Grey stared at a white hospital ceiling with two things on her mind. First, she had never gotten to eat dinner. Second, she was back at square one.
A soft knock tapped through the hospital suite. Grey's hands gripped the edge of the bed until her knuckles whitened. Her breathing quickened, the floodgates to adrenaline threatening to burst. A nurse opened the door slightly and peeked her head through the entrance.
Pupils. Dark brown irises. Whites around those. Normal.
"You look like you've seen a ghost!" The nurse giggled, throwing the door open to reveal a hallway teeming with rushing doctors and medical equipment. She gestured for Grey to follow as she left the doorframe.
If the girl could have clenched her teeth to endure through the pain, she would have. However, her cheek was sore from where she had been decked and so were all the teeth in that side of her jaw. She chose to grunt softly instead while she stood and marched, thankful her legs were still in one piece and unscathed. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to speak, it hurt to eat.
"Everything looks well on our physical testing besides the bruising and scratches. No internal bleeding and no injuries that were too severe, though they will feel like the opposite. Rest, please. No strenuous physical activities for the next week. If you come back during these times," she handed Grey a small slip of paper the size of a business card, "we will conduct concussion testing."
"I will also suggest," the nurse turned to Grey and paced backwards, "that you do your best to stay out of street fights. I understand you were just trying to split one up, but escalated situations involving violence always hurt the innocent people."
Ah. A street fight.
"I couldn't help myself," Grey said. "Who defends the nice people from the bad ones?"
The nurse frowned. "The authorities handle it for a reason. Who knows? Next time they will arrest you for being involved."
Grey rolled her eyes.
The nurse pushed through the exit doors from the hospital corridors to the waiting area. As several heads turned in her direction, her gaze averted to the floor. She was still in her leggings, except her house slippers were on her feet and a black sweatshirt sat snug over her tee shirt. It smelled slightly of wildfire smoke and detergent, and it wasn't hers.
Amelia stood from a chair near the back corner of the lobby and jogged over in wedges. Grey caught a whiff of expensive perfume and makeup as her best friend halted abruptly in front of her. Her dark brown eyes were laced with worry, pretty face trampled with concern.
"Are you okay? Can I hug you?"
"No." She flinched because she widened her lips into too large of an O.
Amelia sucked in a sharp breath like she felt the pain, planting a kiss on Grey's forehead. "That'll have to do. The car is parked pretty close. Can you walk?"
Grey nodded. "What are you doing here?"
Amelia fished in her purse for the keys. "I'm your emergency contact in case you forgot," she made a face that symbolized just how ridiculous that question was. The keys jingled in her hands as she pulled them out and pivoted on her heel.
Grey winced, but said, "You shouldn't have left work. I can walk. I can call a taxi."
Amelia scoffed loudly enough that an elderly couple jumped. "Good for you. Do you have money? Do you have your phone? Food? No. I thought so. Stop bitching and walk to the car."
Was Amelia her mother? In silent protest, Grey dragged her slippers as she marched behind the other girl. The cruel sunlight scorched her eyelids when the pair finally got outside. Grey squinted against the glint of hundreds of metallic cars. She eventually climbed into Amelia's and sat with her eyes closed as the air conditioner blew over her sticky face. That was also when she discovered how badly she reeked.
The radio automatically turned on, a Western pop song blaring through the speakers. Amelia swore under her breath and turned it off after seeing the way Grey gripped the car door's armrest.
"You've been fidgeting a lot in the past few minutes. It's almost scaring me."
Grey rubbed her eyes. "I didn't get much sleep last night."
Amelia crossed her arms and leaned back so that her head was against the window. "What happened to you?"
"I fell down the stairs."
She'd practiced that lie for a while in the hospital suite, switching her delivery and matching expressions to make it somewhat believable. In actual conversation, it still sounded absurd.
Amelia bit the inside of both cheeks, her gaze softening purposefully so that Grey might not detect the blatant fury behind them--even though Grey always did. "Are you serious?"
Though it hurt, Grey chuckled to ease the mood. "Missed a step. I was paying too much attention to Luca. I swear I'm alright."
"There's an 'Oops, I forgot my phone at home' clumsy and an 'I threw myself down a flight of stairs over an animal' clumsy. You are not the latter."
