“Let me get you a glass of water.”

Seolhyun’s gaze crawled over Hyejeong’s living room. It wasn’t much bigger than her room back in the dorm, and much like hers, books and comics lay scattered across the coffee table, lined the numerous bookshelves, and sat stacked on the small desktop. Hyejeong was a reader, probably even read the comics in ancient Greek.

For some reason, that made Seolhyun smile.

Then she noticed the corner of the room, between the bookshelf and the desk. A guitar leaned against the wall, and several colorful guitar picks formed a line on one of the shelves. Seolhyun knew it, those hands were used for something graceful and artsy. She’d always had a thing for someone who played instruments.

“You play?” She tipped her chin toward the guitar.

“Occasionally.” Hyejeong handed her a glass of water, and Seolhyun downed it before she sat beside her. “Thirsty?”

“Mmhm.” Seolhyun wiped away a few drops off her lips. “Thanks.

Hyejeong took the glass and set it on the coffee table, frowning when she noticed the tremble in Seolhyun’s hands. “What happened?”

Her laugh hitched in the throat. “It’s going to sound crazy.”

“Seolhyun, you can tell me. I won’t judge you.” A hand came out and wrapped around hers. “You trust me, right?”

Seolhyun stared at their hands, those fingers. You are fated to be with her. Those words had a shattering effect on her. She pulled her hands free and stood. “Yes. I did. I do. This is just so crazy.”

Hyejeong remained seated, but her eyes followed the pacing. “Try starting at the beginning.”

Seolhyun nodded, telling her everything, even the ridiculous part with Jimin, and how they were ‘two halves’ or whatever.

Hyejeong was a good listener. She didn’t ask any questions, but Seolhyun knew she caught everything she threw down.

“So, it can’t be true, right? I mean, none of this is real.” Seolhyun returned to pacing the length of the living room. “Jonghyun said it was why Mom left. Grandma Choa told her that I was the second Elpis and that she was afraid that the Gods would… kill me, I guess.” Her laugh sounded a little shrill.

Hyejeong ran a hand through her hair. “I suspected something strange when Jonghyun wanted to bring you back to his house. And when you said you’d seen Jimin’s markings… I can’t believe I’ve been around someone so rare this entire time. When do you turn nineteen?”

Seolhyun slid her hands down her sides nervously. “March twenty-eight.”

Less than a year from now.

Hyejeong rubbed her chin. “When you spoke to the Oracle, did she say anything like this?”

“No, she only said I would kill the ones I love. Nothing about this, but she said so much crazy stuff.” Seolhyun swallowed, blood rushing in her veins. “I mean, looking back, some of the things she said made sense, but I just didn’t understand.”

“How could you understand?” Hyejeong came around the small wooden table. “Now we know why your mother would take such a risk in leaving the safety of the island. She wanted to protect you. The story of Solaris is truly tragic, but she stood against the Council and the Gods. That’s what sealed their fate. Not what’s written about them in the books.”

“Why would Solaris do that? Didn’t she know what would happen?”

“Some say she fell in love with the First. When Therene stood against the Council, she defended her.”

“That’s so stupid.” Seolhyun rolled her eyes. “She basically committed suicide. That isn’t love.”

“People do the stupidest things when they’re in love.” Hyejeong gave the briefest of smiles. “Look at what your mother did. It’s a different kind of love, but she left everything because she loved you.”

“She really did leave to protect me...” The knowledge sat like curdled milk in Seolhyun’s stomach. “Now I know.”

“It must bring you some sort of peace to know why, doesn’t it?”

Seolhyun nodded, looking away. Hyejeong could believe whatever she wanted, but if Seolhyun hadn’t been the second coming of the Elpis then none of this would’ve happened. “I hate this. I hate not having control.”

“But you do have control. What you are gives you more control than anyone else.”

“How so? According to Jonghyun, I’m Jimin’s own personal electrical outlet or something. Who knows? No one does.”

“You’re right. The Gods have to be aware of you. I know this doesn’t make you feel better, but if they wanted to get rid of you, they would have already. So when you turn nineteen, anything will be possible.”

Seolhyun shook her head, doubtful that she could believe in anything at this point, and started to slip away, but Hyejeong’s hand tightened around hers. An instant later, she gathered her close to her.

Seolhyun hesitated, because being this close to Hyejeong was possibly the sweetest kind of torture.

She needed to break away… move as far away as possible, but Hyejeong’s arms circled her shoulders. Slowly, carefully, Seolhyun rested her head against her chest. Hands fell to the curve of Hyejeong’s back and she inhaled deeply. Her scent, a mixture of the sea and soap, filled her. The steady beat of Hyejeong’s heart under her cheek warmed and comforted her.

