ARIA'S POV
Pier 19 smelled like death and salt water.
I stood in the shadows, watching thirty armed men surround a black limousine. My supernatural senses told me the real boss sat inside that car. His evil tasted worse than anything I'd felt before—thick, rotten, ancient.
But there was something else. Someone else.
Another presence nearby. Powerful. Watching. Hunting.
Not the boss. Someone hunting the boss. Or maybe hunting me.
I pushed the thought away. Focus on the mission.
"Remember," Samael's voice whispered in my ear even though he wasn't visible, "thirty men means roughly twelve hours of your life if you kill them all. Choose wisely who dies tonight."
Twelve hours. Half a day gone.
But these weren't just gang members. These were traffickers. The files I'd seen while crawling through the warehouse showed their operation—they sold children. Hundreds of children. To monsters all over the world.
Twelve hours was a bargain.
I stepped out of the shadows.
"Hey!" I called out. "Looking for a bride? I'm right here!"
All thirty guns pointed at me.
The limousine door opened. An old man stepped out. Seventy years old at least, but his eyes were sharp and cruel. This was the Red Dragon Triad boss.
"The Chen girl," he smiled. "I heard you killed fifteen of my men."
"I did. Want to make it forty-five?"
He laughed. "You've got spirit. I like that. Makes breaking you more fun." He gestured to his men. "Bring her to me. Alive. Barely."
They rushed at me.
I moved.
Three seconds. Four bodies.
Touch, touch, touch, touch. Hearts stopping like lights switching off.
The rest started shooting. Bullets flew everywhere. I dodged between them, my new body moving like water, like wind, like death itself.
Two more men down. Six total.
But something was wrong. My senses screamed danger from a different direction.
I spun around just as something slammed into me—not a bullet, but a person. Someone moving as fast as I was.
We crashed into a shipping container. The metal dented from the impact.
I looked up into ice-blue eyes that glowed gold in the darkness.
A man. Maybe thirty years old. Platinum-silver hair. Face so handsome it looked carved from marble. But his expression was cold. Deadly.
"What are you?" he demanded, pinning me against the container with strength that matched mine.
"Get off me!" I shoved him back. He flew ten feet and landed in a crouch, ready to attack again.
"You're the new supernatural presence," he said. His voice was deep and arctic cold. "I felt you wake up an hour ago. What kind of demon are you?"
"I'm not a demon! I'm—" Bullets hit the container behind me. The gang members were still shooting.
The silver-haired man moved in a blur. His fist connected with the nearest gunman's face. The man's neck snapped. Dead instantly.
"You're fast," I said.
"You're faster." He grabbed another gang member and threw him into three others. They all went down in a tangle. "But I've been hunting creatures like you for twenty years. Whatever deal you made, whatever you've become, I'm taking you down."
"These men are traffickers!" I shouted, killing two more gang members who got too close. "They sell children! Why are you stopping me?"
"Because you're a killer with supernatural powers. That makes you my target." His eyes glowed brighter. "I don't care if you think you're doing good. Demons always justify their kills."
The boss started running for his limousine.
"No!" I sprinted after him.
Silver-hair grabbed my arm. "You're not killing anyone else tonight."
I spun and touched his chest—tried to stop his heart like the others.
Nothing happened.
His eyes widened. Then narrowed. "So that's your power. Interesting. Doesn't work on me."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm cursed, not created. Different rules." He twisted my arm behind my back. "Now stop fighting and—"
An explosion rocked the pier.
The boss's limousine burst into flames. Someone had blown it up from the inside. The old man's screams filled the air as he burned.
"What the hell?" Silver-hair released me, staring at the flames.
From the smoke, a figure walked out. A woman. Young, maybe my age. Beautiful with long red hair and a smile that made my skin crawl.
"Well, well," she purred. "Two supernatural killers in one night. Lucky me."
Her eyes glowed purple. Not gold like Samael's. Not gold like silver-hair's. Purple like poisoned wine.
"Another one?" Silver-hair growled. "How many deals were made tonight?"
The red-haired woman laughed. "Just mine. I made my deal six months ago. Been hunting traffickers ever since." Her purple eyes locked on me. "But you're new. Fresh. Still adjusting to your powers." She tilted her head. "What did you trade? Years? Emotions? Your soul?"
"That's none of your business," I said.
