“I knew I smelled Eboenia’s scent on Crane. What the hell is going on!” Lune screamed, her voice shrill enough to rattle the glass.
“We were being tracked,” Grim said.
“No, she didn’t track us here. She came looking for something else,” War interjected.
Lune’s deep purple wings sliced straight down Grim’s hand, parting skin and muscle with a wet sound. He cursed and released her, blood dripping as she snapped back to her normal size and charged straight at me. Instinct took over—I cocked back and knocked her into a table, sending her tumbling as books and dust rained down on her.
“That bitch is going to get us discovered,” Grim grimaced, watching his hand knit itself back together.
“Crane, it’s been you this whole time. You and Eboenia have been plotting against your own kingdom! You have a Hex13 with you inside of Charmden!” Lune shrieked, while scrambling to her feet.
“Who gives a damn! Let it go!” I hissed.
“Where is Sin, Jinx, and Blair?” Lune demanded, her gaze darting between us, desperate for answers.
“They’re safe. But what brings you here? Why are you snooping around Hoax’s home?” War asked Lune, stepping closer; his killer presence was surfacing.
“I don’t have to tell you shit!” Lune spat back.
Without warning, War charged, his hand closing around her throat. Her wings drooped, fluttering weakly as she clawed at his arms, feet kicking uselessly in the air. War’s eyes glowed, and the gears—those damned, ancient gears—appeared on the walls, spinning and grinding. Lune went still, her eyes blown wide, caught in some kind of hypnosis.
“Tell me what I want to know,” he demanded.
“I’m looking for the crystals Sin makes for his father. I know it can lead me to him,” Lune confessed, her voice flat and hollow, the words wrenched from her lips.
“Sin doesn’t love you, and your airhead ass is about to throw away your life trying to fight against assassins. You aren’t capable of going against warlock warriors. You won’t last a second. Take this as a warning and stay out of our fucking business!” I gritted.
“Sin promised me I was going to be his wife,” she whispered, voice cracking.
“He doesn’t want you, and I’m saying that as a friend. He only used you when I wasn’t around. The sad part is, you know it. You had a fiancé who loved you and wanted a family with you. Sin never wanted his son to be yours,” I said, my voice softer but no less honest.`
“Bitch, you’re just jealous,” she snapped, venom in every syllable.
War released her, letting her drop to the floor like discarded trash. “She’s not like your other friend, Blair. She’ll still be your enemy, even if I take away her memory. You can’t erase a hateful heart—either kill her now or let it fester and get worse. Not all enemies can be redeemed,” War said, his voice heavy with old wounds.
Lune pushed herself up, trembling with rage. “I wanted a family, that’s all I ever looked forward to, and you killed my baby with your dark magic!” she spat.
She lunged at me, a dagger appearing in her hand.I swung my sword in a clean arc across her neck—her head snapped back, then tumbled to the floor. Her wings dimmed, flickering out like a candle in a storm, and her headless body crumpled, blood pooling around my feet. Relief washed over me—cold, pure, and undeniable. Death was fucking therapeutic.
“This will stay between us,” Grim said.
“You made the right choice,” War told me.
He turned back to the wall, moving books aside with methodical precision. My eyes stayed glued to Lune’s body, my heart pounding as I tried to come down from the high of killing. I thought back to when the four of us lounged around in our secret home, partying, drinking, laughing and crying together, but the memory was just a blank, empty space.
“Eboenia, get back inside my cloak,” War snapped, pulling me out of my trance. I shifted, wings buzzing, and darted into the hood of his cloak, settling behind his neck.
War moved the last of the books, revealing a wooden door in the floor. He opened it, and blue, sparkling water shimmered below, casting strange, shifting light on the walls.
“We gotta swim?” Grim asked, sounding more than a little disappointed.
“This is a portal, dummy,” War replied.
“I ain’t gotta keep getting lil’ nigga’d by you either. You forgot I used to beat your ass when we were younger,” Grim responded.
“Yeah, until I hit my growth spurt and started slamming you through the floor. And I keep telling you, I might be younger, but my spirit’s old enough to be your great-grandfather,” War said.
Grim shook his head. “Yeah, aight. Eboenia is small—let her go first to scope out the scenery,” he suggested.
