ARIA'S POV
"You're late."
Kael's cold voice came from the shadows outside the abandoned nightclub. I'd been here for ten minutes, watching the building where Samael said the second Archdemon would appear.
"I'm not late. You're early." I stepped out of my hiding spot. "Control freak much?"
"Cautious. There's a difference." He emerged from the darkness, and my traitorous heart did that stupid skip thing again. Why did he have to look so good in black combat gear? "Did you bring the holy water?"
"Did you bring your attitude? Oh wait, it's permanently attached."
His jaw tightened. "We agreed to work together. That means following a plan."
"Your plan. I didn't agree to your plan. I agreed to partnership. Equal partnership."
"Equal means—"
"Means I don't take orders from the man who hunted me for six months like I was an animal."
Something flashed in his ice-blue eyes. Guilt? Regret? It disappeared too fast to tell.
"I was doing my job," he said quietly. "Hunting supernatural threats is what I do."
"And killing monsters who hurt innocent people is what I do. Guess we both have issues."
We stood three feet apart. The tension between us was thick enough to cut with a knife.
"The Archdemon will appear at midnight," Kael finally said. "That's in twenty minutes. Samael's message said it would be inside the nightclub during their annual masquerade party."
"A party? Why a party?"
"Maximum casualties if we fail. Two hundred people inside. All wearing masks. Perfect cover for a demon to blend in before it strikes." He pulled out two ornate masks from his bag. "We need to go inside. Blend in. Find the demon before it finds us."
I stared at the masks. One black with silver edges. One red with gold. "You want us to pretend we're party guests?"
"I want us to have a tactical advantage. The demon doesn't know what we look like. But it knows we're coming." He handed me the red mask. "So we hide in plain sight until we identify the target."
The mask was beautiful. Delicate. Completely wrong for demon hunting.
"This is insane."
"This is smart." He put on his black mask. It made him look even more dangerous. Like a beautiful nightmare. "Trust me."
"I don't trust anyone."
"Then trust our bond. It hasn't failed us yet."
He was right. I hated that he was right.
I put on the mask.
We walked into the nightclub together.
The party was packed. Bodies everywhere. Music pounding so loud I felt it in my bones. Everyone wore elaborate masks and costumes. The perfect place for a demon to hide.
"Can you sense it?" Kael's voice was low in my ear. We had to stay close to hear each other over the music.
I reached out with my supernatural senses. Felt for evil. For darkness. For that rotten taste that demons gave off.
"There." I pointed to the VIP section. "Someone up there feels wrong. Very wrong."
"How wrong?"
"Archdemon wrong."
Kael's hand found mine. The connection sparked between us. "Then we need to get up there without drawing attention. Follow my lead."
"Again with the orders—"
But he was already pulling me toward the dance floor. Right into the crowd of dancing people.
"What are you doing?" I hissed.
"Dancing. It's the fastest way to the VIP stairs without looking suspicious." He spun me into his arms, one hand on my waist, the other still holding my hand. "Just follow the rhythm."
"I don't know how to dance."
"You have supernatural powers. Figure it out."
The music changed. Slower. More intimate. Everyone around us paired up, swaying together.
Kael pulled me closer. Our bodies pressed together. His hand on my lower back was firm. Possessive.
"This is stupid," I whispered.
"This is cover." His breath was warm against my ear. "The demon is watching the crowd. Looking for threats. Two people dancing look harmless."
"Nothing about you looks harmless."
"Neither do you." His eyes met mine through our masks. "Even covered, you're the most dangerous person in this room."
Something in his voice made my skin tingle. Was that a compliment or a warning?
We moved together. His lead was strong but not controlling. He anticipated my movements. I matched his rhythm. It was like fighting—reading each other, predicting, responding.
"You're good at this," I admitted.
"Twenty years of combat training. Dancing is just fighting without the hitting."
"Want to test that theory?"
His lips curved into a small smile. The first real smile I'd seen from him. "After we kill the demon."
We danced closer to the VIP stairs. I kept my senses focused on that evil presence above. It was getting stronger. More active.
"It knows we're here," I said quietly.
"How can you tell?"
"The evil taste is spreading. It's preparing to attack." My grip on his hand tightened. "We need to move now."
"Wait." Kael suddenly dipped me backward. To anyone watching, it looked romantic. But he was really looking at the VIP section upside down. "I see it. Third booth. Man in the white suit. His aura is black. Pure black."
He pulled me back up. Our faces were inches apart.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Always."
We broke apart and ran for the VIP stairs. No more pretending. No more dancing.
The demon saw us coming. Its human disguise melted away. The man in white became something horrible—ten feet tall, covered in black scales, eyes like burning coals.
Everyone in VIP started screaming.
"EVACUATE!" Kael shouted. His voice somehow cut through the panic. People ran for the exits.
The demon laughed. Its voice shook the building. "THE BOUND SOULS. RIGHT ON TIME."
"We're getting really tired of demons knowing about us," I said, my hands glowing red.
