Page 143 of When Death Whispers

Another impact, louder, closer, makes the entire shelter groan and sway beneath my feet. The sound reverberates through my bones, and suddenly, an unnatural warmth pools beneath my toes. I gasp, staring down.

The delicate veins of glowing pink that had been threading through the walls and ceiling now race toward me, gathering beneath my feet, climbing slowly up my ankles, then my calves. It’s a gentle, tingling sensation—soothing, warm, like stepping into a bath after being chilled to the bone.

But this heat doesn’t feel like Steo’s shadows. It doesn’t wrap around me—it comes from within, radiating outward from my very bones. It feels strangely… familiar. Like it’s always been a part of me, just waiting to be awakened.

Another thunderous crash, even closer now, jars me from my thoughts, sending panic rising sharply in my chest. The walls tremble, groaning under the strain.

Then—a faint voice, barely audible, drifts through the wooden barrier. I freeze.

I know that voice. I'd recognize it anywhere.

But that’s impossible. Not here. Not in the Evergloom.

“Hudson?” My whisper is barely a breath.

Another violent impact shatters my hesitation, shaking the shelter so forcefully it feels like the whole thing will collapse. Pink energy surges into me with increasing urgency, flooding my body, making my heart race and my skin buzz.

A loud crack echoes as wood splinters somewhere nearby. Pressure builds inside me, intense and burning, threatening to burst free. My vision blurs, overwhelmed by brilliant pink light, as panic claws its way up my throat, choking me silent.

I stumble back, disoriented, suffocating under the rising pressure, until suddenly twin orange flames cut sharply through the blinding pink glow.

“Parker!” A desperate roar rings through the chaos, just before the world around me erupts in a brilliant explosion of color and heat.

52

I wake up choking,the taste of blood thick and metallic on my tongue.

My lungs seize. I roll, coughing violently, every movement scraping raw. My ribs ache, my skin burns, and something inside me—something new—feels wrong.

When my vision finally clears, I find Rad crouched above me, glowing eyes sharp, face infuriatingly calm.

“What…” I rasp, coughing again. “What the fuck did you do?”

He arches a brow, lips twitching into that insufferable smirk. “You were bleeding out. I made a judgment call.”

I groan, pushing myself upright, fingers pressing into my side. I glance down to make sure, but there’s no gaping wound. No exposed bone. Just smooth skin marred by spider-like black veins, pulsing faintly beneath the surface like ink trapped in glass.

I stare, dread coiling in my gut. “What kind of judgment call?”

Rad leans back on his heels, clearly enjoying this. “You tasted demon blood. My blood, specifically. Welcome to team nightmare.” He pauses, dramatic as hell. “Congrats—you’re not entirely human anymore.”

I blink. “Excuse me?”

“Relax,” he drawls. “You’re still mostly mortal. Unfortunately. But now you’ve got a little extra edge. Maybe you’ll live long enough to help find Parker. Consider it a gift.”

I scrub a hand over my face, head spinning, pulse pounding hard enough to hurt. Demon blood. Fantastic.

“Why the fuck would you do that?”

For a second—just one—his smirk falters. I catch something raw flicker across his face. But then it’s gone, buried under smug indifference.

“As tempting as was the thought of leaving your sorry ass to rot, I’m certain Parker would never forgive me. And I can’t have that.”

He turns away abruptly, scanning our surroundings—and it hits me all over again.

The pink light. The forest that feels older. Taller. Like it evolved around her.

I remember the way those two demons looked at us in the clearing. Like they already knew the truth before we opened our mouths. Like the ground itself whispered her name.

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