It seemed like all the agony I had felt vanished into thin air. My palm no longer burned but became iced. A stack of cubed ice sat on my palm, and I didn't want this coldness to disappear. Ever.

I was held by someone; their grip around me was hard but gentle. My feet swung freely in the air as I tried to move them because I thought I was on some solid surface.

My eyes slowly opened, and the first thing I saw was the crown of a tree and a clear sky full of stars. I ducked my head down, realizing I was sitting on Death's lap the entire time. What a great reality. His arm was wrapped around my stomach. My back was pressed against his, and my head rested under his chin.

When I moved my eyes down to the ground, I found Rowan, Keliah, and Azra fighting the demons. But they weren't fighting them alone. Creatures enveloped in a mist with their skull heads were helping them.

I moved by an inch, and Death's reflexes caught me before I could move further. "Don't move." He whispered, and his chilly breath hit my face.

I swallowed the bile that ascended into my throat. I loathed high places. I closed my eyes, and I took a deep breath. "What are those beings?" I wondered and felt as Death's hand tightened harder around me, like I could fall any minute down.

"My reapers," he answered.

"Death is trying to keep them away from humans. He's manipulating their minds. But even he has his limits. He's exhausted, V. And Death has to be in the best condition to collect souls. Even his reapers cannot manage it by themselves." I recalled Azra's words.

"Where are you not helping them?" I asked and turned my face to face his shadowy face.

He chuckled in his deep, unhuman voice and spoke, "And who would protect you, pretty girl?"

I snapped my head back as I felt a flush on my cheeks. "I can protect myself." I stated.

Both of his hands traveled to my wrists, and then they grabbed them. "Look what you've done." His eerie voice brushed against my ear.

I stared at my burned palms. I pushed away the tears that wanted to escape because I was brave. I saved myself, and Death won't bring my self-esteem down.

"Fuck." He suddenly seethed.

I shifted my gaze to the fight that was no longer happening because a woman with long, icy hair and horns stood between the demons and reapers. She wore a long, light blue dress with two slits down her thighs. She looked inhumanly divine. Her eyes held no color; they were simply white.

Death immediately shifted down and left me chained to the branches of the tree. I figured those were not real chains but mind manipulations. He made me believe that I was chained. I tugged on them, but they were unmovable.

Then the world around us went black, and we were no longer outside of the hospital but in some kind of Death's hell. A huge wild storm.

"Don't want any witnesses?" She said to him with a voice like honey. So pleasing to the ears.

"Shouldn't you be killing humans somewhere far away? Because here are all humans rotten." Death said, and then chuckled.

She didn't respond; instead, she looked around, stopping at Rowan. But then her gaze immediately moved to me. I was pretty high at the top of the crown, but she saw me anyway.

"Is she rotten as well? Or why is it that you're still interested in a mere human, Death." She quietly asked, and it made my arm hair rise up.

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The demons and reapers all collectively peered at Death.

Death stared to hysterically laugh, slapping his thigh. We all gawked at him with open jaws.

That bastard began to sing.

"Twinkle twinkle little star, mind your business, you nosey bitch."

And that's the moment when it all went south.

Death began to fight with the demons with his scythe, and the reapers' joined him. The female demon was no longer between the chaos but right next to me.

I flinched and screamed so loudly that I was heard on the other side of the planet. Death turned around and sighed. That bastard sighed when it was his fault I was chained to these branches. In a split second, I was teleported to the ground. That didn't stop the female demon from following me.

Immediately, I felt Death's presence behind me. His slender fingers clutched my arms. And right then, in all the chaos and fighting, I realized why I was targeted by these wild demons.

"STOP!" I yelled.

Everyone stopped their fighting movement in mid-air, and they all snapped their gazes at me.

I was breathing like I ran miles, but I couldn't stop shivering, and breathing was the only thing that was helping me to stand on my feet.

"Why do you want to kill me?" I asked the female demon who was piercing her white eyes at me.

"The answer is standing behind you, human."

And my theory was confirmed.

This 'woman' was clearly jealous. I could see in her eyes how much she hated that Death was near me and protecting me. Wanting me.

"This all happened because you-" I whirled, pointing at Death. "You fucked up a relationship with this demon? We could've died because of jealousy. My house was ruined because of this!" I shouted.

I turned quickly to the female demon. "And why are you interested in someone who clearly doesn't want you?"

She began to sprint at me before Death slammed her to the ground with a wave of his scythe. She was in a second up to her feet, raging at me.

"Wait!" I yelled before one of the reapers threw her to the ground, ready to slice her throat.

She wasn't dead, since only the weapon I used could kill her. I didn't feel bad for her because she wanted me dead. However, I wanted to talk this out before they end her life.

The wild demons weren't happy to see that their leader was scattered. They began to fight once again. My only priority was to find the dagger I killed the other demon with. Death was still behind me, looking into nowhere. So I slammed myself against him and searched his pockets until I detected something solid, but it was too long and-

My bad.

I moved my hand further and found the sharp tip of the dagger. I swiftly pulled it out, and it no longer burned. It had no side effect on me.

Death immediately grabbed my wrist, trying to take it back for me, but I ran out of his grasp just a second later and raced to the female demon. I crouched down to her body and pressed the sharp tip of the blade to the center of her chest, as Azra recommended.

"Don't try to move, or else I'm stabbing you." I said sternly. A smirk appeared on her face.

"Don't act like you're better than me, human. After all, you killed your father." She said and then laughed viciously.

My eyes widen. "How do you know about that?" I said, and I pressed the blade deeper into her skin.

She huffed and rolled her eyes. "Who do you think suggested him to kill you? To give him that idea?" The smile vanished from her face, and her eyes darkened. "Don't be mistaken, though; he wanted to get rid of you and that old hag." She seethed, and I pressed the dagger so deep into her chest that the whole blade was inserted inside as if the skin swallowed it.

Her body turned to mere ashes.

I rose up, feeling their stare on me. I just killed another demon. Their leader, I suppose. Do I care? Not one bit. That bitch was calling for it.

One by one, the remaining demons chose to leave willingly, and quickly as if they didn't witnessed the demons death.

When I moved past Death and the reapers, the grass was overfilled with trays of ashes. I grimaced at the look of it.

Rowan's eyes sliced through me, but I chose to keep my gaze on the ground. I needed a minute or two to compose myself. To realize what I was capable of.

Because the dagger no longer burned in my hand. Because instead of burning my skin, it gave me a curse. My right hand was slowly spreading with blackness. I hid it immediately in my pocket and steadied my breath.

I had no clue what it meant; however, something within me changed. A new flame flickered inside me, and I loved the feeling of it.

The mist and fog were exchanged for rain. The weather in this town changes rapidly. Droplets of rain splashed on my face; I had to tilt my head back and enjoy the feeling. Thousands of tiny raindrops landed on my body per second.

"Vivienne," Death called me, but I shut my eyes and started to giggle. I didn't mind that something was clearly wrong with me or that I ran my cursed hand through my wet hair, and everyone could notice it.

"Vivienne, what did you do?" Death's voice alarmed me again.

But as I opened my eyes and saw that the rain had cast the ashes into nothingness, I began to slowly move my feet, and then run towards the woods behind the hospital.