That shocked me. Jordan had been hurt that Stephen had dumped her and had been seen with me. But maybe he’d been trying to save her.

Maybe. I wasn’t convinced that Stephen was capable of anything that selfless.

Natalie got my attention again by grabbing my hand tightly and I looked at her with alarm.

“You must get the dagger so that we can escape, Samantha. They can’t find me. And if they find out what you are, they’ll see you as just as much of an anomaly as I am. My hunger isn’t as bad as it was. I can control it now. I’ll admit I did some damage here before I realized what was happening. I’m not proud of it.” She scanned the lounge with dismay. “But, just like with you, I believe the others’ hunger will fade in time if they resist it. Humans can survive just fine without their soul. It’s not really needed and it frees them in so many ways. Stephen is a perfect example of this. He’s stronger now than he ever was before.”

He’d told me the same thing. Having a soul had weighed him down, filled him with doubt and unhappiness. Now he was improved. Better. If Natalie was right and the hunger began to fade, then could it really be okay for grays—unsouled humans—to live side by side with regular humans?

If they felt anything like I did, then I didn’t see why not.

“You and I need to get out of this city tonight,” she said firmly. “Tomorrow at the very latest. There’s no time to waste. No one else needs to get hurt. Please, Samantha. We’re family. We need each other, especially now.”

“My father…” I whispered. “Is he okay? Can I see him?”

“Bring me the dagger and I’ll take you directly to him. He’s the one who wanted me to find you again.”

“So you’re saying that he got out, too? He escaped the Hollow with you?”

She gazed into my eyes and I realized hers had welled with tears. “I can’t tell you anymore right now. First you must prove yourself to me. But let me say that Nathan will be so happy to see you, so proud of how beautiful you’ve become. He’d do anything for you, just as he would have for Anna.”

My father. A demon who fell in love with an angel. Who’d followed her without hesitation into an endless black pit knowing that there might be no way back. But there was—Natalie was the proof of it. This Hollow place…it wasn’t what everyone thought it was. It wasn’t the end.

I would have thought that I’d be afraid of a demon, but I wasn’t. I wanted to see him. I wanted to know him.

To do that I had to help Natalie. I had to get Bishop’s dagger.

“I want to go now,” I said softly.

“Please think about everything I’ve told you. You’re my only hope now, Samantha. And your parents—I know both of them would be so proud of how you’ve turned out. You are so very special, never doubt it.”

Slowly, carefully, I got up off the sofa, testing my legs and finding them solid enough to walk on. Stephen watched as I moved toward the stairs, but he didn’t make a move to stop me.

Was it all true, what Natalie had just told me? Grays were under control except for a few exceptions that Bishop’s team could take care of. Their hunger would fade if they didn’t give in to it. My gifts came from the powers of both Heaven and Hell combined. And I had the ability to open a hole in the barrier with Bishop’s dagger and help my aunt escape before she was hunted down and killed for being different.

I started down the stairs, barely able to focus on the direction I was headed. My conversation with Natalie buzzed in my head, threatening to overwhelm me.

Bishop didn’t know what I was. He’d been just as confused as anyone else about why I was able to do what I did. Just as confused as I was about our strange connection and the fact that whenever we were near each other, I couldn’t stop thinking about kissing him.

Carly was still with Paul in the booth in the corner. I didn’t want to interrupt them, but I did want to say a quick hello before I took off. By the looks of things, their date had progressed at a rapid rate. They’d moved straight from chicken wings to rounding first base.

It was sort of funny, actually. Carly had never been the most forward girl in the world. I knew for a fact she and Colin hadn’t kissed until their fifth date. This was only her and Paul’s first date and—

Wait a minute.

Carly was kissing Paul. Passionately. Didn’t she remember what that meant?

I raced over to their table and grabbed her arm. “Carly, wait! You can’t—”

When she turned to look at me I almost screamed. Her eyes were black, completely black, and the look in them, like a predator that had been interrupted while feasting on its prey, turned me ice-cold inside.

Paul slumped next to her in the booth. His breath came in rapid gasps, like he was having trouble getting any air into his lungs. His expression was frozen, his eyes glazed and there were strange black, branching lines around his mouth that immediately faded away. His skin was pale, like a ghost.

That wasn’t just a first kiss…Carly had been feeding on his soul. Right here in the middle of Crave.

As I watched her with horror, her eyes shifted back to their normal blue, and the cold look on her face vanished. She smiled up at me. “Hey, I didn’t know you were here yet.”

“I—I’m here.” My gaze quickly moved between her and Paul. He was recovering himself enough to pick at the French fries in front of him.

“Hey, Sam,” he said. “How’s it going?”