I reeled back from Seth in shock. “My death?”

“It’s written all over you like a poem.” Madness glimmered in his eyes. “It’s your destiny, beautiful star. A necessary step of a longer journey.”

The angel had managed to put my darkest fear into words and throw them out on the cold night air as if they meant nothing at all—just a random observation.

“How can I stop it?” I asked tightly.

“You can’t.”

“I’ll fight it.”

“You can try. You’ll fail.”

I clenched my fists at my sides so tightly that my fingernails bit into my palms. I focused on that pain, and the pain in my ankle, and tried to think, to rationalize this.

Seth was crazy.

He said crazy things.

And yet...I knew that stasis was coming for me just like with Stephen. Stasis, that dark and deadly wraith in the distance, growing closer by the day.

“Go back to your little angel and his friends,” Seth suggested, standing up from the curb. “Enjoy the time you have left.”

I forced myself up as well and grabbed his arm. “Wait.”

I looked right into his eyes, trying to channel that part of my nexus ability that allowed me to read the minds of angels and demons. This hadn’t come with an instruction manual, but it was always waiting just below the surface for me to tap into.

And...yes...I could sense something, feel something. It was there, as if shining at the bottom of a dark pool of water...I just couldn’t reach it.

The others could block me if they tried hard enough. I could bust through it if given enough time. I pictured it like a tall, solid wall of ice. Ice cracked, and it could be broken.

“You spend too much time focusing on the wrong things, beautiful star. It will be your undoing. You obsess about your fallen angel, yet he’s not the only one to fall, is he? The girl fell far to the ground and death claimed her, locking her in its embrace.”

My breath caught. “Are you talking about Julie? Julie Travis? You know what happened at the mall? Why did she do that? Was there a reason for it?”

“There’s a reason for everything.” Seth glanced around our surroundings, the dark and empty street that made me think we were the only two in the city if it wasn’t for the buzz of activity a block ahead, back near the club. “Something has been released here, something beyond the gray. It devours all that is good. And the lost ones wander, their numbers growing daily. They search for escape, just as we all do. But they’re trapped, just like we all are. You already know this—you know more than you think you do.”

I was losing him again. For a moment, he’d almost been making sense. “What do I already know? Stop playing games with me, Seth.”

“Life is a game, beautiful star. One with a time limit. And it’s time to accept your destiny.”

“If my destiny is death, then I don’t accept it.”

“You have no choice.”

“There’s always a choice.” My anger had given me the strength that accepting defeat had bled away. This time I looked into Seth’s eyes with every bit of focus I possessed. He knew things. And damn it, I was going to find out what they were.

That mental wall was there, blocking my access to his thoughts and any truth he was trying to hide from me. I sensed the crack and pressed hard against it.

She’s not ready yet. But she will be  soon.

That was all I got before I was shoved right out of his mind and the crack in the wall closed up tight, smacking me in the face like a bungee cord. I staggered back and fell over my injured ankle, gasping with pain as I hit the ground hard. A car came around the corner, momentarily blinding me with its bright headlights as I struggled to rise to my feet and look around.

Seth was gone.

* * *

What the fallen angel had told me was like a storm pounding me on all sides. I felt battered and bruised as I hobbled back to the nightclub, shivering from the cold. I had to find Bishop and tell him what happened.

What Seth said could have been a pack of lies. Every rambled, crazy word of it. Talking to him had been a waste of my time.

She’s not ready yet. But she will be  soon.

Trying to figure out the workings of that fallen angel’s mind would wind up driving me crazy, too.

My hand stamp worked fine to get me back into Ambrosia, no questions asked. I retrieved my coat right away, hoping to chase some of the chill away, or at least attempt to ignore it as long as I could.

Clutching the handrail, I descended the sparkling, crystal staircase to get to the main club. Limping, I made my way through the crowd, the loud music filling my ears, the scent of the souls pressing in on me, threatening my focus.

The first person I recognized didn’t see me. Cassandra zipped by, so close I could feel the breeze she created with her swift movement. Roth was right behind her. He grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her into one of the alcoves, covered by the beaded curtain. I followed, confused.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Roth demanded.

“Away from you,” Cassandra replied angrily. “Now leave me alone.”

“Not going to happen.”

“Honestly, take a hint, demon. The farther away from you I am, the easier everything is.”

“Easy’s boring.”

“I’m here for a reason. And it’s not to entertain you.”

“Trust me. You’re not that entertaining.”

I pressed against the wall, favoring my ankle. I didn’t understand why Bishop would send them here together to search for Stephen. It was obvious to me how much they despised each other.