Iwoke with a groan and the taste of blood on my tongue. For a disorienting minute, I thought I was in the hutch, somehow choking on the scent of Vann's blood while he shouted for me to run. But then lights through the glass wall drew my eye, and I stared at the void city and realised I’d bitten my tongue.
There was a slit in the ground outside, separating one side of the city from another. The chasm glowed ruby red with fire, and skyscrapers made of black, reflective glass punched into the cloudless red sky on either side of it. I couldn't tell if it was night or day—the keepers taught me a lot of things about shadowkind and the void, but no one had actually been here and survived to tell details.
I hadn't realised they had advanced buildings, let alone skyscrapers full of lights and, presumably, monsters. I climbed out of bed1and stared out the window.
The glass was so thick I couldn't hear any sounds from outside, but I wondered if shadowkind drove cars and had public transport, too. I couldn't imagine a horned, tailed monster driving a bus, but I couldn't imagine them building a city either, and yet I was looking at one. And standing in a modern building myself.
I didn't like what that suggested—that shadowkind were more than the brainless, instinct-driven beasts who hunted humans on earth for sport. Or worse—for food. It implied that they did those things because they chose to, if they were smart enough to build a city like this.
I jumped at a low growl of voices coming from further in the house, my pulse thrumming hard as I picked out a few words.
Crazy—kill—Hala.
"Oh god, they're going tokillme," I choked out, going perfectly still for a second before I startled into motion, hunting through Void's room for something to wear.
If I was going to fight for my life or escape this house into the bright, unknown of the void city outside, I wasn't going to do it stark naked.
"So many suits," I groaned softly, not sure how good a shadowkind's hearing was, as I pawed through the wardrobe. Everything was monochromatic, silken, andveryexpensive. It felt like heaven on my fingertips, but I would stand out if I wore a black three-piece suit into the void.
And that was if I didn't stand out for being human and lacking the strange, bestial characteristics all shadowkind seemed to have. I'd never seen a normal-looking one2unless they wore a glamour. And even then, it was impossible to fully hide their size. I didn't know my exact height—that was written on the doctor's charts and never shared with me, and I hadn't thought to measure myself when I got out of the hutch—but I knew I was far too short to be a shadowkind.
"Hope for the best," I whispered to myself, grabbing a white shirt and buttoning it up. It was long enough to wear as a dress, so that was what I did. But no way was I borrowing Void's underwear, so I went commando. "Don't expect the worst, or it'll come true."
That was another of Vann's sayings. The man was full of them, and they'd all embedded inside my mind. It was like he'd always known he'd leave me, and had left pieces of himself so I’d never forget him.
Dressed as well as I was going to get, I crept out of Void's room and into the hallway I ran down yesterday. I'd failed at fleeing Mav spectacularly, and my cheeks heated as I remembered what happened when he caught me.
"Stop it," I hissed at myself under my breath, following the sound of voices so I could eavesdrop at their plan to kill me. "He's a shadowkind; stop getting excited at the memory."
It wasn't as if he meant what he said about keeping me. That was just a pretty lie he said in the moment. The same went for Sang and God of the Void. I was a human, and I’d killed Mav; why would they keep me? It made much more sense that they'd kill me.
I hoped they didn't plan to torture me first. Or eat my skin and bones. There were some monsters who fed on humans, and it was said to be excruciating. This was a big reason why the Origin had set up the hutch, and created so many weapons. So we could kill monsters before they ever hurt humans.
But remember the city outside,a small voice said.They're notallsenseless beasts.
I shook my head to dislodge the thought. The three shadowkind in this building were planning my death; who cared what the ones outside built?
I pricked my ears, creeping down the hall but resolving not to get too close. I'd find a window I could climb out of and hope I didn't break my neck on the way down. It was the only idea I had; the lift wouldn't take me anywhere but this floor.
"Could you focus?" Void snapped, his voice as hard as steel and icy cold. "The doors to the void have collapsed; you should be worried what this means for our home.Andasking who is powerful enough to make this happen."
The doors to the void? I didn't even know the voidhaddoors. But it sounded very, very bad that they'd broken. All the more reason for me to sneak out and find my way back to earth.
A soft sigh answered Void, and I pricked my ears, creeping closer to hear Sang's voice—soft with affection but completely mad. "Should I wake Hala up with my mouth, my cock, or breakfast in bed?"
I jolted, my eyes flying wide.
"Leave her to sleep," Void replied, his raspy voice throwing me into memories from the night before. His breath on my neck as he moaned, bringing me to another orgasm and loving every second of my release.
My brow furrowed as I listened to them, absently scanning the hallway for a way out, and like last night, finding nothing. If Void said to leave me sleeping … how did that factor into their plot to kill me? I needed them to give me details so I could figure out how to wreck their plan.
"I bet she was so tired last night after you both finished with her." Sang sighed dreamily. "I wish I could have slid into bed with you." It sounded like he was pouting when he added, "Why am I banned from your room?"
"Because the last time you were in it, you spilled strawberry yoghurt all over my floor and I came home to find anime posters everywhere."
"Home improvements," Sang protested. "It looked so much better withDeath Notedecor, your room's soboring, Void. And why are you so bothered about a yoghurt stain when this bastard covered your bed in cum?"
"Verygood question," Void replied, something dangerous in his voice.