We were led out to the back of the mansion through the double glass doors. The moment we stepped into the marble stairs, we halted in our tracks. Dilara and I stood amazed by the clean-cut lawn with a stone fountain sitting in the middle. Flowers peeked out of shrubs like a secret waiting to be shared, and the moon although it was not full, blue rays spilled over the garden. Soft trickles flowed out gently from the fountain and shimmered like pearls. 

It was serene and quiet. If this was ever painted, I would like to be stuck in it. To bask in the moonlight and be surrounded by blooming flowers as the water carries me to sleep. How could I not fall in love with the night?

But those were dreams of a girl who could afford them.

My direction turned toward Grimm and Hans, standing near a young girl around my age or who could probably be a year or two older than me. She wore a strapless ocean blue dress and her blond hair was pulled into a high ponytail reaching down her back. She slightly turned—my eyes squinted—her diamond necklace was radiant. She was Rose Croft in the flesh, but another soul was inhabiting her. Lena Haven.

Dilara and I walked down as the possessed girl lowered her head. "Your Majesty, you've arrived." Grimm slipped his hands into the pockets of his slacks, he tilted his head forward with an unfazed gaze. Hans kept a distance from the girl but sent her a glare.

"I've heard from my demons you kept requesting for my presence but I'm not here for negotiations, Miss Lena." He then said, rather amusingly. "Tonight is your last day, cherish it."

She lifted her head as she held her hands together, her knuckles turning white. She had known this was coming, one day Death would come for her and he was here. No more pretending to be a rich heiress. 

Her hazel eyes glanced over at Hans, "You must be excited." Then she looked over at Dilara and me. "I must've been a handful to Ivy and Mika if you had to bring other demons." She said flatly.

Dilara made a look of disgust as she corrected her. "We're not demons."

Lena arched her brow. "Maybe not you but she could be one." She pointed an accusatory finger at me. Hans' eyes slightly widened. I crossed my arms and took a couple of steps toward her until Grimm said. "What they are is not your concern. We'll be here until the end of the night. Enjoy yourself, Lena."

She dropped her finger and protested to Grimm. "I would like to talk to you in private."

"I don't wish to extend my kindness." He answered quickly.

Lena drew herself closer to him and pressed her lips until she revealed a smile. "If this is my last night then I would like to spend the rest of the night talking to you. Could you grant me this last favor?" She desperately didn't want to go. She was going to do everything she could not to leave. I could admire that about her.

Grimm glanced at me and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Even though she accused me of being a demon, she was a soul who wanted to be listened to. "We can talk together," I said.

"And why would I talk to you?" She said sharply.

Then Grimm declared. "Because she is The Crier of Souls, and she is my equal."

Silence filled the air.

I felt Dilara's drilling stare and noticed Hans' lips were pressed tightly. My breath had been caught in my throat and my heart could've stopped beating altogether. Though I was barely starting to understand the role of The Crier of Souls, I knew of its importance. Accompanied by The Capturer of Souls, I walk beside him. It shouldn't mean more than a title but when Grimm said it felt more than a title. Like something part of me was being entwined with him. It was terrifying.

The dead were whispering amongst each other about The Crier of Souls, they knew of my existence and their voices were finding my ears. It seems Lena has heard about me since the shock on her face was evident.

Still, she refused my presence. "What will you do for me? Cry? I don't want your tears. I certainly don't need your pity." Lena met Grimm's gaze and bowed again. "I want to speak to you, Your Majesty." This time I did feel insulted by her but I bit my cheek. I wasn't going to force someone to talk to me if they didn't want to. I wasn't obligated to listen to anyone either.

Grimm was about to speak when I took a couple of steps toward Lena and looked her in the eye. "You're pitiful," I said out of spite and her nostrils flared.

And I picked a cherry from my wine glass and walked away leaving Grimm to listen to the poor unfortunate soul. Dilara's footsteps caught up with mine and immediately mocked Grimm's voice. "Because she is The Crier of Souls, and she is my equal. Was that a love confession?" She locked her arm with mine again as she quietly laughed.

I continue eating my cherries ignoring the unsettling knot forming in my stomach. It would be stupid of me to think that was a love confession, he was only telling her who I am. He couldn't mean anything more. What we were doing had no meaning. No significance. We sat on the stone bench of carved feathered swans. Dilara bit into her dipped apple and leaned it toward my way, I tilted my glass of wine with cherries to her. We ate while Grimm spoke with Lena, but it seemed Hans would not be part of it as he walked over in our direction.

