You are going to set your species free. I hear those words over and over as I adjust to the warm light of the morning. I leave Cain sleeping in my bed and I take a quick shower. Even if there is a way to set us free, how could I be the one to do it? I've already begged Cain to ring the bell and leave but he won't do it until he consumes me and he won't do that anytime soon. Marina is vastly overestimating the influence I have over him. I think he'd give me anything, he'd allow me to change him in many ways, but that would be too far. I can't make a difference.

I fold my arms as I watch him sleep. I already feel like I'm betraying him, like I'm conspiring against him just like Saffron did. It feels wrong to keep this from him, to hide the plans Marina is conducting, but my desire for the humans to be free is greater than anything else within me. It comes first.

I lay back down with my body wrapped in the towel, throwing my wet hair behind my shoulders. Watching him sleep is so strange. It's easy to mistake him for a human. He looks so peaceful and calm. Not the mighty, intimidating creature that millions are afraid of. He spent the whole night with me because he sensed that I was upset. I'm not anymore. I take out a book from my nightstand and I start reading some hopeless, doomed love story. Around thirty minutes pass until I feel him stirring, his arms stretching above his head as he rubs his eyes and turns to look at me.

He smiles. "Hey."

"Good morning," I say.

"How are you?"

"I'm feeling better."

"Good." His hand flips my book shut and I bite on my lip as he throws it to the end of the bed. "What are you wearing that dreadful towel for?"

"Because I've had a shower." I laugh out as he pulls my legs down the bed, my back hitting the soft mattress. "I was at a really good part."

He drums his fingers down my arm and rolls his eyes. "Would you like me to retrieve the book?"

"I'll read it later," I say as his face comes closer to mine. Our lips meet through our smiles, my fingers squeeze against the back of his head. I breathe in his beautiful scent. All creatures have a nice scent, they always smell clean even if they don't wash themselves. Cain smells like a spring field. His skin is so thick that I don't think odour can leak from it. I often wonder if he can even feel my touch against him at all but I don't care for the answer.

"I can't stop thinking about yesterday," he says, grinning to himself. "I can't get you out of my head."

"You liked it then?"

"That might be an understatement. I thought that feeding from you would be as good as it will ever get but I was wrong. Sex with you beats anything and everything."

My cheeks flush and I pat them in embarrassment. "It was pretty amazing. . . well the last part was."

"You felt pain," he whispers. "I didn't like that."

"It was a pain worth having."

"Will you feel it again?"

I laugh. "I don't know. The human body isn't very predictable."

He smiles and places his hand firmly to the back of my neck, gently pulling my face to his. "You are anything but predictable."

The kiss awakens the frenzy inside of me. I roll on top of him, pulling his shirt over his head and then I drag his sweatpants down his legs. I press my lips to his chest, trailing my kiss all over his torso. I get lower, meeting his eyes.

He twists his head curiously. "What are you doing?"

"I want to try something," I say. "Just go with it."

As my lips claim a new place of his body, Cain gasps out and rolls his head to the ceiling, his hand clinging to the back of my head. He tightens his grip on my hair and yanks so hard that I fall sideways.

"How are you doing that?" he demands breathlessly. "My nerve endings are-"

"Stop being factual," I growl at him.

I bring my lips back up his stomach, softly placing them against his throat. I sit astride his waist and his hand tugs below us. The sudden pressure pushes my body forwards into him.

"Lose the towel," he says against my ear.

I drop the towel to the floor and our bare skins embrace. We writhe against each other, our lips crushing so strongly that I'm worried he might bite my tongue in half. We are so happy. So happy it shouldn't be possible. And the pleasure is unlike anything either of us have ever felt before. He was right, it is like we are one soul. One body. One mind. One everything.

+ + +

"What are you thinking about?" he asks me. I've been staring at the window for a while, rolled into his side to keep myself warm.

I'm thinking about the humans out there right now, terrified as they are dragged by their owners into a dark room to be fed on, never knowing if today is the day they will die. While I, the one that actually gets the afterlife, is laying beside the one that brought them here. No fear. No pain. How can I even allow myself to be happy right now when they are still suffering?

"Nothing," I say.

"Marina has asked if she can take you for a walk to the river," he says. "She's hard to say no to."

"You trust her," I say.

"She is the only one that I do trust. You were there last night; you saw how passionate she is about human lives." He sighs to himself. "She only brought us here to kill off the adults. Even with the law of thirteen, she still remains pissed with me about something."

I smile. "Because she knows that thirteen is still too young."

"She's been obsessed with finding us a planet better than this one so we'll leave your species alone," he mumbles. "She hasn't been successful so far. It could be decades before she does."

I swallow, distancing myself from him as I turn and sit at the edge of the bed. By then, there will be even less of us. There are millions now but in decades the creatures will solely be relying on the breeding centres. I didn't even give birth to Jackson and I know that I'd protect him from anything, that I'd give my life for him. I can't even imagine how it would actually feel to have my own child and have to say goodbye.