"There's a first time for everything."
"Don't say that," Amelia glared, turning the radio back on to a segment of advertisements. "Just stay alive, will ya?"
Grey grinned as much as her cheekbones would allow. "I'm surprised you weren't listening to BTS."
Amelia furrowed her brows. "I'm sorry, who?"
"BTS."
"That name doesn't ring a bell." Amelia slid on cat-eye sunglasses after checking her cherry red lipstick in the rearview mirror. Grey opened her mouth to answer, then shut it. They weren't a band here. That was in another dimension. Somewhere far, far away from here.
:::
She had taken a shower so hot that her skin steamed as she stepped from the fogged glass chamber. Grey pat her body down and wrapped the towel around her dripping hair, taking a few moments to breathe in the leftovers of mist and inhale her reflection. A scab covered a sliver of her bottom lip. A slightly raised welt rose from her head where it'd been banged against the wall. Deep purple bruises spotted her ribs and stomach, wide and damning.
It didn't sadden her, it enraged her.
She had been defenseless. Completely pathetic in the presence of danger. Once again she needed to be saved--and there was just something about being rescued over and over that really ground against her patience.
This world controlled her. Everyone needed something and no one gave a fuck about what she asked for in return. At this rate, she would die accommodating others. Never to return home. She would give and give and give and they would snatch.
Most importantly, she let this happen. She laid down on the ground to be stepped over. She was kind, and nice, and honest in a den of thieves and now that everything had been stolen, there wasn't much left to reflect on besides her own hope.
Upon seeing the marks on her skin, the dark circles beneath her eyes, and feeling that stabbing pain every time she moved, she made a decision.
Grey was not a means to an end. Only means to her end. She would not be used and she would not bow down.
As for Variel, her plan was an offer Grey might succumb to if she absolutely needed fantastical super strength to catapult her home. The task was near impossible, but was not her last resort. If killing Vanity was her best way of getting home, then she would find a way. Especially after what she pulled with delivery last night.
As for Anaphiel...
The shift in mindset ignited a fire that consumed fuel at an alarming rate. Grey ripped the towel from her head and stalked to Amelia's closet. The other girl was getting some work done on her laptop. She figured that her "best friend" wouldn't mind. Besides, this Amelia encouraged impulsive behavior.
In seconds, she had assembled an outfit that conveyed her message and covered her wounds. A black, suede choker hid the light blemishes around her throat while a tight black shirt with off the shoulder sleeves hid the damage from her waist to her chest. A pair of black skinny jeans shaped her legs and the black boots on her feet clicked against Amelia's wooden floors. From the living room, the sound of endless typing ceased.
Amelia's voice fluttered all the way to the bathroom where Grey was styling her curls into a high ponytail. "Why do I hear heels?"
"I'm going out," Grey shouted back.
There was the sound of a blanket being thrown to the side, then bare footsteps. Amelia leaned against her restroom's doorframe with an inquisitive finger pointed at Grey. "You're looking like that at this time of evening?"
"Like what?" Grey fastened diamond studs into her ears. "Is it too dark?"
"Like a snack. You look just as good in my clothes as I do."
Grey grinned. "Thanks. I'll bring them back later when I'm free."
"You're not coming back tonight?" Amelia frowned.
"No, but thank you for letting me shower. There's something I need to take care of and it has to be handled soon."
Amelia halfheartedly rolled her eyes. "You're being secretive again but I won't stop you. I trust that you're going to get through whatever challenge is against you. I will also let you solve it on your own. Just... if you need more food or a place to stay or anything, just call, okay?"
Grey smiled and nodded, wincing as Amelia's arms slid around her waist in a quick hug. As they pulled apart, Amelia's hand clapped Grey's rear. "Go get 'em, tiger."
Grey gasped, a laugh escaping her hoarse throat. This was not Amelia from home, but if she managed to still make her happy before diving off the deep end then this new version was damn close. As Grey opened the apartment door, Amelia called out one last time.
"Hey! One more thing!"
Grey turned to find a black coat being tossed her way. She caught it with one hand.
"It's chilly out there."
:::
Grey kept her head down against the soft breeze, weaving past other walkers with ease.