He wasted no time as he said. "You pissed her off."

"She pissed me off first." I matched his tone but Hans was not pleased.

He muttered. "Witches are too arrogant."

Dilara's gaze turned to Hans. "You're arrogant. You state everything like it's a fact. You're just jealous because you wish you had power like ours." She said irritated.

A flicker of amusement ran through the blue-eyed demon but became a fleeting moment as he composed his stoic expression. Hans took a careful step and Dilara straightened her spine, neither back down. Suddenly, I felt like I was intruding on something.

"What is there to be jealous of? A bullet, a knife, or even a pair of hands can kill you. You die as a mortal. Your power is not special. Even magic has its boundaries." Dilara gripped her dipped apple. "What I say is true and has remained true for years," Hans said.

"And you think because you cannot be burnt, it makes you immortal?" Dilara spoke with a cool tone but there was a spark waiting to be ignited.

He leaned forward. "I'm immortal and I can never be burned." I do remember the time Grimm summoned a pit of fire and Hans dropped Edgar, another warlock who wanted to kill me, into it. The flames touched him but didn't scorch him. I doubted he felt the flames. Maybe Dilara could do something. There was an unspoken challenge between them, and I think it's time they finally settled it.

I snuck a glance over to Grimm and Lena, still deep in conversation. What was she telling him? What did it matter? It's not my problem. Back to the issue at hand, I thought about creating a little performance. It's been a long time since I've done this, nobody will get hurt. "We know you're immortal and cannot be burnt. But do you want to know what the flames feel like?" Dilara's head snapped in my direction.

Hans frowned, and yet I could see I had piqued his interest. "She cannot burn me. Demons don't burn."

I plucked a cherry from my wine glass. "You don't think she can do it?"

"No." He said.

Dilara stood up from the bench, prideful as ever as she met the demon's gaze. "I could burn you, and make you feel the agonizing pain of being burnt alive. But I rather not fill the air with your smell." She blinked almost recalling the words she had spoken, Hans had brought out the worst of Dilara but she did not cower. Hans didn't even flinch.

I taunted him. "Afraid she'll turn you into ash?"

"I'm not going to burn him. He is not worth an ounce of my magic." Dilara retorted.

Hans pressed his lips into a thin line. "Do it. Burn me." Dilara's eyes widened. "Do your worst, witch." The Hans, The Stoic Hans, The Honorable Hans showed the barest hint of a smile. He tugged the ends of his suit and marched down the lawn as an opponent. Finally something interesting.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Agitation etched across her face. "Didn't you hear him? Demons can't burn." Dilara panicked.

I placed my wine glass down and crossed my arms. "Are you afraid of him?"

"No."

"Then, I don't see the problem." She gave me a pointed look. "Just because someone is immune to something doesn't mean they can't learn to fear it." I gave her encouragement. "Make him feel the flames." Her brows pinched together still unease about Hans, she looked ready to call off the whole thing but then Hans spoke.

"Do you forfeit, witch?" Her body went rigid and her eyes sparked a fire within her. My encouragement didn't work but the challenging voice of a blue-eyed demon damned all her rationality. Your enemies bring out the worst in you, and naturally, it becomes your best.

She slowly turned around and met his gaze. "The question you should be asking yourself is if you're ready for me, demon." She picked up her ruby dress and walked down on the lawn, prowling like a lion meeting her first prey.

"Light his ass on fire, Dilara," I whispered.

I slowly leaned back and crossed my legs, propping my elbow on my thigh. Wickedness curled at my mouth, entertainment at last.

They met each other in the center of the lawn and very swiftly, Hans' blue eyes shifted into blood red. Dilara dropped the sides of her dress as she spread her arms out. She made contact with the demon, her lips moving as she murmured a spell and conjured a gulf of fire at her palms. Hans steeled his spine and placed his hands behind his back. I think the demon might enjoy this more than he let on.

Twin footsteps hurried from my left. Lena sounded startled. "What is she doing? Tell her to stop, what if someone sees her?"

"What did you do?" Even without looking at him, I could feel his cold stare snaking down my back. I was a bit offended that he thought I did something. Only partially.

