The village was still swimming in the deadly haze when the hovercraft made its way down from Holeback Mountain. The lights that had been on when Devyn, Kilo, and Castyr had first arrived had all been deactivated, leaving the village in the dead darkness of night. Slinging an empty backpack over his shoulders, Kilo stood at the entrance to the ramp as Jun lowered the craft into the dark haze.

"The serums are in the manor, third floor, second door to the left," Denzyl told Kilo as the angel readied the silver sword. Etta had scooped Gallen from off the ground on her way out of the cave and had provided it to Kilo to defend himself with as he snuck into the village. "I'll do what I can with the first aid supplies we have here in the craft, but the creams will help them heal faster and there's an antidote for the serum that was injected into Castyr."

Kilo prepared to dash into the fog as Jun set the craft on the ground and began lowering the ramp. "If I'm not back in ten minutes, leave," was all the angel said before running down the ramp and into the dark haze.

"Clean Castyr's wounds with what is in the first aid," Denzyl told Etta as Jun raised the ramp back up. Denzyl continued tending to the slashes in Devyn's back as Etta rummaged through the kit to find the sanitizing serums.

Kilo's steps were light as he dashed down the main thoroughfare of the village. Navigating the town would have been difficult due to the darkness if it were not for the village's simple layout. A few side streets branched off the main avenue, but for the most part, everything was centered around the manor that resided in the center of the town and split the main street into two sections.

Kilo thought the town was empty when he, Castyr, and Devyn had first arrived, but it now mirrored the concept of a ghost town. It appeared the remaining members of the clan had left to investigate what had occurred at the elders' cave. Although the town was now vacant, Kilo maintained his guard as he hurried to the manor. Just as before, the manor was in complete darkness. Slowing to a jog as he reached the entrance to the manor, Kilo tried the door to find it locked.

Furrowing his brows, the angel retrieved the gun from his waist and shot the handle before letting himself into the dark building. What met Kilo, however, answered his question about the door suddenly being locked. In front of the angel stood several demons with glowing eyes. The village had congregated in their leader's mansion and were awaiting his return. Much to their surprise, a lone man busted through the door, causing them to be on high alert.

Seeing the group in front of him, Kilo placed the pistol back into its holster and readied Gallen.

"Where is Klein?" A deep voice questioned from the darkness. "What have you done to our emyr?"

When Kilo answered with silence, another voice spoke up, "Where is Denzyl?" The owner of the voice revealed herself by coming to the front of the small group. Mei glared at the foreign man who stood ready to fight, her eyes widening when she saw the sword in his hand. "The silver blade..." Mei gasped, her gaze turning hard. "Kill him; he is conniving with the monir!"

In reaction to Mei's order, the demons bared their claws and charged the angel. Having no other way to ascend to the third floor, Kilo began slashing through those who came at him with the intent to kill. A few demons lingered toward the back and hesitated to join the fight when they saw how easily Kilo went through them. One slice from the silver blade had the demons writhing on the floor.

Mei stared at the angel with wide eyes as she backed up against the farthest wall in the manor's entry. After eliminating most of the group, Kilo advanced toward Mei and held his blade against her throat. "Wait!" Mei shouted, causing Kilo to hesitate. "I'm with Denzyl. I am the avex's mate!"

Kilo released a scoff at the female's wild claim. "Don't think you can fool me, demon," Kilo said, his voice low and sharp. "The only mate to Denzyl is Devyn Vaumyr."

Mei's breath got caught in her throat as she glared up at the angel, her brows furrowing as rage filled her eyes. "No, it should have been me!" Mei cried out as she pulled a dagger from within her sleeve and attempted to thrust it between Kilo's ribs. A knife through Mei's neck stopped her from harming Kilo the moment before her poisoned blade pierced the angel's skin.

"Don't listen to her," a voice from the shadows said as another female revealed herself. Kilo turned to look at the new demon as Mei slumped to the ground gasping for air. "She's with the emyr."

