Page 144 of Saints & Sinners

Eden stepped closer, and internally I squirmed. “Don’t act like you don’t know. I thought placing Grace in your dorm would prompt you to fall deeper into corruption. The human girl and the Ascendant, who hated the idea of one ever coming after his brother, were rejected.” She scoffed. “I mean, you did so well, making Grace like you. I didn’t even have to tell you to do anything, and shestillfell for you. See, I knew something was off with you both when you no longer looked at her like you despised her. I figured it out the night of the ball, watching you two... it was priceless. Imagine how the Council...Joewill feel knowing little Grace was charmed by someone like you. A corrupted soul.”

I grabbed her upper arm and shook her hard. “You went too far. All of it. Killing Celestials, Nadael, destroying everything, all for what? Because you were bored?”

She laughed, a harsh, grating sound. “Don’t act like you’re sonoble,Cain. No one in power is truly good; that included Nadael. Have you forgotten that? Or have you forgotten who you were before Grace came into the picture?”

My jaw tightened as she smirked, adept at manipulating me. She had allied herself with demons, preyed on me at my lowest, and dragged us both into damnation by selling our souls to them. But whatever she’d once been, she wasn’t anymore. Eden had officially lost her grip on reality.

“Or perhaps you have forgotten all about Aaron.”

I stiffened. “Don’t bring him into this.”

“Why not?” she said. “Isn’t that why you’re here? Still clinging to the hope that you’ll find him? That theletterhe sent you means he’s out there somewhere.”

I swallowed what felt like glass. “I haven’t found him. The letter... it must’ve come too late. I’ve looked everywhere—”

Eden burst out laughing, causing others inside the room to chuckle along with her. “Oh, I can’t—” Amused tears welled in her eyes as she clutched her stomach. “I tried to keep it in for a bit longer, but—” She sighed dramatically. “The look on your face... oh, Hunter. I should probably tell you that the letter you received wasn’t actually from your brother.”

My blood ran cold. “What?”

“It was me,” she said, her look turning into a pitiful mock.“Iforged it. It wasn’t hard, really. All it took was finding a few scraps of his handwriting hidden in your notebooks, copying it, and making sure you found it. It was incredibly easy how you fell for it.”

“Why?” I couldn’t stop the crack that tore from my throat. “Why would you do that?”

“To break you, silly,” she said simply. “You were so distant from us that I needed to reel you back in. To corrupt you further. And look at you now, Hunter. You’re everything I wanted you to be.” Her smirk returned, and she gestured to the shadows. “Butenough reminiscing. It’s time for you to embrace what you’ve become. For both of us to embrace it. Just how we had spoken of it in the past, remember?” She touched my shoulder, and I flinched away from her touch as she circled me.

From the darkness, a figure stepped forward.

Seorin Yun.

An ex-alumnus at Celestia. She’d suffered the same fate from the Riftkeeper’s, and now, only recently, had she become a full-fledged demon.

I barely saw her whenever I came here, but she was still striking. Her midnight-black hair reached up to her shoulders, and her wispy fringe framed her pale face and golden eyes.

Despite how beautiful she was, there was still a coldness about her, a detachment from that reality that no one ever dared question.

“Shall we?” I heard Eden say before realization dawned on me.

“Eden don’t—” I turned, but it was too late as Seorin came at me with a blade in her hand and plunged the cool steel into my side.

Pain exploded through me, sharp and blinding, as I staggered back and Seorin smiled at me, my own blood dripping from the blade in her hand.

The room then blurred as I pressed my hand against the wound and looked up at everyone else, staring.

I took two steps forward before I collapsed onto the ground, and Eden crouched beside me.

“Have I ever told you how a corrupted soul becomes a full demon, Hunter?” Her voice was soft... taunting.

Blood bubbled in my throat as I tried to get up but failed and fell again.

“When a corrupted soul dies...” she whispered, and I could no longer breathe. “They don’t pass on, Cain. They transform,awakening as their true selves.”

No.

“I’ll see you again in a few hours. We’ll talk about what to do next then. I already havesomany things planned.”

I reached out, wanting to fucking strangle her, but darkness suddenly consumed me, and the only person I could think of was Grace.

Her face flashed across my mind. The hurt in her eyes turned to pure hate.

I whispered her name, hoping she would somehow come to me, but Eden’s shrill laughter was the last thing I heard before everything went black.