Lena pressed Grimm. "Your Majesty, if someone sees her what will you do then? Please, stop—"

I plucked a cherry from my wine glass. "If you stop this, I'll scream." I met his starless gaze. "I'll scream so loud, and she won't be the only soul you'll be taking tonight." From the corner of my eye, I caught Lena's stunned expression.

He was busy enough and I knew how much he wanted this night to be free of death. I don't want to accidentally ruin anyone's night. Grimm settled for a narrowed gaze. He didn't show any anger, he simply stared. I look away toward the match of a witch and a demon.

"There is nobody here. It is only us. And I didn't do anything, I just told them to resolve their differences. Dilara is going to burn Hans but we know nothing will happen to him. Enjoy the show, Grimm. It's part of our well-deserved night." I bit into another cherry. Grimm passed my view and Lena made a disgruntled sound as he sat next to me.

"You're angry." He whispered.

I placed a finger in the middle of my mouth. "Shhh. It's starting." Lena released a breath of frustration.

Dilara raised her arms as she solidified the gulfs of flames into a unified sphere of fire. With a single force, she thrusted her hands propelling the flames as they directly landed on Hans' right shoulder. He tilted his head away from the flames, looking unbothered if anything bored by it. He lifted his hand and patted the fire out leaving a curl of smoke. I was surprised his suit didn't burn either.

"Unburnt, Arslan," Hans confirmed.

Except, Dilara had turned her back and was walking further away from him. She held her head high as she rolled her wrists. "That was the warm-up." She said with a glint in her gaze of not accepting defeat. There was a determination to prove him wrong, to restore her trampled pride.

Hans pushed his blonde brows together but as if he were a bull, kept a steady gaze on the witch who wore a scarlet dress. His bloodlust. He awaited her attack. Anticipation flooded my stomach. Quietness settled among us as we watched them. 

As Dilara turned to face him once more, she raised her hands over her head and marched down to him with her lips speaking an incantation but this one was different. I could feel her magic, it was rippling through the invisible waves of the atmosphere. The cool night was becoming hot. A wildfire twirled itself around her dress, circling like rings. She was born of fire. And the way Hans looked at her as if she was the first flame of humankind. Dilara promptly unwrapped the fire from her torso and body, retrieving back into her palms and in a swift motion she pushed them outward.

"This could be a catastrophe," Grimm uttered.

She spoke in her native tongue and the fire responded to her as they took the form of a blazing lion. Lena let out a gasp. Oh shit. The fire-breathing lion sprinted toward Hans, but in the nick of time, Dilara brought her hands out as she bent her fingers. The lion stops before Hans. He struggles to keep his bloody eyes as he faces the beast. His chest heaves.

Dilara commands the lion in Turkish, "Roar." 

The fiery beast obeys her as she lets out a passionate outcry. Hans couldn't resist her anymore as his eyes changed back to his iced eyes and remained so. But there was no fear in his eyes as he looked at the flaming lion. If anything he looked hypnotized by her, entranced by her fire. He should've felt fear instead Dilara made him feel something far more horrible.

He raised his hand slowly reaching for the flames but Dilara would not let him as she drew her arms back to her sides, extinguishing the lion and leaving the phantom of her smoke wafting in the air. Hans took a step back in the clearing after seeing Dilara, and an acknowledgment of respect passed between them. The color red no longer belonged to him. Nor did the fire. The Honorable Hans had been seduced and defeated.

Dilara wore a victor's smile and as she held the demon's gaze she brought her finger over her lips and blew the tips of them. I bit my cheek. Hans blushed as he averted his gaze from her. He wasn't embarrassed or ashamed, only admiration. A new fire for the demon to praise.

I looked over at Grimm and pressed a hand over my chest. "My condolences." He met my gaze and slowly stood up. "I'll be sure to give them to him." He walked away to Hans and Dilara was coming back down but not before Grimm congratulated her. She walked with glowing pride. As she reached me, I began to clap.

"Once again, you've proven to me you're the most powerful witch I know." She shook her head as her cheeks became red. "I'm the only witch you know." She repeated.

"That's not true anymore. I've met my father and I'm sure he can't do what you just did." I reminded her.

Still blushing, Dilara comes to sit down next to me. "Your father is a practitioner of the dark arts, specializing in demonology. This would be a walk in the park for him." I frowned.

