Page 127 of When Death Whispers

Hudson lets out a ragged breath, looking from the vanishing creatures to the two demons still standing in our path. His stance is defensive, his shoulders squared, but I can hear it—his heart’s still hammering, his body still braced for the next problem. The air is almost tangible with the amount of fear wafting off him.

Because now, it’s us and them.

“Right. Great,” Hudson mutters, shaking his head. “So what? We’re all friends now?”

The scarred one tilts his head, the movement unnervingly slow, his white eyes stark against his navy skin. His voice is deep, distant—like something speaking from the space between stars.

“Not yet.”

The red-skinned one grins, rolling his shoulders. “But we could be.”

I narrow my eyes, licking blood from my fangs. I don’t like this.

“I don’t like owing favors.”

The scarred one exhales, slow and deliberate. “Lucky for you, this one’s free.”

Yeah. I don’t buy that for a second. Demons do not offergifts. Ever.

Hudson’s wary, but surprisingly, his voice doesn’t waver. “Right. So who thefuckare you?”

The red one laughs, the sound rich, deep, and sharp as cracked bone.

“We’re the ones who know the Evergloom better than you. That’s all you need to know.”

The red one grins wider, his tail flicking behind him like he’s enjoying a joke only he understands.

“Tell me, nightmare—how long were you planning on stumbling around before you realized you were never gonna find her on your own, even with your human’s little tether?”

My eyes narrow. My claws twitch.

Hudson stiffens beside me. “How the fuck do you know about Parker?”

The scarred one shifts, his too-white eyes unreadable. He regards me with something calculating. “Because she belongs here.” His head tilts slightly, like he’s studying something simple and obvious. “In the Evergloom, the things that belong... they don’t hide in the shadows. Theydrawthe dark.”

His gaze locks onto mine, something in it knowing, almost like he’s aware of a thread that runs between me and Parker, even if it’s being blocked by Steo.

“She’s lighting something up,” he says, his voice almost a whisper. “And the shadows arestirringbecause of it.”

The way he says it sends a cold coil of dread twisting in my gut.

I don’t like that answer. I don’t like how theyalready knowsomething we haven’t even spoken. And I sure as hell don’t like that they’re offering help.

Because nothing in this realm—or any other—comes without a price.

47

I knewshe was different the moment I first felt her soul call to mine. I knew she was meant for me—created for me. But for years, I believed she was meant to die by my hand. I believed I was meant to consume her. To devour her last breath, drink in her fear. I thought I’d been waiting for her end.

But that was never the truth.

She wasn’t meant to be devoured.

She was meant tostay.

The Evergloom recognizes her. Accepts her. Bends for her. The roots cradle her like they’ve known her all along, and the very walls of my burrow thrum when she speaks.

And when she said my name…

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