It was just a hug, but Gods, it meant so much. It meant everything.

“I don’t want to be to this Elpis thing.” Seolhyun closed her eyes. “I don’t even like to be in the same country as Jimin. I don’t want any of this.”

Hyejeong smoothed her hand down Seolhyun’s back. “I know. It’s overwhelming and scary, but you’re not alone. We’ll figure this out. Everything is going to be okay.”

Seolhyun pressed closer. Time seemed to slow down, allowing her a few moments of the simple pleasure of being in Hyejeong’s arms, but then her fingers moved through her hair, finding their own way.

“You don’t have anything to worry about, Seolhyun. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

Those forbidden words wrapped around Seolhyun’s heart, forever etching into her soul. Their eyes met. Silence stretched between them as they stared at each other. Hyejeong’s eyes shifted to fierce silver and her other arm slid to Seolhyun’s waist, tightening.

Her fingers drifted from Seolhyun’s hair and slowly traced the curve of her cheekbone. Pulsed thrumming through Seolhyun as her intense stare followed her fingertips. Hyejeong moved them down Seolhyun’s face, and then over her parted lips.

They shouldn’t be doing this. She was a Genuine.

But then Hyejeong leaned forward and rested her cheek against Seolhyun’s. Hot tingles spread through her as Hyejeong’s lips moved against her ear. “You should tell me to stop.”

Seolhyun didn’t say a word.

Hyejeong made a deep sound in . Her hand slid up her back, lips moved across Seolhyun’s cheek, stopping to hover above hers. Seolhyun forgot how to breathe, and most importantly, how to think.

Hyejeong moved, ever so slightly, and her lips brushed across Seolhyun’s once, and then twice. It was such a soft, beautiful kiss, but when the kiss deepened, it wasn’t a shy one. This was one of dangerous need, a desire that’d been denied far too long. The kiss felt fierce, demanding, and soul burning.

Hyejeong pulled Seolhyun to her, pressing her right up against her body. And when she kissed her again, it left both of them breathless. Their hands tangled with each other’s bodies as they made it back to the bedroom. Seolhyun’s hands found their way under Hyejeong’s shirt and over the soft skin of her sides. They separated long enough for Seolhyun to get the shirt off, and Gods, it was as breathtaking as she’d imagined.

Easing her down on her bed, Hyejeong’s hands glided from Seolhyun’s face to her arms. Next her hand traveled over her stomach, then her hip, and under the hem of her dress. Somehow, the top of Seolhyun’s dress ended up at her waist, and Hyejeong’s lips moved over her body.

Seolhyun melted into her, her kisses, and her touch.

Hyejeong pulled her lips away from hers, and Seolhyun made a sound of protest, but then trailed across the throat and to the base of her neck. Seolhyun’s skin burned and her thoughts were on fire. Hyejeong’s name was barely a whisper, but she felt her lips curve against her skin.

And there were no more words. Their kisses hardened, Hyejeong’s lips and hands took on a purpose that could only mean one thing. Seolhyun had never gone this far with anyone before, but she knew she wanted to be with Hyejeong.

Hyejeong lifted her head, staring down at her with that question in her eyes. “Do you trust me?”

Seolhyun ran her fingers over her cheek, then her parted lips. “Yes.”

And that was when someone knocked on the door.

They both froze against one another. Hyejeong’s eyes, still cloudy with hunger, met hers. A second passed, and another. She thought she was going to ignore it. Gods, she wanted Hyejeong to ignore it. Badly. Deeply. But the knock came again, and this time a voice accompanied it.

“Hyejeong, open this door. Now.”

Yonghwa.

“I didn’t mean to wake you, but I figured you’d want to know this immediately. They’ve found Inseong. He’s alive.”

The Next Day

The sun had just crested the horizon, but the humidity made the air gloomy. Seolhyun avoided the Guards on patrol, skirting the sides of the buildings as she made her way to the infirmary.

Cool air greeted her inside the narrow building. She moved through corridors lined with smaller offices and a couple of larger rooms equipped to handle medical emergencies. The Genuine doctors lived on the main island and only staffed the infirmary during the school year. This early on a summer morning, only a few nurses would be in the building.

Seolhyun already had excuses ready if she ran into one of those nurses. She’d had foot cramps. She’d broken her toe. Anything, if it meant she could get to where they had Inseong,

After checking several of the smaller rooms, she stumbled into a ward used to accommodate several patients at once. Instinct led her past the empty room and beyond the green curtain.