During her journey, she'd kept her mind trained on her revelation. If her thoughts drifted, she jolted them back to what lied ahead. She told herself she'd never return, but in the scope of things she realized she would never be able to stay away. Variel was one accessory, and as much as she wanted to leave the other seven to the wolves, she was smart enough to understand one thing.
She still needed them.
The girl charged down a familiar route. Nostalgia, anxiety, dread overwhelmed her in an avalanche. All of it piled onto her back and just when she felt she'd been buried under, she remembered her new cue.
She wasn't blind anymore. There was a curse and she was a handy solution if she cooperated. Knowledge gave her power. All the power she needed to press onward as KSJ came closer with each step. She had her phone in case of emergency, a bit of cash, her debit card, and her company ID.
The doormen bowed politely as she passed, and when the air of the lobby hit her she almost choked. Not long ago she'd been in this same exact spot marveling over amenities and a bodyguard. These memories were fresh and raw. They reminded her of why she came. That openness she first embraced this building with had been shredded away. Before she attempted anything, she pulled out her phone and slipped into an alcove. The line dialed and beeped as she got comfortable on the couch and faced the wall. As expected, Amelia answered quickly.
"BFF on the line."
Grey took a deep breath, then said, "I have a book idea. It's been bothering me for a while and I think it's what I need to take me out of writers' block. I have a few questions about where it should go; how my characters react."
"Oh, I love doing this. We can piece it out together."
"My main character, we'll call her X, has been lied to by people she genuinely trusted. They were in on it the entire time, she found out through an awkward confrontation meant to embarrass her. Of course, after she found the truth, she left them alone. I think she has a right to be upset even if she didn't know them for long, don't you?"
"Hmm," Amelia mumbled, "I think she does. But, why would those side characters lie to someone they just met? Do they have something to gain from it?"
"Everything," Grey said.
Amelia clicked her tongue and laughed. "Then she just got played. Why would she trust people she just met? That's like the story of every robbery ever."
"X is still learning the ropes. Anyway, she sees the people that wronged her again and she'll probably have to see them for a long time after. Stay with them. What does she do now? She's pissed off and out of luck."
"Forgive them."
"What?" Grey lowered her voice as a woman's head shot up to stare in a nearby seating area. "Like nothing happened?"
"No, forgive them because they were playing a game without extending our main character an invitation. The next step is revenge. X, I would hope, knows by now to not be so stupidly gullible. Getting bit once is enough. I mean, what was she expecting from a bunch of strangers? There's a thin line between being trusting and being a moron."
Grey grimaced. "What does revenge mean to you in this case?"
"X should become the best player in the game."
Amelia continued, "She knows she's a pawn and now she can be more than that. Get what she wants out of them for a change. Can't tell you much about X, but I think she should brush herself off and get her head back in it. Next time, she'll be two steps ahead."
"Thanks. I have to go." Grey hung up the phone after Amelia wished her farewell.
Grey climbed into the elevator, the people near her too busy talking on the phone or awkwardly standing to the side to notice her. She pressed the button for the 41st floor. The ride was long with multiple stops, but when she was finally alone and ascending, her stop arrived all too quickly.
The Great Hall blazed an intense purple, the fireplace silent and weak on the other end of the long foyer. It was taller than she remembered. Darker. The red carpet muffled her shoes. She resisted the urge to move over to the checkered tile so that they would hear her approach. There wasn't a way to pinpoint their collective location, especially in such a cavernous space. However, it did not stop her from following her instincts which led her to the colossal doors to the left of the fireplace that she'd first entered when she knew nothing more than their names.
The Rain Room, she called it. One of their favorite dining halls. It drew her closer. Not only the concept of it being where the angels greeted guests, but also the ominous energy radiating from the door in a mirage. She felt their power on the other side, felt the waves caress her shadow and mind like a ghostly touch one experienced in dreams. They knew she had returned.
Grey pushed the door open, grateful to find it was not as heavy as it appeared. Rushing water filled her ears and the chandeliers in the ceiling shimmered in the dark like a spread of fairy lights. Scented rain water wafted past her into the Hall, the aroma of wine and meat from their dinners combining with the smell of waterfalls.
