- Elias Carter:
Damon stood.
No sound, no warning—just the scrape of his boots against concrete and the kind of stillness that instantly demanded attention.
He didn't speak.
He didn't need to.
He was staring at Raine now. Not me. Not anyone else. Just her. Like the rest of us had dissolved and the world narrowed to two points: her and him.
He took a step forward.
Raine didn't move, but I felt her tense beside me. His hand lifted—slowly, fingers loose and open—and for one terrifying second, I thought he was going to grab her. Just reach through the bars and slam her head into them. He was close enough. Strong enough.
But instead… he smiled.
A strange, wolfish, tired sort of smile.
"You're a good cop," he said, voice smooth and unreadable. "That's weird. I've never met a good cop before."
Raine raised a brow but didn't answer yet.
Damon continued. "Most of them hate us for no reason. Like it's in the job description. Beat the Undercity scum before breakfast, cage them by lunch."
His gaze dipped. For a flicker, something softer crossed his expression, almost thoughtful.
"I don't hate you," Raine said after a breath. "And I'm… sorry. For everything. For what they did. What they're doing."
He blinked, then smiled wider—though it didn't quite reach his eyes.
Then he turned his full attention to me, and for some reason, that felt heavier. Different. The way his eyes pinned me—still casual, still that odd smile, but quieter underneath. Calmer, but far from harmless.
"I gotta say, though…" he tilted his head. "You confuse me the most, Angel."
I stiffened. "Excuse me?"
"That's what you are, right?" he said, smirking. "Half-angel blood. Innocent. Big eyes. Big heart."
"You don't even know me."
"I don't need to. You've been walking around this prison-like you don't belong here. Like you're wondering why we're behind bars and you're not."
"I am wondering that," I said. "Why are you here? None of you have been charged with anything. There's no trial scheduled. You're just… here."
That made the room fall quiet.
Luca spoke first.
"They caught us in Uppercity territory," he said gently. "Technically, that's illegal if you're from the Undercity. But that wasn't why they brought us in."
Kai scoffed.
"They dragged us in because we were breathing," he snapped. "They didn't ask questions. Didn't search us properly. Just saw our blood and decided we were a threat."
"We didn't commit any crime," Damon said simply. "Not one they can name, at least. But we're not good people, either. Don't get confused, Angel."
My jaw tightened. "Then what are you?"
Damon looked at me like that was a funny question.
"We're what the world made us," Luca answered, tone quiet. "We didn't choose to be born in the Undercity. Didn't ask to be marked by blood. But the law doesn't care."
"They think we're all the same," Kai muttered. "One demon blood, all demon blood. Doesn't matter who we are. What we've done. Or haven't."
I glanced at Jaxon, standing silent as ever, looming like a shadow behind them. He hadn't said a single word since being locked up.
"And him?" I asked. "He doesn't talk?"
Kai crossed his arms. "Doesn't mean he doesn't think."
"Or feel," Luca added gently. "He just doesn't speak much. He doesn't need to."
Raine and I exchanged a glance.
The air between the bars and us wasn't thick with hate anymore. It was… heavier than that. Human. Almost.
"How long have you been up here?" Raine asked.
"Two days before we were caught," Luca said. "We weren't hiding. Just passing through. Trying to get something done."
"Something," I echoed. "What kind of something?"
Damon just smiled again. "You'll figure that out soon enough, angel."
That smile of his—it wasn't threatening this time. But it wasn't harmless either. It was like a man who knew something I didn't. Like a man who'd already taken the first move in a game, I didn't realize I was playing.
"You call me Angel one more time," I muttered, stepping back, "and I swear—"
"What?" he said, smirk deepening. "You'll lock me up?"
"You are locked up."
He shrugged. "Doesn't mean I don't like the view."
Raine choked on a laugh.
I glared at her. "Don't encourage him."
But she just smiled faintly and mouthed to me. "I think he likes you."
Damon turned his back and strolled toward the bunk. "I like complicated things. And you, Angel… you are very, very complicated."
I didn't answer.
I didn't trust myself to.
Because I wasn't sure what unsettled me more—his words, or the fact that deep down, some part of me didn't hate hearing them. Not at all.
-
I didn't talk much after that.
Not to Damon. Not to the others. Not even to Raine, who could always read me too easily. The conversation had ended, but something in the air still buzzed, still itched beneath my skin like an insect trapped under glass.
I leaned against the railing outside their cells as Raine stepped back, taking another glance at the monitor near the wall, pretending like we were still just doing a routine check. Just a job. Just protocol.
But none of this felt routine anymore.
Inside, Damon was sitting on the lower bunk, elbows resting on his knees, head bowed like he wasn't thinking about anything in particular. Like that entire exchange hadn't happened.
Luca had started reading from a small, crumpled book I hadn't noticed before. His lips moved silently, eyes slow, pages bent. Kai was pacing again. Jaxon hadn't moved since we first brought him back in—still standing near the corner, arms crossed like a statue carved in caution.
Raine finally looked at me, one brow raised. "You okay?"
I nodded, even though I wasn't. "Fine."
"You sure?"
"No."
She didn't press. Just stood next to me, arms folded, eyes flicking toward Damon and then back again.
"What do you think he meant?" she asked eventually. "About not being good people?"
I thought about it.
Then I thought about the smile on his face when he called me Angel. And the way it didn't feel mocking, not really. Just… knowing.
"I don't know," I said. "But I think he wanted us to hear it."
Raine nodded. "He was testing you."
"Testing us," I corrected.
"Well." She looked toward the cells again. "He probably didn't get the reaction he expected."
"Or maybe he got exactly what he wanted," I muttered.
She glanced at me.
And then she said it: "He likes you."
I groaned. "Raine—"
"No, seriously. I'm really not joking. It's weird. Like… weird weird. You're his opposite in every possible way, and somehow, I think he enjoys that."
"He's a prisoner."
"You're a guard."
"Exactly."
She tilted her head. "That doesn't stop people from… liking people."
I ran a hand down my face. "Can we not have this conversation? Did you forget the fact I like women?"
I like a woman, Raine Archer, but she is not ready for this conversation.
She shrugged. "Suit yourself."
I kept my eyes ahead, but my thoughts were circling that damned nickname. Angel. The way it sat on his tongue.
I hated how it made me feel.
I hated that I didn't hate it enough.
Raine checked the time. "Our shift's over in ten. Want to stop by the observation deck before we log out?"
I nodded, grateful for the excuse to move. "Yeah."
We walked away from the cells. I kept my pace steady, but I could feel eyes on my back. A part of me wanted to turn around, to check if Damon was watching again.
But I didn't.
I wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
-
Raine stood with her arms draped over the metal railing, eyes on the city lights in the distance. They twinkled like stars, fake and cold, filtered through the reinforced windows and the grey mist of the Uppercity's constant cloud cover.
I leaned next to her.
"It's quiet up here."
"Yeah," she said. "It always is."
"You think they're lying?"
She turned to me. "About what?"
"Why they're here. Why they were caught."
Raine took a moment before answering.
"I don't know. Maybe they are. Maybe they aren't. But either way, I think the important question is… do you want to believe them?"
I stared at her.
And then I turned my eyes back to the lights.