Cassandra's POV
I wake to screaming.
My eyes snap open. The room is dark, but I can see perfectly—another new thing about me that shouldn't be possible.
The screaming comes from downstairs. Multiple voices, shouting and afraid.
I roll out of bed, my body still aching from training. Through the broken window, I see smoke rising from the street below.
Something's attacking the church.
I run into the hallway in my borrowed pajamas and crash straight into Kieran.
"Get back in your room!" he shouts.
"What's happening?"
"Void spawn. Dozens of them." His red eyes glow brighter. "They're targeting the wards. If they break through—"
An explosion rocks the building. I grab the wall to stay upright.
Kieran swears. "They broke through the east wall. Stay here!"
He dissolves into shadows and disappears.
I should listen. I should stay in my room where it's safe.
But I hear Zara screaming my name from downstairs.
I run.
The main hall is chaos. Void spawn pour through a massive hole in the wall—twenty, thirty, maybe more. They're bigger than the ones at the hospital, with too many arms and mouths full of teeth that glow red.
Shadow Court members fight them with magic and weapons. Purple-skinned woman throws fire. Horn-guy swings a sword made of light. But there are too many monsters.
Zara is cornered by three of them, throwing spells that barely slow them down.
"Zara!" I scream.
She sees me. "Cassandra, run!"
Instead, I raise my hands.
Light explodes from my palms—not the wild, uncontrolled power from before, but focused. Precise. Deadly.
It hits the nearest Void spawn and burns it to ash instantly.
The other two turn toward me.
"Bad idea," I mutter.
I hit them both with light. They scream and dissolve.
Zara stares at me, mouth open. "Holy crap."
More Void spawn rush toward us. I keep firing, each blast stronger than the last. My power doesn't feel scary anymore. It feels right.
Then I see Lucian.
He's in the center of the hall, surrounded by at least fifteen Void spawn. Darkness pours from his hands like liquid night, tearing through monsters. His wings are out—huge and black and terrifying. He moves like a dancer, like death itself.
He's beautiful.
One of the Void spawn gets past his defenses and slashes his arm with claws like knives. Black blood—not red—drips to the floor.
Something in my chest twists.
The bond. I can feel his pain like it's my own.
Rage floods through me. These things hurt him. Hurt us.
I don't think. I just act.
I run straight into the fight, light blazing from both hands. I throw power like I've been doing it my whole life, burning through Void spawn like they're paper.
"Cassandra, what are you doing?!" Lucian shouts.
"Saving your life!"
A Void spawn lunges at me from the side. I spin and blast it point-blank. Ash rains down.
Lucian appears beside me, grabbing my arm. "You're going to get yourself killed!"
"So are you!" I blast another monster that gets too close. "We're bonded, remember? Your pain is my pain. I'm not letting you fight alone!"
Something shifts in his expression. Surprise. Maybe even respect.
"Fine," he says. "But stay close."
We fight back-to-back. His darkness and my light work together, creating a shield nothing can penetrate. When Void spawn try to attack, they hit a wall of combined power and disintegrate.
Kieran joins us, shadows whipping around like weapons. Zara throws fire and ice. The purple woman creates barriers. Together, we push the monsters back.
Finally, the last Void spawn falls.
Silence.
The main hall is destroyed. Walls crumbled, furniture in pieces, scorch marks everywhere.
But we're alive.
I'm breathing hard, hands still glowing. My whole body vibrates with leftover power.
Lucian touches my shoulder, and the glow fades. "You okay?"
"Yeah." I look at his bleeding arm. "You?"
"I'll heal." He studies my face like he's seeing me for the first time. "That was reckless and stupid."
"You're welcome."
He almost smiles. "And impressive. You fought like you've been training for years."
"I learned from the best." The words come out before I can stop them.
Kieran makes a gagging sound. "Are you two going to kiss, or can we deal with the giant hole in our wall?"
Lucian shoots him a look that could kill. "Start repairs. Double the wards. If they found us once, they'll find us again."
"What about her?" Kieran nods at me. "She's the reason they keep coming. Her power is like a beacon."
"Then we teach her to hide it." Lucian's jaw tightens. "She's not leaving. She's one of us now."
Something warm spreads through my chest at those words.
One of us.
For the first time since Marcus destroyed my life, I feel like I belong somewhere.
Zara hugs me tight. "You were amazing! Did you see yourself? You were like a superhero!"
"I was terrified."
"So was everyone else. You just didn't let it stop you." She grins. "I knew I liked you."