"Aren't you all?" Kilo returned as he lifted Gallen and approached the new demon. "You know the human Devyn?" The female's question caused Kilo to stop in his step as he reached her. "He has emerald eyes and brown hair. He is kind and caring."

Kilo lowered Gallen as the demon described Denzyl's human mate. "How do you know Devyn?"

"I am Betti, Monir Ilya's maidservant. I tended to Devyn while the avex recovered from his wounds." Betti locked eyes with Kilo as she added, "I am not with that bastard of an emyr. He abuses the monir and his son and stole an innocent boy from his home."

Kilo studied the female for a moment to determine whether or not he could trust her. She did not appear to be lying, and if she could bring Kilo to what he was looking for, he could leave the wretched village sooner. "Take me to the antidote for the serum from the Soul Sea," Kilo commanded after deciding he could easily eliminate her if she turned out to be lying.

"Follow me." Betti did not waste any time in running up the stairs and leading Kilo to the room where the medical supplies were stored. "Here," Betti said as she picked up a box and handed it to the angel, "this is the antidote. Is there anything else you need?"

"Supplies to treat slash and pierce wounds," Kilo answered as he walked around the room and began grabbing whatever supplies he thought could be needed. Betti also scurried around the room selecting the supplies that best suited the angel's needs and providing them to the purple-eyed man. After the angel's bag was filled, Kilo nodded his head to the demon in short thanks before walking to the room's only window and breaking the glass.

"Wait," Betti said as Kilo lifted one foot onto the window's sill. "Are they alright?" She inquired. "Devyn, Denzyl, and the monir...are they okay?"

Kilo let out a quiet breath before turning back toward the demon. "Devyn is injured, Denzyl is fine, and...the monir is no longer."

Tears entered Betti's eyes at the news, and she slumped to the floor. "Monir..."

"My condolences," Kilo said softly when he saw the female's broken expression. Knowing he was spending too much time away from the others, Kilo turned back to the window and jumped from the opening as Betti whispered, "Thank you..."

Kilo heard Betti's quiet cries fade into the night as he spread his wings and flew away from the emyr's mansion. The haze had begun to dissipate as Kilo flew over the small village, allowing the angel to easily spot the hovercraft that was waiting toward the town's edge. Seeing Kilo flying toward them, Jun quickly lowered the ramp and readied the craft for take-off as Kilo boarded.

Giving the sheathed sword back to Etta the moment he walked up the ramp, Kilo immediately removed the bag from his back and quickly opened it. Denzyl went over to the backpack as Kilo extracted the antidote and hurried over to Castyr. Carefully injecting the liquid into the star, Kilo made sure to use the entirety of the vile for safety measures.

Denzyl had prepped Devyn for treatment while Kilo was retrieving the supplies, so the avex wasted no time in tending to his mate's injuries. The moment the ramp had been lifted, Jun lifted the craft off the ground and hovered over the village as Etta gave him directions to their next destination. "Last thing, and then we can get out of this hell-forsaken place," Etta said beneath her breath before closing her eyes and praying her nephew had survived until then.

"What are you going to do if he's not there?" Jun inquired as he piloted the craft to the prison located outside the town. Etta had filled Jun in on why and where they were going while Kilo was out to satisfy the sixteen-year-old's battery of questions.

"Kill them all." Etta's answer was sharp and the farthest from a fib. She meant what she said. If her nephew was not alive, she would return to the village and slaughter all who still breathed.

Jun became silent when he saw the hard look in Etta's eyes and realized the weight of the situation. Everyone had someone they loved more than anything and would do whatever it took to save and protect them. Being young, Jun had yet to experience the severe feelings that came with love and family.

His parents being the king and queen of his home clan rarely had time to spare for him, so Jun was not deeply attached to them. But he wondered what he was missing out on as he watched Denzyl care for Devyn and Kilo hold Castyr closely while Etta prayed hard for her nephew who was not even related to her by blood.

Is love really that special? I wonder what it feels like.

...

Will I ever get to love?