Inside the private jet flying back to Astoria, Cillian sat tapping the tip of his shoe against the carpeted floor. One hand supported his chin while the other drummed idly against the armrest as he stared at the aloof, brooding man seated across from him.

Although his face remained calm, his thoughts were anything but. They kept replaying the scene he had witnessed a few hours ago, followed by the rather shocking conversation he had with Gavriel once everyone had left.

After Aliana had boldly declared their "relationship," she had simply turned and walked back to her suite as though she had not just dropped a bomb on all of them.

Shutting the door behind her, she had left them to deal with the aftermath as if it had never been her doing to begin with.

Ignoring the two humans who had effectively turned to stone, Cillian had walked straight past them and followed Gavriel into his suite, fully intending to have a serious conversation.

It had gone something like this...

"Care to explain what that was all about? Or are you telling me you’re actually on board with what she just declared?" Cillian asked, disbelief evident in his voice.

For all the absurdity of the situation, Gavriel, a man who tolerated absolutely nothing from anyone, had not uttered a single word in protest.

Gavriel, on the other hand, simply walked over to the sofa in his suite and sat down leisurely, as though nothing that had just happened bothered him in the slightest. This only made Cillian question whether there was some truth to it after all.

After a long pause, Gavriel finally lifted his gaze, meeting Cillian’s brown ones.

"Cillian," he said at last, breaking the silence, "I need you to find out who was behind yesterday’s incident."

"I thought Reve was already on it?" Cillian asked, his brows lifting in surprise.

"He is. But he couldn’t trace where the orders came from. It’s as if whoever was behind it vanished without leaving a trace, and the ones who came after her were obliterated because of my leaking powers," Gavriel replied calmly.

"Well... I must say, it’s a surprise that you’re involving me in tracking down the culprit. I don’t even remember the last time you entrusted me with something like this," Cillian murmured thoughtfully, before a faint, knowing smile tugged at his lips. "She must be quite something for you to go to such lengths."

Gavriel’s eyes sharpened instantly at the insinuation, a cold edge flashing through them.

Cillian only rolled his eyes in response. "Oh, come on. Don’t give me that look. You cannot expect me to believe this is anything other than you caring about that heiress who keeps finding herself in trouble."

"I don’t," Gavriel replied, his voice low with irritation. "I just want her off my back."

"Is that so?" Cillian raised a brow, unconvinced. "Then tell me... what exactly happened last night? Because I have never seen you break your own restraints on a full moon just to rush in and protect someone, rather than turning the night into a bloodbath."

Heavy silence followed.

Cillian let out a quiet breath, as though already expecting nothing. "Right. Of course. Getting answers from you would be too easy."

He turned, ready to leave, when Gavriel’s voice cut through the stillness.

"There is something about her..."

It was softer than before, yet it carried a weight that made Cillian pause, "...something odd."

Cillian slowly turned back, his gaze narrowing as he studied him more carefully this time.

"What do you mean?" he asked, his tone no longer light, but edged with quiet seriousness.

"I don’t know... I cannot read her beyond the fact that I don’t sense any malice from her. She seems human... yet there is something about her that feels different from anyone I have ever encountered," Gavriel replied.

"Are you referring to her ability to release souls, the one those spirits were talking about?" Cillian asked, curiosity sharpening his tone.

Gavriel paused, weighing whether to reveal more, especially the other power she had mentioned not long ago.

But after a brief moment, he decided against it.

"Yes," he said simply.

He did not elaborate further.

For reasons he could not quite name, he felt it was better to keep certain details to himself. The fewer people who knew about her, the fewer would be tempted to seek her out.

"Just find out who was behind it," Gavriel continued, his voice turning colder. "I want that rat found."

His eyes gleamed with something far more dangerous, a quiet promise of what he intended to do once he did.

"Alright, I’ll see what I can find." Cillian gave a brief nod before turning to leave, but as he reached the door, he paused and glanced back at Gavriel over his shoulder.

"Oh, and by the way," he added casually, "congratulations on your very first relationship. I am truly looking forward to seeing how that turns out."

With a quick wink, he slipped out before Gavriel could respond, wisely avoiding the consequences of teasing the devil.

Cillian snapped back to the present as the captain announced their descent over Astoria.

Turning his gaze to the window, he took in the vast city stretching beneath the afternoon sun, its skyline gleaming with quiet grandeur.

’Well...’ he mused inwardly, a faint smile tugging at his lips, ’this is certainly going to be chaotic for sure.’

....

Astoria, Victorian Heights.

It was four in the afternoon, and Aliana was lounging in her living room, dressed in a comfortable white gown.

Her eyes were fixed on the massive flat-screen as the headlines regarding the Van Empire’s partnership with the Archon Group dominated the news, as if people could never get tired of the historical announcement.

Suddenly, the screen cut to a clip of Gavriel’s short interview. Every media outlet was raving about how the Archon Group’s handsome chairman had quickly topped the charts as the country’s most eligible bachelor.

As Aliana took in his angelic features, she whispered, "If only they knew what a devil he actually is behind that stoic face."

She sighed before adding, "Most eligible bachelor, huh? Well, I suppose that isn’t a lie."

The memory of his sculpted, half-naked physique and the way he had held her only a few hours ago made her heart skip a beat.

"If only they knew he’s technically off the market right now... at least for the time being," she murmured absentmindedly.

Her thoughts drifted back to one of the most daring decisions she had ever made... blackmailing a man like him into cooperating with her to a temporary relationship until she figured out how to deal with the chaos unfolding in her life.

It was not as if she had planned to take this route in the first place... it was all spontaneous.

A desperate measure she was forced to take when she saw how unwilling he was to help, even after she had told him everything. This was especially galling considering he himself had witnessed the horrors she endured that night in Karden.

"How heartless," she scoffed softly, a faint frown settling on her forehead as she continued to stare at his face on the screen, as though he could hear her.

They had not discussed how they were meant to proceed with this so-called relationship, nor had they set any terms for the arrangement. And yet, she was determined to make him comply, no matter what.

Because time was running out.

The sun would set soon.

And the mere thought of being alone in her house, without him anywhere near, was enough to send a quiet chill through her.