The next few hours are a blur. We clean up, repair what we can, strengthen the wards. I help where I'm allowed, mostly just moving rubble.
Dawn breaks, painting the sky orange and pink through the hole in the wall.
Lucian finds me sitting on the steps outside, watching the sunrise.
"Can't sleep?" he asks.
"Too much adrenaline." I glance at him. His arm is already healed—no scar, no blood. "Does it always hurt like that? When you get injured?"
"You felt it through the bond." It's not a question.
"Yeah. It was like someone stabbed me too."
He sits beside me, close enough that our shoulders almost touch. "The bond works both ways. When you got hit during training yesterday, I felt it. Distant, but there."
"Is that normal? For contracts?"
"No." His silver eyes find mine. "Nothing about you is normal, Cassandra. Your power, your bloodline, the way you adapt—it's unprecedented."
"Is that good or bad?"
"Both." He looks away. "It makes you valuable. To me, to the Shadow Court, to everyone fighting the Void. But it also makes you a target. Every supernatural creature with an agenda will want to use you or kill you."
"Great. Exactly what I wanted to hear."
He laughs—a real laugh, surprised and genuine. "You're not what I expected."
"What did you expect?"
"Someone weaker. Someone who'd break under pressure. Someone I could mold into the perfect weapon." He turns back to me. "But you're not breaking. You're getting stronger. Fighting back. Becoming something I didn't plan for."
"What's that?"
"An equal." The words hang between us, heavy with meaning.
My heart does something complicated in my chest.
Before I can respond, my phone buzzes. I'd forgotten Zara charged it for me.
It's a text from an unknown number: Hello, Cassandra. Did you enjoy the show last night? That was just the beginning. Tell Lucian the Master is coming for you both. Sleep well.
My blood turns to ice. "Lucian."
He reads the message, and his face goes hard. "They know you're here. They know about the bond."
"Who's the Master?"
"The Void's greatest servant. A being older than me, more powerful than most angels, and completely devoted to bringing back the darkness." He stands abruptly. "We need to move you. Tonight. Somewhere even I don't know about, so I can't accidentally reveal it through the bond."
"Wait, what? You're sending me away?"
"I'm keeping you alive." His voice is sharp. "The Master doesn't make threats lightly. If he's targeting you specifically—"
"Then I fight him. Like I fought the others."
"You can't fight him!" For the first time, I hear real fear in Lucian's voice. "He'll destroy you, Cassandra. He'll take your power and corrupt it, turn you into a monster worse than the Void spawn. I won't let that happen."
"You don't get to decide!" I'm on my feet now, anger burning through me. "I'm not some helpless victim you need to protect. I'm a Contractor. I'm part of Shadow Court. I fought beside you last night!"
"And you almost died!"
"So did you!"
We're standing inches apart, both breathing hard, power crackling in the air between us.
"Why do you care so much?" I demand. "I'm just a weapon to you, right? Just a tool for your war?"
Something breaks in his expression. "No. You're not."
"Then what am I?"
He opens his mouth, then closes it. Whatever he was going to say dies on his lips.
Behind us, Kieran clears his throat. "Hate to interrupt, but we've got a problem."
We turn. Kieran holds up a phone showing a news broadcast.
My face is on the screen.
"Police are searching for Cassandra Vale, wanted in connection with multiple murders," the reporter says. "Security footage shows her at Beth Israel Medical Center during last night's mysterious explosion that killed three people."
My stomach drops. "What? I didn't kill anyone!"
"The Void spawn," Lucian says grimly. "When they die, they leave human-looking corpses behind for a few hours. Someone planted evidence."
"Who?"
"The Master." Kieran's voice is dark. "He's setting her up. Making sure she can't go back to her normal life. Can't run to the police. Can't run anywhere except—"
"To us," Lucian finishes. "He wants her trapped here. Dependent on me."
"Why?"
No one answers.
My phone buzzes again. Another message: You're mine now, little Contractor. No escape. No salvation. Only darkness. See you soon.
Then the screen goes black.
Dead. Completely dead, like something drained all the power out of it.
"We need to leave," Lucian says. "Now. Pack light. We have maybe an hour before—"
The wards scream.
Not break. Scream—a high-pitched wail that makes my teeth ache.
Every light in the church goes out.
In the sudden darkness, something laughs.
It's not human. Not even close.
"Too late," a voice says from everywhere and nowhere. "I'm already here."
The temperature drops so fast I can see my breath. Frost spreads
across the ground, the walls, everything.
Lucian shoves me behind him. "Cassandra, run."
"I'm not leaving—"
"RUN!"
But I can't.