Zara’s POV

  Kage pulled the car up to the curb outside my house and shifted into park, his hands still gripping the wheel as if he wasn’t ready to let go just yet. The engine hummed for a few more seconds before he finally shut it off, plunging us into silence.

  “I’ll stay out here tonight,” he said, his voice firm, leaving no room for argument. “I’ll keep watch, make sure nothing happens.”

  I sighed, folding my arms. “Kage, you need to sleep too. You can’t protect me if you’re running on empty.”

  His dark eyes met mine, steady and unyielding. “I’m fine.”

  I huffed, glancing away. Stubborn. Of course he was. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, hesitating before I spoke again. “You could… stay inside. It’s not like I have guest rooms or anything, but the couch is better than sleeping in a car.”

  Kage’s brows lifted slightly, but he didn’t say anything right away. I felt my face warm under his gaze, regretting my words immediately. “I mean—it’s just practical. You’re already here, and there’s no point in being uncomfortable if you don’t have to be.”

  A small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. “So you’re inviting me in?”

  I crossed my arms tighter and shrugged. “I guess.”

  He studied me for a moment before nodding. “Alright.”

  I blinked. “Alright?” I hadn’t expected him to actually agree.

  Kage turned off the headlights and unbuckled his seatbelt. “Lead the way, Zara.”

  Suppressing a nervous breath, I turned toward my house, unlocking the door and stepping inside. The air inside was familiar, filled with the faint scent of old books and peppermint, the scent I often used to cover the scent of death that always seemed to linger around me. Kage followed, his presence feeling larger in the small space.

  For the first time since meeting him, I felt uncertain about having him by my side—not because I didn’t trust him, but because letting someone into my home was… different. More personal.

  I glanced at him over my shoulder. “Just—uh—make yourself comfortable.”

  He nodded, scanning the room as if memorizing every detail, as if even here, he needed to be aware of every possible threat.

  I let out a slow breath. Having him here should have felt strange, but instead, it was comforting. For the first time in days, I didn’t feel so alone.

  As soon as we stepped inside, Kage noticed movement and tensed, his body going rigid as his hand instinctively wrapped in shadows. I held up a hand, stopping him. “Relax,” I said, my voice laced with amusement. “It’s just Bones.”

  Kage’s eyes darted around before landing on a small creature leaping onto the counter. It took him a second to realize what he was looking at—a cat… or rather, the skeletal remains of one.

  “What the hell—” Kage muttered, watching as the animated skeleton stretched lazily, its empty eye sockets somehow still managing to give the impression of curiosity.

  I smirked, scratching behind Bones’ exposed skull as he let out a rattling purr. “This is Bones. My childhood cat. I couldn’t bear to let go of him, so… I didn’t.”

  Kage slowly lowered his hand. “You brought back your own pet?”

  I shrugged. “It was my first big necromantic spell. I was young, I didn’t want to lose him. He acts just like any other cat, minus the fur and… well, flesh.”

  Bones hopped off the counter and padded over to Kage, rubbing against his leg like he had fur instead of bare bone. Kage stiffened slightly but didn’t move away. Instead, he let out a slow breath and muttered, “That’s… definitely something.”

  I grinned, catching the slight hint of unease in his expression. “You get used to it.”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Kage shook his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know if I ever will.”

  Bones let out a rattling meow and hopped onto the couch, curling into a pile of blankets like any other normal cat.

  Kage’s POV

  Zara tossed a spare blanket and pillow onto the couch beside me. “I don’t expect you will sleep much, but at least rest for a while.”

  I looked at the couch, then back at her. “I’ll keep watch.”

  She rolled her eyes, but there was no real frustration behind it. “Just lie down for a bit, Kage. You’ve been running non-stop since this started.”

  I hesitated before finally sitting down and letting out a breath. “Fine. But only for a few hours.”

  Zara nodded, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Goodnight, Kage.”

  I watched as she disappeared into her room, the soft click of the door settling in the quiet house. The warmth of the space was oddly soothing, so different from the cold world outside.

  I stayed awake for a while, listening to the stillness of the house, ensuring Zara was safe. It was only when exhaustion finally caught up to me that I let my eyes close, allowing myself a few hours of much-needed rest.