"Marina's visit has timed well," Cain says. "I'll be away from the palace for the entire day. I have business to attend with, starting with the new nannery. Marina will keep you safe until I return."

"Can you find out if Jase is still alive?" I say, turning back to him. His body tenses slightly. He knows exactly who Jase is, even without me ever mentioning him. The image of our goodbye kiss is bright in his eyes.

"Yes," he says. "I will find out."

"He fathered ten children," I say, rising from the bed. "Four of the mothers died. It broke his heart that he could not meet them."

"I hope he has that chance now."

"Me too."

We both get dressed separately. I pick out a black sweater from the wardrobe along with blue jeans and a leather jacket. Cain is about to leave but he changes his mind at the last second and walks across the room. Even when I'm hating myself, I cannot resist him. It's the most frustrating thing.

"You should go," I say. "Christian will be here soon."

He leans his lips into my forehead. I close my eyes. "Have a nice day."

I stay silent as he backs up and leaves the room. What's more frustrating than being close to him is being apart from him. It's been mere seconds and I want to call him back. I don't know what to do with these emotions, I don't know even know who I am anymore.

I shout for Christian to enter when the door knocks, I pace back and forth as I hear his key turn in the lock. I could unlock it myself but I don't want to be so close to him right now. After his confession last night, things might be awkward between us for a while. He can't change how he feels and I can't give him the truth as to why I don't feel that way back. I just know I need him in my life, as a friend, as a close friend. I can't give him more than that.

"Morning," he says quietly, not looking at me as he sets the breakfast tray down. He takes the cover off and clears his throat. "I made you an egg omelette. I know you've never tried it but I can make you something else if you don't like it."

"Why are you being so formal?" I say.

"Is there anything else I can get for you?"

"Christian," I say, taking a step towards him. He moves backwards, keeping his eyes on the floor. "Please don't be like this."

"Is there anything else?" he whispers.

"Aren't you staying?"

He shakes his head. "No, I have to cook breakfast for the other girls." He lifts his warm brown eyes to mine and for a second I think that there are tears in them but he drops them quickly and turns towards the door. "Bye."

I drop into the chair and rub my temples. He's embarrassed about last night, he probably thinks he's destroyed our friendship. Even if I did feel that way, what hope do we have? What hope is there for us at all? Christian has kept me sane over the last few weeks, he's been my only source of company and comfort on the loneliest days of my life but I never gave him any indication that it could be more. I never wanted him to fall for me. I don't know how to make this right.

I still think about him when Marina arrives. She wears a long, beige coat today with brown buttons and her short hair is tied back into a tight braid. I've only just finished my breakfast, it was delicious, so delicious that I hope I get the chance to thank Christian for it later.

"Cain has left," she says. "We still have to walk to the river though. His guards are always watching."

I nod and follow her out of the room. She stays at my side the entire time, just like Cain does. With news of me being completed spreading, it's more dangerous than ever to walk near the guards. I'm surprised he even allowed me to leave the room. I fold my arms, playing a game of dodge as the guards patrol the hallways. There seems to be less of them downstairs, they're more occupied with feeding in the lounges. We make it to the door undisturbed, but just as Marina is about to open it, a voice yells her name from our left.

"Yes, Bella?" Marina says quietly.

"You said you'd hear my piano piece," Bella says, her face scrunches into a scowl as she looks at me and then she smiles as she looks back to Marina. "I heard you are leaving today and I might not get another chance."

"I will hear it later," Marina says.

"That's what you said yesterday."

"What do you want from me?" Marina growls. "I'm busy right now. Go suck up to someone else."

Bella's eyes widen as Marina opens the door and walks outside. I bite on my lip to contain my smile as I breathe in the fresh air from the outside world. I jog down the steps, tugging my jacket closer together.

"I adore humans but not so much her," Marina says. "She is so infuriating."

We walk along a path that heads through the wet fields. It's raining slightly, I catch the drops in my fingertips, gazing up at the cloudy sky in awe. Being able to walk this far outside is a blessing. Apart from my walk with Cain, this is something I haven't done in eight years. We were able to walk around the grounds at the nannery but it was always the same routine, nothing new about it. Everything about this is new. I cast my eyes across the sky and I see the shape of wings soaring above us in groups.

Marina is observing them too. "The place where I'm taking you is just over that hill," she says, pointing to the curve in the near distance, just beyond the river. "It wouldn't take long to walk there but there are too many eyes."

"It's that close?" I say.

She nods. "Cain always keeps it close to him."

We reach the edge of the river and I stare down at the running water. It's not a large river, more of a stream, but it stretches for miles and miles north. Marina doesn't walk along it, she turns us into the woodland. She stands in front of me with her arms outstretched, pushing her chest slightly forwards. I squint at her.

"Hold on to me," she says, in an obvious tone.

"Oh."

I wrap my hands awkwardly around her and she squeezes her fingers into my back. I hear her wings release and I gasp as I stare at the enormous white creations, they are identical to Cain's. We're in the air in the next moment and I hold on tighter as she swerves to avoid the trees. I pinch my eyes closed as she takes us higher, feeling nauseous as she twists us quickly.