Seolhyun froze, the papery thin fabric moving behind her.

Inseong sat in the middle of the bed, dressed in loose jogging pants and nothing more. Locks of hair hid most of his downturned face. She could only stare. His chest, incredibly pale, was covered with crescent-shaped tags and thin slices that looked like they’d been made by one of the Ephensy daggers. There wasn’t much space on him that wasn’t marked.

He lifted his head. His blue eyes stood out against a corpselike body. Seolhyun inched closer, feeling something in her chest tighten. He looked so bad, and when he smiled at her, he looked worse.

Maybe she could’ve waited to question him, but in typical Seolhyun’s fashion, she jumped in. “Inseong? Are you okay?”

“I… think so.”

“I wanted to ask you some questions if… it’s okay with you?”

“You want to ask about your mother?” He looked down at his hands.

Relief crashed through her. She wouldn’t have to explain more.

Seolhyun stepped closer. “Yes.”

Inseong was quiet as he continued staring down at his hands. He was holding something, but Seolhyun couldn’t see what it was. “I told the others I didn’t remember anything.”

Seolhyun wanted to sit down and cry. Inseong had been her only hope. “You don’t?”

“That’s what I told them.”

An odd sound came from behind the green curtain on the other side of Inseong’s bed, like cloth dragging across a smooth floor. “Is… is someone back there?”

The only answer was a low gurgling. Dread came out of nowhere, inching down her spine, demanding that she leave this room, right now.

Seolhyun pushed past the bed and threw back the curtain. Her lips parted in silent scream.

Three Genuine nurses lay sprawled on the bloody floor. One still clung to life. A red line ripped across as she pulled herself across the small distance. Seolhyun reached for her, but with one last bubble of a noise, she was gone.

Throats slashed. All dead.

“Honey.”

No one but Helena called her that… no one.

Seolhyun turned around, hand fluttering to . Inseong remained on the opposite side of the bed, staring down into his hands.

“I think the nickname ‘Honey’ is sweet, but what do I know?” He laughed, and it sounded cold, humorless. Dead. “I didn’t know anything until now.”

Seolhyun bolted.

Inseong moved surprisingly fast for someone who’d been tortured for weeks. He was in front of her before Seolhyun made it to the door, with Ephensy dagger in hand.

Her eyes froze on the dagger. “Why?”

“Why?” His voice mimicked hers. “Don’t you get it? No. Of course you don’t. I didn’t get it either. They tried it on the Guards first, but they drained them too fast. They died.”

Something was so, so wrong with him. The torture could have done it; all those tags could’ve driven him crazy. But it didn’t really matter why he’d gone insane, because he was most definitely a lunatic… and Seolhyun was cornered.

“By the time they got to be me, they’d learned from their mistakes. Gotta drain our kind slowly.” Inseong glanced down at the dagger. “But we aren’t like them. We don’t change like them.”

Seolhyun backed up, swallowing down the fear. Her training vanished. She knew how to deal with a Demon, but a friend driven crazy was a different story.

“I was hungry, so hungry. There’s nothing like it. I had to.”

Horrifying realization set in. Seolhyun took another step back just as Inseong launched himself at her. He was so fast, faster than he’d ever been. Before Seolhyun could even fully attempt the swing, his fist connected with her face. Seolhyun flew back, crashing into one of those little tables. It happened so quickly she couldn’t break her fall. She landed in a messy heap, dazed and tasting blood in .

Inseong was on her immediately, yanking Seolhyun to her feet and flinging her across the room. Seolhyun hit the edge of the bed hard, and then the floor. Scrambling to her feet, she ignored the pain and faced the one thing that could not be.

Beyond reason or explanation, she had no doubt that Inseong was no longer a Myx. Impossible as it was, he was a Demon.

Seolhyun reached for what looked like a heart monitor machine, hurling it at his head. Not surprisingly, he knocked it aside.

He laughed that sick laugh again. “Can’t you do better than that? Remember our training sessions? How easily I got the best of you?”

She ignored that painful reminder, figuring it was best to keep him talking until she had a better option. “How is this possible? You’re a Myx.”

Inseong nodded, switching the blade to his other hand. “Weren’t you paying attention? I already told you. They drain our kind slowly, and Gods, did it hurt like hell. I wanted to die a thousand times, but I didn’t. And now? I’m better than I ever was. Faster. Stronger. You can’t fight me. None of you can.” He lifted the dagger and wiggled it back and forth.

Seolhyun glanced over his shoulder. There was a small chance she could make it to the doorway. She was still fast and not badly hurt. “That… has to .”