"My father would've expelled them to Hell." I lean in, telling her quietly. "But you won over the demon." She sneaks a glance at Hans. The wielder of fire and the other forged by fire, what will become of them? "Come on, enough looking. Let's see what else there is to eat here." I pull her up with me but Lena makes her over to us. I had briefly forgotten about her.

She looks at Dilara and surprisingly congratulates her. "That is the first time I've ever seen a witch threaten a demon with fire and succeed. You're a brave one." Dilara's brows furrowed and Lena got closer, her diamond necklace reflecting brightly. "Do you know why demons are immune to fire, Crier?" She cranes her neck toward me. I don't answer her.

Her hazel eyes hold an eerie feeling. "Demons must be fireproof to drop the damned souls into Hell's fire. But that's not the most interesting thing about them. I'm sure you've noticed Hans' stoic face and if you've met any other demons you would see they all carry the same expression. Demons are great imitators. For all the evil and horrors they have seen they imitate it to produce torture. That's how they punish the damned souls. Humans taught them everything and they performed it." She stepped forward, squinting. I raised a brow at her.

"My apologies, Crier. It's just that your expression resembles too much of a demon. They feel too little as you know." Her words pricked something inside of me. I know she was trying to provoke me probably because she was upset about her situation but my patience was running thin.

She continued. "But I know you're a witch. Oh wait, my apologies, you're a half-witch. What can you do? What tricks do you have?" Lena teased. "If you're a half-witch, does that mean you don't have all of your magic?"

"That's not how magic works." Dilara gritted out.

Lena shrugged as her mouth curved upwards. I crossed my arms and cast her a mournful look. "You truly are pitiful. You call demons imitators but you're the greatest human pretender. The dead girl pretends to be alive as she possesses a human body. Please go on, live your life to the fullest." My voice rang cold.

Her face fell and tears quickly welled up in her eyes. "Don't cry. I don't want your tears either." Dilara shot me a worried glance but we both turned to leave walking in silence until she said, carefully. "That was kind of...harsh."

And what about her comments? She insulted me, repeatedly and I listened to them all but she couldn't handle mine? "There is no point in apologizing. She will never see me again." Her brow deepened but Dilara had nothing to respond.

A distant shuffle came from behind, and my right temple throbbed shortly as the spirits raise the hairs on my arm. I spin around and catch Lena's hand in mid-air. Glad to know the spirits are still protective of me. Her mouth is parted as she looks appalled. 

"I'm quite sensitive about my head." I hissed.

She tries to pull away but my nails dig into her palm. She winces.

"Nora, let her go!" Dilara pleads.

I had no intention of her letting go. I kept a steady gaze on the soul. "You said you wanted to know what I could do. Fine. Be my first spirit to expel back to the lands of the dead." With my free hand, I could feel my magic surging in my veins, violently aching for a fill.

"No! I made a mistake. I made a mistake. You can't do this to me. The King won't let you." Lena shakes her head as she continues to pull away. Dilara tries to intervene but it's too late the atmosphere has changed into a disruptive flow, "Your Majesty—" I speak over her and announce the spell for paralyzing a body. Her mouth clamps shut and her body becomes solid.

The next part should be painless. I bring my hand over the crown of her hair and just as I'm about to begin, a cold hand seizes my hand and pulls me away from Lena as she is simultaneously released from her state. She gasps loudly as if she needed air. His looming figure blocks my entire view but I can hear her coughing.

My hands trembled in fury, my magic craved to be used. It was still waiting for something, I needed to do something before it disappeared. I didn't want to let go yet. Frustration and anger rose inside of me as I tugged away from Grimm's grip but he held it. "Let me go." I snapped.

"You cannot harm her. That's not why we came here tonight, raven." He said calmly.

I tugged again, harder and he finally let me go. I clenched and unclenched my hands, and slowly my magic left my pulsing veins and hid beneath them. I took a couple of steps back getting a better view of Lena clutching her heart as her chest rose up and down. 

"If you try to touch my head again, I'll show you what it is like to die a second time." Fear gripped her.

I was polite to Lena as much as I could be but I was no longer going to tolerate anyone who tried to hurt me, dead or alive. I had other things to worry about than upsetting a soul. I didn't want to be here anymore. I was promised names and I haven't received them. I was done for the rest of the night. I smoothed the ruffles of my dress and turned away, not sparing anyone else a glance.

"Nora, wait—" Dilara chased.

But I kept walking and spoke loud and clear. "I want to be alone."

I've survived many nights alone, and tonight was no different.