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“But,” Lorren said, “if you have even the slightest idea why he survived…”

I growled my reply, “My soul My soul was in his body It protected him I don’t knohy or how Locoicia didn’t knoas there I never told her” Staring at both of them, I added “But you both knew Didn’t you? You knew Kreturus was still in Collin What I saw in the Underworld wasn’t a hoax For a while, I thought it was smoke andCollin to get toover to Eric “How could you not tell me?”

His eyes were glistening They were not coh them earlier “I suspected, but there was no way to know for sure Things aren’t obvious Collin hid it, but the way he acts is almost bipolar sometimes It made me wonder why And I doubted that they were the same person until the day you disappeared Collin did all that I saith my own eyes Collin started this More de for you I barely held hih for you to escape Then, when I couldn’t find you,” Eric paused His eyes shifted back to ht he killed you But he didn’t leave Collin kept burning, and killing, looking for so for you”

“That’s why you were there? That’s why you were near the church when I stepped outside?” He nodded once, and instantly averted his eyes “And you,” I said turning to Lorren I wanted to kick hi me I wanted to cause hiel—stuck in hell What’d you forget to tell me, huh?”

Lorren was still dressed in his black clothes “I forgot nothing” He turned his back toto say more

I shot out of rabbed his shoulder and screael who used the stone! It was you in the first war You were the warrior who took the brunt of the curse, and you got trapped down here because of it, right?” Lorren’s eyes drifted across my face, to Eric’s, and back He nodded once “And the second angel… ” Lorren’s neck snapped inThere’d been tootheel who used the stone to stop Kreturus is also here, isn’t he?”

Eric’s face pinched in confusion as he looked fro about?”

“Tell him,” I said to Lorren But Lorren just looked up at him with pinched eyes “I already know There’s no point in hiding the damn stone I’m on your side, and if you believed me the first two tier coursed throughabout to slip away Spinning onolden flowers I no longer cared what they were or who they were They were dead Like everyone else on earth would be if they kept playing gas “Tell him!”

Lorren’s dark eyes , “Satan’s Stone has two parts They separate after they are used One half finds the next owner, while the previous half remains with the last owner The stone knoho it’s destined to go to” Lorren looked at me, as if to ask if he had to continue He finally looked back at Eric, and said, “Soer have it Ivy has the one half of Satan’s Stone hanging around her neck—it found her, the way it should have” Lorren glanced at me as if to ask if I was really sure

I nearly bit his head off, “TELL HIM!”

Lorren bit down, and returned his gaze to Eric Eric watched the two of us, saying nothing Lorren finally spit it out, “The second angel who used Satan’s Stone, the angel that was there when they sealed Kreturus into his toel, Eric You were a Seraphim, a warrior The cost of the stone made you mortal The price was different for you than it was for s were ripped off my back and I was hurled into the Underworld to spend the rest ofto Eric, “you had a different destiny The stone wasn’t finished with you, yet You were granted hurew up, and were marked as a Martis Althea, swore to me she’d find you and raise you She kneho you were, and she knew she’d die by your hand It was the cost—the cost of the stone So was everything that happened after You were one of the few uncorrupt Martis, because you were an angel first You saw right fro, even if they didn’t You’re a Valefar now, because of… ”

Eric cut hilared at me

But Lorren rose and stood in front of him, “No You are alive because of her You are a Valefar, if you can call it that, because of the cost of the stone You were put into a perpetual state of change where you can’t control the things around you You cannot save her You cannot save anything You merely survive That is your curse That was your cost” Lorren tilted his head toward me and said, “I have no idea what her cost will be”

Eric looked crestfallen His gaze shifted from Lorren to the floor as he pushed his hands out of his hair “Nothing’s as it seems, is it?” Lorren shook his head Eric looked up, “So the other half of the stone is… ”