He shrugged, seeming like the old Inseong… so much so it stole her breath. “I saw your mother.”

Every instinct in Seolhyun screamed not to listen to him.

“She was frenzied, killing and taking great pleasure in it, too. She was the one who turned me.” He his lips. “She’s coming for you, did you know that?”

“Oh?” Seolhyun whispered, but she already knew. She wasn’t stupid.

“You know the one thing that about being a Demon? I’m always so damn hungry. But you? I’m certain you’ll feel like nothing else. It’s a good thing you came to me. Trusted me.” His blue eyes dropped to Seolhyun’s neck, to where her frantic pulse beat. “She’ll keep killing until she finds you or until you’re dead. And you are going to die.”

That was her cue to make move. Seolhyun pushed with all her strength, but it was no use. Inseong blocked her only route of escape. With no other option but to fight him, she squared off, weaponless and out-skilled.

His lips quirked. “Do you really want to try that?”

Seolhyun forced as much boldness in her voice as possible. “Do you?”

This time, when he grabbed for her, Seolhyun kicked out and caught the hand holding the dagger. It flew from his grasp, clattering against the floor. Before she could celebrate the small victory, his meaty fist lashed out, and it appeared he remembered how poor Seolhyun’s blocking skills were. The punch got her in the stomach, doubling her over.

A rush of air stirred her hair, giving her only a second to straighten herself. But as she lifted her head, it wasn’t Inseong standing in front of her.

It was Hyejeong.

She didn’t say anything to Inseong. Somehow, she just knew as she forced Seolhyun backwards, away from the Demon Myx. Inseong turned his attention on Hyejeong, letting out a howl, eerily similar to the one the Demon had made in Namgu.

They circled one another, and with Inseong weaponless, Hyejeong had the upper hand. They exchanged vicious blows… no longer partners, but enemies to the core. Then Hyejeong made her move. She the titanium dagger deep into Inseong’s stomach.

The impossible happened. Inseong didn’t fall.

Hyejeong stepped back, revealing her startled face. Inseong looked down at the gaping wound and started to laugh. It should’ve been a kill shot, but as cold understanding set in, they realized they had more to learn about Demon Myx.

They were immune to titanium.

Hyejeong kicked out at Inseong, who blocked and whirled to deliver a kick of his own. A medical machine crashed against the wall. Seolhyun couldn’t just stand there. She went for the dagger on the floor.

“Get back!” Hyejeong yelled as Seolhyun’s fingers wrapped around the cool titanium.

She looked up, seeing the reinforcements… and the Elpis.

“Move back!” Jimin’s voice thundered through the chaos.

Hyejeong jumped forward, pushing Seolhyun against the wall and shielding her with her body. Seolhyun turned her head as Jimin stepped in front of the Linus, one arm stretched out in front of her.

Seconds later, something Seolhyun could only describe as a lightning bolt erupted from her hand. The flash of blue light, so intense and brilliant, obscured everything in the room.

Ether. The fifth and final element; only the Gods and the Elpis could harness it.

“Don’t look,” Hyejeong whispered.

Seolhyun pressed her face into her chest as the air filled with the crackling sound of the most powerful element known to them. Inseong’s horrific screams rose above it as Ether crashed into him.

The screams… She would never forget those screams.

Hyejeong’s hold tightened around her until the screeching stopped and Inseong’s body thumped to the floor.

She pulled back then, the tips of her fingers brushed over Seolhyun’s split and swollen lip. For the briefest second, her eyes latched onto hers. In one look, there was so much. Pain. Relief. Anger.

Everyone rushed into the room at once. In the chaos, Hyejeong quickly checked Seolhyun over before handing her off to Jimin. “Get her out of here.”

Jimin pulled her past the Linus as Hyejeong turned her attention to the crumpled body. In the hallway, they passed Heechul and several more Guards. The Dean spared them a brief glance. Jimin then led her down the hallway, silent until she shoved Seolhyun into another room at the end.

She closed the door behind her and then slowly approaching. “Are you alright?”

Seolhyun backed up until she pressed against the wall furthest from her, breathing heavily.

“Seolhyun?” Two eyes narrowed.

In a matter of hours, everything had changed. Their world was no longer the same. It was too much.

Jimin tried again, crouching down in front of her. “You can’t let them see you like this. Do you understand me?”

She still said nothing.

Jimin glanced back over her shoulder at the door. “Seolhyun, you’re starting to worry me. Please insult me or something.”

That finally got a weak smile stretched Seolhyun’s lips. “You’re a bigger idiot than I could’ve ever possibly imagined.”

Jimin laughed, and Seolhyun’s ears must’ve