  Zara’s POV

  Lying in my bed, I stared at the ceiling, still processing everything. The weight of the past few days pressed down on me, but for the first time, I didn’t feel entirely alone.

  Kage was here. Watching over me, protecting me. And that thought alone should have comforted me, but as I lay in the quiet darkness, the weight of reality settled in. I was a target. Someone out there had already killed seven magicals, and now, I was a threat to them. The thought sent a shiver through me. What if Kage wasn’t here? What if the next attack came before we could stop it? The idea of being hunted, of being next, curled in my chest like a tightening fist. But then, I heard Kage shift slightly from the couch, the quiet rustle of fabric as he got comfortable. He was here. And somehow, that was enough to let me finally close my eyes, even if sleep came uneasily.

  I woke to the low murmur of Kage’s voice. Groggy, I pushed myself upright, blinking at the dim morning light filtering through my curtains. It took me a moment to register what I was hearing.

  Kage was on the communicator, his tone clipped, controlled. “Are you sure?”

  I rubbed my eyes, my stomach twisting at the sound of Detective Hall’s voice on the other end. “It’s confirmed. Dain is dead. Likely not long after you left.”

  Kage’s jaw tightened as he exhaled slowly. “We should have stayed.”

  That was enough to wake me fully. I crawled out of bed and into the main room. “What?” My voice cracked, still thick with sleep. “What happened?”

  Kage turned toward me, his dark eyes heavy with something that made my blood run cold. “Dain’s dead, Zara.”

  The words didn’t register at first. I just stared at him, waiting for him to say something else, to tell me I’d misheard. But the way he was looking at me told me everything I needed to know.

  “No. No, we were just there. He was alive, he—” My voice faltered. I already knew what Kage would say next.

  “It happened after we left,” he said quietly. “Hall thinks the killer must have been watching. Waiting.”

  A sharp pain lanced through my chest, guilt clawing at me. “We should have stayed,” I whispered. “We—”

  “Don’t,” Kage cut in, his voice firm but calm. “We couldn’t have known.”

  But I did know. Deep down, I had felt it. The fear in Dain’s eyes, the way he kept glancing over his shoulder. He had known it was only a matter of time. And we had left him anyway.

  Kage was already standing, pulling his jacket on before I could say another word. His face was unreadable, but his clenched jaw and the tension in his stance spoke louder than words.

  The drive to the crime scene was silent, a thick weight of failure settling between us. I gripped my hands tightly in my lap, feeling the sharp sting of my nails against my palms. When we finally arrived, the sight of Dain’s body hit me like a blow to the chest.

  His form was barely recognizable. His wounds were brutal, far worse than any of the other victims. The killer had made a statement with this one. He wanted us to know that he was still ahead of us, that he could take anyone he wanted.

  I knelt beside Dain’s lifeless body, pressing my hand against his cold skin, swallowing hard. “I have to try,” I murmured, mostly to myself.

  Kage crouched beside me, watching carefully. “Zara, are you sure? He’s been—”

  “I have to try,” I repeated, cutting him off.

  Closing my eyes, I reached beyond the veil, feeling the familiar pull of death’s energy. But as soon as I reached for him, a sharp wave of resistance hit me. His body had suffered too much, the damage too great. I couldn’t bring him back. Not fully.

  But then, something else stirred. A flicker of energy. A final message, left behind.

  A blurry vision pushed its way into my mind—a face, shifting and unstable, like a distorted reflection in water. Then suddenly, clarity. Dain had changed—just before his death, he had used his last ounce of strength to shapeshift into his attacker. His final act, a desperate attempt to show me what the killer looked like.

  I gasped and pulled away, stumbling back. My breath came fast, my pulse wild.

  “What is it?” Kage asked, steadying me with a firm hand on my arm.

  “I saw him,” I whispered. “Dain shifted before he died—he showed me the killer’s face.” He had sharp, angular features, like someone carved him from stone. Pale skin, unnaturally smooth, almost waxy. His jaw was tense, and his eyes… gods, his eyes. Bright blue, cold and lifeless. They looked like ice, like they could freeze the air around them. And his hair—it was dark, but not quite black, more of a deep brown, slicked back like he was trying too hard to blend in. He wore a long coat, something expensive, something that made him look almost put together. But his face… there was nothing human in it. Just calculation. Just hate.”