Chapter 9 Chapter 9
Bailey’s POV
When I woke up, all I could see was white light.
Great. I’m dead. Fantastic. Now where’s that blasted Virgil to guide me through the nine circles of hell?
After a moment, the light faded—and suddenly, I was standing in the Black Forest again.
Wait. What? Did I just teleport myself?
“Not quite,” a new voice said, high-pitched and oddly amused. “But don’t worry, you’ll get to teleportation soon enough!”
I spun around, startled. The figure behind me was a man—tall, broad-shouldered, all lean muscle and unsettling stillness. His shoulder-length black hair was braided like a Viking heading to war. But what froze me were his eyes. Pitch black. No pupils. No blinking. Just like Nathaniel’s.
Oh, great. There were more of them. As if one wasn’t already enough of a full-time nightmare.
He wore plain mercenary-style clothes—shirt, pants, belts, the whole “mysterious dark warrior” starter pack. But his skin looked wrong: grayish, almost like it had been molded from clay and forgotten in the rain.
“And who the hell are you supposed to be?” I asked. “And why am I in the Black Forest again?”
He smiled—wide, sharp, vicious.
“I see you remember the place. Sorry to disappoint you, but you’re not actually here.”
He grinned wider.
“Say what now?”
“We’re in your head,” he said, then laughed like a man who had way too much fun with his own jokes. “You’re still unconscious in the doctor’s lab!”
Perfect. So not only was I half-dead—I also had creepy dream visitors.
“So I used this opportunity to finally meet you—the new owner of the Black Heart!”
Oh, great. Another fan of the creepy cosmic parasite in my chest.
“And yes,” he said, as if reading my thoughts—because of course he was—“I am here to see if you have any idea how much trouble you’re in!” He laughed again, hands over his mouth, his voice echoing in my skull.
I glared at him. “Just who the hell are you?”
He stopped laughing, tilted his head, and smiled like a predator. “I have many names. But the one that stuck is… The First Born.”
My stomach dropped. I knew that name. Nathaniel mentioned him in the alley—with Tristan.
Wait—Tristan! Where was he?
“Oh, don’t worry about him, sweet girl,” the First Born crooned. “He’s safe. For now.”
The way he smiled made safe sound like a bad joke.
“You know where he is.”
“Well, of course I do. I know many things. After all, I’m a thousand years old.” He waved it off like he was talking about his gym membership. “And as for that cute little escape plan you’re cooking up—it’s possible, but you’re far too weak right now to wake him.”
My heart sank. “If the Black Heart can’t wake him, then what can?!”
“Oh no, no, no,” he said, wagging a finger. “The heart can. You just can’t. Not in your current state.”
This mind-reading nonsense was really starting to grate on my nerves.
“First of all, get out of my head!” I snapped. “Second, what do you mean I can’t? I thought this heart was the most powerful thing in this world! I saw what Nathaniel could—”
Suddenly, my throat closed. I tried to speak, but no sound came out.
“Urgh,” he sighed. “Such rude language. You were getting a little too chatty.”
My glare could have melted steel.
“Relax,” he said. “It’s hard to be out of your head when we’re literally in it. And you’re far from strong enough to block me, darling. Anyway—yes, the heart is the most powerful thing here. But…” He made an exaggerated “O” with his fingers. “When it gets a new host, it resets to stage zero.”
My throat loosened again, and I coughed. “Stage zero? Seriously? That’s lame.”
“Why am I here?” I demanded. “What do you actually want?”
"Oh, don’t worry,” he said sweetly. “You’ll figure that out soon enough. But for now—you really should learn to control your new abilities. You don’t want to hurt anyone else.”
The image of the Titan’s lifeless body flashed before me. I flinched. The guilt never fully went away.
“Ooooh,” he said, eyes glinting. “Already spilled some blood, have we? The darkness is taking root. You’d better hurry, before you end up like his dark, dark, dark highness!”
I wanted to scream. “You’re not making any sense!”
“Patience,” he said, placing a hand over his chest in mock hurt. “I’m here to help you understand. Think of me as your… mentor. Teacher. Coach.” His grin widened. “The first stage of the heart’s power is me.”
“So… I have to level up? Like in World of Warcraft?”
He blinked. “What is Warcraft?”
“You’re seriously missing out.”
“You humans have strange habits,” he muttered.
“Oh, humans are weird now?” I shot back. “Have you seen yourself in a mirror lately?”
He flicked his wrist, and a golden mirror appeared, hovering in the air. He studied his reflection—and, yep, checked out his own ass.
“Oh my God.”
“Hmm. Nothing wrong here,” he said cheerfully. “Would you like to look at yourself?”
“Focus!” I snapped. “You said the heart has stages—hello?!”
He blinked like he’d just woken from a nap. “Ah, yes, yes! The more you use the heart’s magic, the more powerful it becomes. Each new ability—say, teleportation—marks a new stage. But the stronger you get, the darker you become.”
“So if I don’t use it, it won’t get dark?”
He clicked his tongue. “Nope. Doesn’t work like that, sweetheart. The heart wants what the heart wants—and this one craves darkness. Refuse it, and the pain will only get worse. In the end, it’ll consume you—and everyone you care about.”
A chill ran down my spine. “There has to be a way to control it.”
“There is,” he said softly. “But it starts with you. Let go of your fear. Use the power often. If you don’t…” He leaned close, voice dropping to a whisper. “It will destroy you. The dark heart always needs a host. If it breaks free… it’ll devour everything.”
Fantastic. A save-the-world quest, just what I needed.
“Easier said than done!” I groaned. “You try getting rid of fear and anxiety!”
He chuckled. “Oh, I never said it would be easy. It’ll be painful. There will be loss. Tragedy. But only you can conquer it. Conquer your inner darkness, and you’ll control the heart’s.”
I rolled my eyes. “More cryptic nonsense. Can’t anyone just give me a manual?”
“How did Nathaniel do it?” I asked. “He seemed… in control.”
The First Born laughed—loud, sharp, genuine.
“Oh, sweet girl. He’s the least in control of anyone. Why do you think his brother did all this? Nathaniel was one step away from destroying everything.”
I froze. “Then why am I—”
He waved me off. “You’re different. You have something he doesn’t.”
“What do you mean? What do I have?”
He grinned. “That’s for me to know and you to find out. Spoilers ruin the fun.”
Unbelievable.
“Okay, ta-ta now!” he said, waving cheerfully. “Our time’s up! You’re about to wake up in five—four—” He folded his fingers one by one.
“Wait! I have more questions, you can’t just—”
“—three, two, one!”
The last thing I saw was his devilish grin, and the glint of black fire in his eyes as he whispered:
“Good luck surviving what comes next, sweet girl.”
Then the world snapped back into blinding white.