The seven men completely forgot about their meals as she strolled to the table and pulled out the empty seat at the head--directly across from Jin. His silverware lowered back to his plate. His eyes darted from the scratch on her lip to her blank expression. In that second, they were the only two in the room. Him, a stranger. Her, a ghost.
She propped her coat onto the back of the chair and sat down, a new queen in her throne.
"Vanity broke her promise."
She probably didn't need to say that given the visual evidence, but it still felt right. She waited for each of them to adjust to her new mark. After they stopped staring at it for more than a few seconds at a time, she was ready to continue.
Namjoon leaned forward, "Vanity is--,"
Grey held up a hand. "I speak."
He blinked, most likely deciding whether he wanted to engage the matter or not. Soon enough, he relaxed in his chair.
Grey admired the glittering table, then slowly made eye contact with every member of it, including the green-eyed cat that had snuck in behind her without thinking she would notice. "I was always told to never speak out of anger for fear of saying something I'd regret, but this time I'll let it out because I deserve this. I deserve to get this off my chest."
Grey rested her arms on the armrests. "First, let me say this for what happened at the ball. Fuck you."
The rushing current streaming along the walls matched the intensity of her anger.
"Now onto current events, last night, an irkan came into my apartment disguised as someone else with orders to kill me." Her eyes flicked to Yoongi's. "It almost succeeded."
"I've become a personal target to Vanity. My name is on the map in your dimension and the longer I extend my stay, the closer my time comes to ending. In truth, I should have been returned home eons ago, but for reasons better left unsaid I lost sight of my goal. I forgot that my purpose doesn't exist here in any of you like I thought. It exists elsewhere where I had a life and a small piece of family and a dream.
"I won't forget again. I won't place any one cause above my own. But make no mistake, I'm nothing like you. I won't hurt, manipulate, or use anyone to reach my destination. And maybe that makes the humans you look down on a bit better than you. We feel what's right and inherently wrong. We feel.
"I don't regret my feelings for any of you. They were there and they were real. I regret not being skeptical. I regret being so easily led into your plans."
Grey turned her neck to look at Luca, who stared up at her from the side of her chair. She had been listening obediently, and upon catching the girl's gaze, her tail swished furiously.
"Luca, you agreed to help me find a way back to my dimension, correct?"
Taehyung glimpsed at the cat since she was closest to him. So did Jimin and Yoongi. Jin and the other half of the table settled for looking at where they supposed Luca would be.
The kitten's voice was clear and unwavering. "I did."
Grey smiled, patting her pet's head and commanding the attention of her audience again with just one glance. "She and I will be working closely together in the next few days to get the issue fixed. We will use the library and a few of the other rooms if necessary. This also means I'll be staying on this floor again for the sake of research."
"You are always welcome to do so," Jin said. The entire time she'd been speaking he'd held her eye contact relentlessly.
"It wasn't a request," she said, grinning ruefully. "All of you are free to help me in the process if you want. We can cut the flirting, the expensive gifts, the sweet bullshit. I don't want any of it and I'm sure you're tired of doing these things since you can't even feel it; so what's the point, right?" She giggled humorlessly. "Also, since I know your biggest secret concerning me, we can stop withholding those too. No secrets, no lies."
Hoseok frowned. "Grey, those things weren't--,"
This time, Jin cut him off. "Let her finish."
"The curse," Grey chided, "I'm not sure if I can break it. I probably won't be able to. It's not even why I'm here so if you still want that done you're really going to have to work for it. And I mean work. Or do what Vanity advised and reel in a new victim. I'm in this skyscraper solely for the protection and counsel. Nothing else."
She stood from her seat and grabbed Amelia's coat. "That's all I have to say. I'll be in my room."
Grey escaped the dining room with Luca on her heels. She felt lighter. The gnawing irritation that had been sitting in her chest since the masquerade finally settled. Like clearing the smoke from a room or unraveling a ball of yarn. If anything, she was tired from finding the courage. When she returned to her room, she immediately sank onto her bed.
"You are brave." Luca hopped onto a pillow next to her head.
"I am still an idiot," Grey corrected. "Feelings don't just go away. Surrounding myself with them isn't smart."