"Oh, but it is. See, there can only be one supernatural vigilante in this city." She raised her hands. Fire appeared in her palms. "And I was here first. So either you leave New York, or I kill you."
"Try it," I said.
Silver-hair stepped between us. "Both of you stop. I'm taking you both in."
"Who the hell are you?" the red-haired woman demanded.
"Kael Dante Ashford. Head of Dante Security. I hunt supernatural threats for a living." His eyes glowed brighter. "And you're both coming with me."
"Dante Security?" The woman's face went pale. "The hunter? The cursed one?"
"That's me." Kael pulled out two silver handcuffs. "These are blessed. They'll suppress your powers. Now both of you, hands out."
"I'm not going anywhere," I said. "I just started my mission. Twenty-four more years to clean up this city."
"Twenty-four years?" Kael's eyes locked onto mine. "You traded lifespan? How much?"
"Half. Twenty-five years."
His expression changed. Just for a second. Something like pain crossed his face. "You idiot. Do you know what that means? Every time you use your powers, you burn more time. You'll be dead in five years at this rate."
"Better than doing nothing!"
The red-haired woman shot fire at both of us. "Stop talking and start dying!"
I dodged left. Kael dodged right. The flames hit three more gang members who'd been creeping closer. They screamed and burned.
"Now there are only fifteen left," the woman smiled. "Makes my job easier."
The remaining gang members ran for their cars.
Kael cursed. "If they escape, they'll spread word about all of us. The supernatural world will know there are three active hunters in New York."
"Then we stop them," I said.
"Together?" He looked at me like I was crazy.
"You want them dead. I want them dead. She wants them dead." I pointed at the red-haired woman. "Enemy of my enemy?"
Kael hesitated. Then nodded once. "After they're down, I'm taking you both in."
"Try it," the woman and I said at the same time.
The three of us moved as one.
It was chaos. Beautiful, violent chaos. Kael fought with brutal efficiency—breaking necks, crushing skulls, moving like a demon himself. The red-haired woman burned everything she touched, laughing the whole time. I stopped hearts with gentle touches, feeling each kill cost me another half-hour of life.
Three minutes later, all fifteen gang members lay dead.
The pier was silent except for burning wreckage and our heavy breathing.
Kael turned to face us. "Now—"
The red-haired woman vanished. Just disappeared in a burst of purple smoke.
"Teleportation," Kael cursed. "Of course she has that."
We stood alone on the pier. Me and this beautiful, deadly hunter who wanted to capture me.
His glowing eyes studied me. "You're not a demon. I can tell. You were human once."
"I still am human."
"No. You're something else now." He took a step closer. "Why did you make the deal? What happened to you?"
"That's none of your business."
"It is if you're killing in my city."
"Your city? I was born here. This is MY city."
We stood three feet apart. Both ready to fight. Both knowing we were somehow equally matched.
"Last chance," Kael said quietly. "Come with me. Let me help you break the contract before it kills you."
"I don't want to break it. I want to use it."
"Then you're an idiot and a danger." He pulled out a phone. "I'm calling my team. They'll be here in five minutes with containment equipment."
"I won't be here in five minutes."
I turned to run.
His hand caught my wrist. "Where will you go? You can't hide from me. I can feel your supernatural presence across the entire city now. You're marked in my senses."
"Then I guess you'll be seeing a lot of me." I twisted free of his grip. "Stay out of my way, hunter. I have monsters to kill and a very limited amount of time to do it."
I ran. My supernatural speed carried me off the pier in seconds.
Behind me, Kael's voice called out: "Aria Chen! I know your name! Your face! Everything about you! You can't hide!"
How did he know my name?
I kept running, my heart pounding.
Not from fear. From something else. Something I didn't want to name.
That hunter—Kael Dante Ashford—was the most dangerous man I'd ever met.
And I would see him again. Soon.
My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number:
"Interesting first night, little killer. You made two enemies: the fire girl and the cursed hunter. Both want you dead or captured. But here's the fun part—Kael's curse? It breaks if he falls in love. And you, sweet Aria, are the only person who can break it. His soul recognized yours the moment you touched. Sweet dreams. - S"
I stopped running and stared at the text.
No.
No, that was impossible.
Samael was lying. Playing games.
But my hand still tingled where Kael had touched my wrist.
And something deep inside me had recognized him too.