The night stretched on endlessly, stars peeking through the thick canopy above the forest. Jayden slept restlessly, curled beneath Azrael's cloak near the edge of the riverbank. Her breath came in short gasps as her body twitched, trapped in a dream that didn't feel like her own.
It was dark.
Too dark.
Not even moonlight lived in this place.
She stood in an endless void, fog swirling around her feet like water. The air smelled like ash and rotting roses.
And then... he emerged.
A monstrous figure, towering and cloaked in shadow, his grin wide and holding too many teeth to be human.
"You're finally ready to see," Mammoth purred, stepping out of the mist. His voice was thick like tar, his glowing eyes like dying stars. "Poor little Jayden. So lost. So lied to."
Jayden backed away. "You... you're the one from the bridge. The soul eater."
"I have many names," he cooed. "But I'm the only one willing to tell you the truth. About you. About your birth. The curse. The demon you cradle inside."
Her silver eye glinted as she narrowed her gaze. "Why would you help me?"
Mammoth's smile widened. "Because knowledge is power, and you deserve to know what was stolen from you. Your family—your precious bloodline—they offered you like a lamb to the gods. Azrael won't tell you that, oh no. He's keeping secrets. He only keeps you alive so he can own you."
Jayden's breath hitched. "You're lying."
"Am I?" he whispered, his voice suddenly everywhere. "Then ask him why your veins are stained black. Ask him why your eye shines like death. Ask him why you see the dead. Ask him what touching Death does to a human soul."
She turned—screamed—but woke with a violent jolt.
Her heart pounded, sweat clinging to her skin. The fire had long since died. She sat up, chest heaving. The dream still clawed at her mind.
But something else chilled her even more.
She saw him.
Azrael.
He stood silently outside the clearing, at the edge of the forest, his back to her, cloak rustling in the wind. Almost like he knew.
She ran.
Leaves snapped beneath her bare feet as she rushed to him, her voice trembling. "Azrael!"
He turned slowly, his golden eyes narrowing the moment he saw her.
She stopped a few feet away. "I... I saw him. In my dream. That soul eater. Mammoth."
Azrael's jaw tightened. "What did he say?"
Jayden swallowed hard. "He said... you're keeping secrets from me. That you won't tell me about how I was born, or the demon in me. That you're only protecting me because you want to own me."
Azrael didn't speak right away. His silence felt like thunder waiting to fall.
Then, he stepped forward.
One hand cupped her face gently, and his voice dropped—low and possessive.
"That selfish monster feeds on fear. He lies with truth on his tongue. Don't listen to him."
She stared at him. "But... the black veins... my eye... the ghosts. Azrael, what's happening to me?"
He exhaled slowly, his hand lowering from her cheek.
"When I touched you that night on the bridge," he said, "I crossed a line. Death shouldn't linger too long on human skin. But you... you were different. You didn't recoil. You didn't break."
Jayden's breath hitched. "So I changed?"
Azrael nodded once. "The faint black veins... they're the remnants of my touch. You've taken a part of my essence. You see ghosts now because you brushed the edge of my realm—and survived."
Jayden took a step back. "So... that silver in my eye?"
"A reflection of me," he said simply. "You're still human. But now you're marked by death."
She hugged herself. "You should have told me."
He stepped closer again, towering over her, his voice softer now. Stronger. More certain.
One gloved hand reached up, brushing her silver eye with his thumb. His golden gaze bore into hers, unflinching.
"You belong to me, Jayden. Not to that creature. Not to your past. And I won't let anything steal you from me—not even your fate."
Her chest tightened. Not out of fear. But something else. Something warm beneath the cold.
She nodded.
And for the first time, the ghosts stayed quiet.