Janey's still away."
He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "You will stay. For now."
Cassie blinked. "Seriously?"
"I do not repeat myself."
Cassie let out a long sigh. "Right. Okay."
She walked back inside, uncertain if she was relieved or more afraid than ever.
By midday, Adrian was gone.
Cassie wandered the apartment in his absence. She discovered a massive library that made her knees weak. Rows of books, ancient and new, filled the shelves. Dusty tomes with titles in languages she didn't recognize. Artifacts. Relics. Everything breathed of the old world.
She touched nothing.
But she felt everything.
Power.
Loneliness.
Tragedy.
Adrian Vale was more than just a god of death. He was a graveyard of memory.
That night, she sat by the window, a mug of tea clutched in her hands, and whispered to herself.
"I'm not ready for this."
The air stirred.
"You will learn," Adrian's voice said behind her.
Cassie jumped. "You're like a cat. You should wear a bell."
He didn't smile.
She sighed. "So, what happens now?"
He sat across from her, his posture formal, distant.
"Now, you understand what you are."
Cassie frowned. "What I am?"
"A tether," he said simply. "To those who cannot let go."
"You mean ghosts."
"I mean souls. Bound by regret, vengeance, fear. You see them because your third eye has opened. You feel their pain because you are alive."
Cassie shook her head. "I'm not special."
"You are now."
"I didn't ask for this."
"Fate does not ask."
She stared into her tea. "Will I die?"
"Eventually."
"From this?"
"Perhaps."
She looked up, startled by the honesty.
Adrian met her gaze without flinching. "If you continue to carry the burden without balance, you will break."
Cassie was silent for a long time.
Then she whispered, "Then teach me. Show me how to survive this."
He didn't move.
She stood. Walked over to him.
"Please."
Adrian studied her face, eyes unreadable.
"You beg well."
Cassie's lips twitched. "Thanks, I practiced in the mirror."
His expression didn't change.
But he nodded.
"I will teach you. But understand this: the dead do not rest easily. And once you are bound to death, you walk between two worlds."
Cassie swallowed hard. "Then I'll walk carefully."
His gaze lingered on her a moment longer before he turned away.
"Your training begins tomorrow."
She exhaled. "Good. Maybe I'll survive long enough to eat actual breakfast again."
From behind him, she thought she saw a flicker of amusement in his reflection on the glass.
Just maybe.