Page 56 of When Death Whispers

Instead, my brain supplies one thing:

He called itthe Evergloom.

The name fits. And it sounds eerily familiar.

I stare up at him, feeling his power curling through the air, brushing against my skin like unseen fingertips.

I don’t know how I can sense it, but I do.

Rad watches me carefully. “I told you, my sweet Parker, we are tied to one another.” His voice lowers, curling around me like a whispered promise. “I am yours as much as you are mine. One soul, one mind, one life force.”

My breath stutters.

His tail flicks once behind him, the motion lazy and controlled. He tilts his head, studying me like I’m a puzzle and he already knows where the pieces fit.

“Your wishes are my command,” he continues, stepping closer, looming over me. “My power is yours. Use me the way you want to.”

I swallow hard. My mouth opens—and nothing comes out.

Because I don’t know what to say.

What do I evenwant?

The thought pops into existence without warning, and the truth of it settles over me like a blanket, heavy yet comforting.

I want to stop being afraid.

Not just of him, or this place. But of everything. I want the fear to let go. I want to breathe without waiting for the shadows to close in. I want the fear to go away, to stop gnawing at my ribs, to stop controlling me.

Rad inhales sharply, his icy gaze flickering with something darker, more dangerous.

“Ah,” he purrs, and the sound sends a shiver straight down my spine. “Now that… I can help with.”

His grin curls, wicked and knowing. “But you remember, don’t you? I told you this would be the price of saving your golden boy. This”—he gestures to the space between us, the crackling air—“this is the cost.”

I blink.

Right. The cost. I had agreed, hadn’t I?

So, then this… all of this is a dream?

Rad’s eyes gleam. “Something like that… Only not. But we can call it one if it makes you feel better.”

Wait.

My breath stalls in my lungs as I come to a realization.

He’s beenanswering my thoughtsthis whole time.

I neversaidany of that out loud.

A chill ripples through me—not from fear, but from something deeper. Wilder.

“...What are you?” I whisper.

Rad’s lips curl, revealing the glint of sharp fangs. “I told you, my Beholden. I am whatever you need me to be.” His voice is velvet over steel, rich and taunting. “For now? I am your guardian. But I can be so much more… if only you ask.”

I should run. I should scream.

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