We're not in the air for very long. She touches down on the other side of the woodland, gently unclenching my tight grip from her shoulders.

"They can't see us from here," she says, looking at the sky. "The trees will block it."

She walks closer to the small clearing, resting her body against a tree trunk. She stares at something in the distance. I position myself at the other tree next to hers, my eyes finding something that resembles a large tower around ten miles in front of us. It's planted in the middle of nowhere, there's only damp land spread out for as far as the eye can see.

"What is that?" I say. There's something inside the tower, right at the top, but it's too far away for me to make it out.

Marina sighs. "The bell."

I look at her but she keeps her eyes forwards, observing the tower as though she's much closer to it than we are. "The one that evicts them?"

"It can do a lot more than just evict them," she whispers. "I have been lying to Cain, Aurora. I've been lying to him for a long time. I haven't been searching the planets for a new home for them. I have been searching for a completed soul like you." She turns and smiles at me. "I always hoped it would be here."

"That's why you return every month?" I say. "You were checking if he had found one yet."

"He has this unique gift of finding them," she says. "Even when he isn't looking. It's like they are always drawn to him and he to them. Our creators made it that way."

"What are we doing here?" I say.

"Haven't you ever wondered why Cain is the only one of our species that can touch it?" she says, twisting her head at the bell in the distance. "And why out of thousands of bidders, you ended up right next to him?"

"Not really."

"Because he is a completed soul too," she says. "Until you, he was the strongest one to exist. His existence was an accident but you are far from a mistake. To the rest of my kind, when Cain rings that bell then they have to release themselves and follow him into the universe." She stares at me, an expression of seriousness creases over her pale face. "It is a mystical bell, containing the energy from our creators. Apart from the sacred blade, it is the only thing they left us. But its true purpose is not to evict them."

I swallow fearfully. "What is its true purpose?"

"Any other human that touches that bell will die," she says. "Except for you. Only the one with the soul equivalent to a thousand pure can sound it—according to the legend—and kill them."

I drop my eyes as I take that in. It makes no sense that she would tell me that, that she would show me the very weapon that would kill her whole species, her own brother, herself. All I have to do is ring that bell and they all die? The world is free? The children are free? Cain is the last thing on my mind as I look at the tower and start pressing forwards. Marina's hand grips around my wrist, stopping my charge.

"It's not that simple," she says. "For one, the tower is guarded with at least a dozen of his best guards. And two, your soul cannot be split. Cain will have to transfer the pieces back."

"How the hell am I supposed to convince him to do that?" I demand.

"He thinks his strength will last decades," she mutters. "That's why he isn't feeding on you, isn't it?"

I nod. That's not the only reason but I don't trust her enough to know. "How do you know that?"

"Because if any other human was being fed on often then they wouldn't still be conscious after a flight like that," she says. "He's beginning to care for you. That can be dangerous but every single warning about this is written on that bell. Our existence was not intentional and our creators needed a way to preserve life once we became close to eradicating it. You are that prophecy."

"He won't transfer my soul back," I say. "It's made him immortal. He thinks we've connected; he built a world for me."

"Your life will inevitably matter above all of that," she says softly. "I give it a few more weeks until those soul pieces are crying out. The hunger will make him insane. He'll either have to feed on you or transfer."

"And if he feeds on me then we're both dead," I hiss. "He'll read my thoughts, he'll know everything."

She smiles. "He won't feed on you against your will. The connection won't allow him to."

"How are you so calm about this?" I say, rubbing my chest as I stare at the tower. "He's your brother."

"A brother that has lived thousands of lifetimes. Our species must die, it is the natural order. The fact you are changing him is just a small part of his destiny to die by your hand."

"No," I whisper. "I can't."

"You can't what?" She blinks at me, stepping towards me curiously. "You care for him too."

"Yes."

"That wasn't a part of the prophecy," she says in confusion. "Don't let your feelings complicate this. You have been destined to ring that bell since the moment you were born."

I look back to the tower, a strong sense of dread coming over me. My heart is splitting in two. Cain will die if I do it, she seems confident of that. But what if he doesn't? What if he is the only that can't die? I have to set the humans free; I know that more than anything, but there is something stopping me from being positive about it.

"I will return in a month," Marina says. "I'll have to think of a way to get around those guards but it shouldn't be too difficult. There's a planet of specimens that are experts in causing distractions to get something that they want. I'll gain some more knowledge."

"In one month the entire world could be free," I say, thinking of the sweet idea of hope. It's so close that I can taste it, I can see it, it's right across this field. "What will happen to all those that have died?"

"Their souls will be free," she says. "Those still alive will be whole again. The humans can start to rebuild their world." There is a sudden flutter from above us and she moves close to me cautiously. "Let's go."

She wraps her hands around me and shoots us up through the treetops. It was probably a bird but she doesn't take the chance. I keep my eyes wide open against her shoulder, tears streaming down my cheeks as I think of the choice I will have to make. The choice that isn't a choice at all.