"Guard your heart. You are not weak for having emotions. They are part of who you are. In this next trial, follow your instincts. Accept their help and navigate the waters carefully. I am unsure of what they can and cannot feel, but I saw it in their eyes when you entered the room. They were glad to see you alive."
Grey sighed. "They don't care."
"Let them prove that to you with their actions. Truth is always discerned by action rather than speech. You may write them off, but do not disregard their efforts to earn your trust."
Grey scowled. "You always defend them. Why?"
Luca said, "They have been my family since the formation of the world. I have learned through the centuries that those men are unpredictable, but they are not what they convey themselves to be. They are in need of saving just as much as you and I. I hoped, and I still have faith, that you will be the one to free them. It is why I brought you here."
Grey rolled over to stare at Luca. "Why you what?"
"I should have told you when we were alone in your apartment, but I could not bring myself to confess after seeing all the pain I had a hand in causing. After all, I seconded the notion not to tell you about the curse in an effort to keep you safe."
She sat up. Luca explained. "When I came to the park that day, it was to search another part of Seoul for anyone that could help me in my efforts to keep Anaphiel alive. It was not my expectation to find you. In a sense, you dropped into my lap like a gift. Sometimes, I think of it as destiny."
"You did this?" Grey asked breathlessly.
"I lured you into the water where I opened a portal that took the last of my strength. Upon arrival, you met all of the angels on your own accord. Not once had I ever seen that happen before. It gave me new resolve to see the plan through."
It began to make sense. She found the angels at places that she needed to visit. Each of the encounters unprompted, but occurring all the same. And like a moth to a flame, she was nudged towards them every single time.
Luca continued. "I followed you to in the first days because I sensed their presences near you. I wanted to see your first interactions with them. In the past, such meetings never went so smoothly. You made a lasting impression on all seven without fail."
The rambunctious kitten had been there every time, Grey realized. Her job, the hotel, the library.
"I wanted you to be the one to take us all home, but I cannot force you to fall in love. If your request is to return to your world, then I will do so at the expense of myself and the others."
Grey nodded, nuzzling the good half of her face deep into the pillow. There was enough energy left in her to be upset, but hearing that... she couldn't be. There was nothing she could do immediately about the fact that she was here. She survived this far. Plus, the cat was willing to go against her own interests to help right Grey.
"I'm sorry," Grey blurted. "I don't know if I can help you."
"Do not apologize."
"So, are you also a member of Anaphiel?"
Luca shook her head. "I am their superior, but I like to think of myself as a guardian for them too rather than a sovereign."
"You're another Queen?" Grey's brows furrowed.
Luca had been moving to scratch her ear when she halted. "Another?"
Grey quickly shook her head. "No, I'm getting tired. That's not what I meant."
Thankfully, Luca let it go. With a feline grin, she said, "I should reintroduce myself. You gave me a name I quite like and I am stuck in a female cat body, but if we are to truly become friends, it would be better if you knew my identity. I am Nico, youngest sibling of the Three Scepters, the final class of angels above Anaphiel."
Nico. The man that saved her from receiving five claws to the heart at the masquerade. The man demons could not touch because of the force surrounding him. The youngest of three. At the ball he told Vanity she was born to be his sister. Variel appeared in front of Grey to observe him, later mentioned a sibling that knew nothing of her real location. He was another piece of the infamous trio.
"It's you," Grey whispered, "It's been you this whole time. You saved me."
"I owe you," Nico admitted. "But please call me Luca while I have four legs. It is appropriate and I love the name."
She let it sink in. This cat was Variel's brother. This cat had immeasurable strength just like her. This cat wasn't even a girl in human form.
"Okay, Luca. What is your title?"
"Second King of the Eternal Realm."
:::
(A/N) Energetic reader,
WOOP there it is. I will let you know, there is only one Wattpad member that guessed Luca's true identity before this chapter's release. If you're reading this, you know who you are and I was pleasantly surprised with your detective skills.
Thank you for reading this chapter. Having you here in this story with me is such a blessing and as my summer comes to an end in the next few weeks, please know you make this so worth it.
I will be swamped with moving out of my apartment, judging books, and working out in these next few days, but I'll make sure to update.
Next release: 7/26 or 7/27 (July 26th or July 27th)
With love,
M