"PERHAPS YOU SHOULD STOP BEING SO PREDICTABLE." The demon's claws extended. "MY MASTER SAID TO KILL YOU BOTH. SLOWLY."
"Your master talks too much," Kael said. His eyes glowed gold. "Let's see if you fight better than you talk."
The demon attacked.
Fast. So incredibly fast.
Its claw caught Kael's arm, drawing blood. He cursed and rolled away. I threw a blast of power at its face. The demon barely flinched.
"It's stronger than last night's!" I yelled.
"Noticed that!" Kael threw three silver knives. They stuck in the demon's chest but didn't slow it down.
We were losing. Badly.
The demon grabbed my throat and lifted me off the ground. "YOU FIRST, LITTLE KILLER. THEN THE HUNTER. THEN EVERYONE YOU'VE EVER LOVED."
"I don't love anyone," I choked out.
"LIAR." Its burning eyes stared into mine. "YOU LOVE HIM. THE BOND HAS ALREADY STARTED. YOUR SOUL REACHES FOR HIS EVEN NOW."
"Let her go!" Kael's roar was inhuman. Pure rage.
He jumped onto the demon's back and drove a blessed blade into its skull. The demon screamed and dropped me.
I hit the floor hard. Couldn't breathe. My throat was crushed.
But I could feel Kael's rage. His fear. His desperate need to protect me.
The bond. It was growing stronger. I could feel his emotions like they were my own.
"Aria!" He was beside me, hands on my face. "Breathe. Come on, breathe."
My healing kicked in. Slow. Too slow.
The demon pulled the blade from its head and advanced on us. "TOUCHING. THE HUNTER HAS FEELINGS. PITY THEY'LL DIE WITH YOU."
Kael stood up, putting himself between me and the demon. "You want her? Go through me."
"GLADLY."
Time slowed down. I saw the demon's claw coming for Kael's heart. Saw that he wouldn't dodge in time because he was protecting me instead of himself.
Saw that he was going to die.
No.
Power exploded from me. Not red. Not gold. Pure white. Trinity magic.
But I was alone. Kael wasn't touching me. We weren't combining powers.
This was just mine.
The white energy slammed into the demon and tore it apart. Completely. Utterly. It didn't even have time to scream.
Silence.
The nightclub was destroyed. Demon ash covered everything. And I was glowing like a star.
Kael stared at me. "How did you do that? Trinity magic requires both of us."
"I don't know." My voice shook. "I just... I couldn't let it kill you."
"Why not? I'm your hunter. Your enemy. You should want me dead."
"You're not my enemy." The words came out before I could stop them. "You're my partner."
Something changed in his expression. Softened. "Aria—"
My phone buzzed. So did his.
Same message:
"Interesting! The bond grows faster than predicted. Trinity magic solo means soul-marriage is 60% complete. Three more encounters and you'll be fully bound. Forever. One soul in two bodies. Hope you like each other! Next demon: tomorrow. Rooftop garden. Bring flowers. - S"
I looked at Kael. He looked at me.
"Soul-marriage?" I whispered. "Sixty percent complete?"
"We've only known each other two days."
"Apparently our souls work faster than our brains."
"This is insane." He ran his hand through his silver hair. "If we complete the bond—"
"We're stuck together. Forever. One soul."
"Can't be apart. Can't survive alone. Literally bonded for life."
We stood in demon ash and club ruins, both glowing with leftover magic, both terrified of what was happening to us.
"We need to stop this," I said. "Break the bond before it's too late."
"How? Samael won't answer questions. The demons want us dead. We have no guidance."
"Then we stop hunting together. Stop fighting side by side. The bond grows when we work together, so we just... don't."
Kael was quiet. Then: "People will die. Without us working together, we can't kill Archdemons. More attacks will come. Innocent people will die."
He was right. I hated that he was right.
"So we're trapped," I said bitterly. "Either we let innocent people die, or we complete a soul-marriage with someone we barely know."
"Essentially."
We stared at each other through our masks. Partners. Enemies. Bound souls hurtling toward permanent connection.
"For what it's worth," Kael said quietly, "if I have to be soul-married to someone for eternity... you're not the worst option."
"That's the most romantic thing anyone's ever said to me."
"I'm cursed not to feel love, remember? This is as good as it gets."
Despite everything, I almost smiled.
Then the building started collapsing. Structural damage from the fight.
"Run!" Kael grabbed my hand.
We ran together through falling debris, still connected, still glowing, the bond between us growing stronger with every heartbeat.
Outside in the night air, surrounded by sirens and chaos, we finally stopped.
"Tomorrow," Kael said. "Rooftop garden. We'll kill the next demon."
"And get another twenty percent soul-married."
"Apparently."
"This is the worst partnership ever."
"You said that yesterday."
"Still true today."
He smiled. Actually smiled. "See you tomorrow, partner."
As he walked away, I felt the distance like a physical ache. The bond didn't like us being apart.
Sixty percent complete.
Three more demons until forever.
I was absolutely, completely screwed.