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“If she was the right person, there will always be a right time.” Except she might be dead and I regret the words that come out of my mouth.

He gives me a sidelong glance, those copper eyes burning holes into my face. “It was always the right time for me; she just needs to realize that.”

“Needs?” As far as I knew, Sara Wren was dead. But the vision...Daisy might have been the wife or the mistress. And Christian hadn’t shown any interest in the topic of Daisy. So the only plausible answer is that he’s speaking of Sara.

“Do you know what happens in abusive co-dependent relationships?” he asks.

“People get lost in themselves,” I reply. Where is this leading?

“People get so sunken into dark places they can’t see a way out. If you’re lucky, the universe gives you a way out but sometimes that is even harder to traverse. You may need a guide,” Christian says.

“Were you that guide for Sara?”

He hums but doesn’t reply.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

Christian expels a hearty laugh. The sound makes my heart flutter. If there was a man that resembled the beauty that the Devil supposedly beheld, it would be Christian Valen. Everything about him screamed a depravity only spoken between lovers tangled around each other and the thought makes me blush beneath this lifeless mask.

“Come on, we have enough weird things to do tonight,” he says, giving me a playful smirk. “First, do you want to dance with the Devil?”

“Dance with the Devil? That’s the tradition, correct?” Everything about this town surprises me each day. I continue to walk alongside him and the moment seems to slow. Is he feeling the pull of our energy, that magnetic tension that tugs and pulls like the waves that surround this small town?

Revelers covered in distorted masks yelp and holler with imperceptible phrases around us. We pass the tattered banner now completely still even with the howling wind curling around it. All around, darkness hides behind shop windows and alleyways.

“Come on, we’re a little late for the burning.” He absently holds out his hand and I slip mine into his. The sassy quips didn’t linger on my tongue, instead, a sensuous hunger came tumbling in like a late summer storm.

“Late? We just got here.” I didn’t want to return to that house tonight.

We stride toward the opposite end of town, where the bell tower of an old church can be seen against the night’s sky. This hadn’t been noticeable both times I took the motorcycle. Then again, I had been focused on other matters.

As we draw nearer, the forest shrouds the structures; the moon unable to penetrate its thick canopies.

The creatures.

“You think those creatures only exist in the area surrounding the estate and they’re somehow emanating from the land itself?” I ask.

Christian ponders the question for a moment. “No.” He finally responds.

I wait for further explanation on his thoughts, but he doesn’t say anything else.

“Maybe the story of the cove is true?” The one where it’s a portal to Hell and not the one where Kieran is simply storing bodies.

During the night following my discovery, I decided to gauge my trust in Christian, waiting for the right moment to tell him about the lab. This moment feels right. I can trust him.

He glances down, a rueful smile graces the curve of his painted lips. “It—” He stops in his tracks. “I believe there is some truth to it. Maybe…you’ve had some luck in your exploring?”

“I have.”

“What have you found?” He squeezes my hand, hard.

“There’s a lab deep within the tunnels behind a crevasse.” Flashes of what Misty and I saw cycles through my mind.

“Hmm.” Is all the answer he gives me.

“Daisy…she told me that Kieran works on making sure people live longer. But wait—I thought you would know what he’s doing. Aren’t you ‘close’ to him?” My grip loosens in his hold.

“No one in our supposed close circle is really close. We’re all just looking out for ourselves, trading secrets for secrets.”