"You're a grandpa to a wonderful little boy now. I couldn't be more proud. And I'm never completely gone, you know that.” “But...” “The kindest thing fate ever did was grant my wish for you.”

“There is so much you never told me, taught me or shown me. How am I just supposed to figure it out?” “You don't have to figure it all out on your own. That's the great thing about being alive. You have your family and your friends to help you along the way.”

“You were there”, he realized. “You found a way to keep her at bay, but she's not your enemy.” Lilith told him, watching the confusion in his face. “She's just lonely.”

“I'm sorry you're forced to bear the burden I carried for so long” she apologized, and Lucian could sense the regret in her voice. She was speaking about the responsibility of being the King of the Demons that Lucian never wanted. The darkness that had almost destroyed them.

“You're doing a much better job than I could've ever done, but you have to admit Vincent is just as stubborn as you are”, she chuckled and Lucian could feel the stinging in his eyes. He had to admit, “You would've been a good mother too, if you had gotten the chance.”

“So you're leaving again?” “I'm already dead, I shouldn't be here in the first place. But I'm so glad I could be. Watching your children grow into such wonderful adults only made me realize how proud I am of you.”

“Mother, how are you–” was all he managed to say as he stared at her in disbelief. “It's a long story, but that's not what matters. I'm glad to be here and get a second chance at saying goodbye.”

Next thing he knew his mother took Elian's place, standing right in front of him. He already had a hunch that she had been present each time Elian was around. He had questioned every look but could never quite prove it. All he could feel was her presence.

"What's the matter?” he asked as he looked at both Charmeine and Elian, wondering if it had something to do with his work in the Underworld or him personally. “There is someone who would like to talk to you,” Elian confessed.

Charmeine stopped Lucian before he could leave like everyone else, “Do you have a minute?” “Sure.” With that she led him to another room where Elian was waiting.

The clapping from the direction of the door caught them all off guard, “Oh sorry, wrong time?” It was Vincent's father, there to support his wife.

It was the first time Vincent saw Chizuru tremble in actual fear. In this state his mother could've snapped her neck in seconds and it all would've been over. But she chose another form of torture, one that was way more effective.

"I'm going to let you walk out of here and watch you go live your little pathetic life, until 𝐼 decide it's time for it to end. And you're not going to know when or where. But I will be watching your every move, so I hope you keep that in mind. Because no one touches 𝑚𝑦 children!”

No one dared to say a word as she continued, because the tension in the room became so unbearable it was hard to breathe. “I could kill you, right here, right now. But I'm going to tell you what I'm going to do instead.”

All the noise seemed to have woken Chizuru up, but there was no time for her to recover. His mother was right at her side, throwing her to the ground like the feral animal she was. “You're going to listen, very carefully” she began, her voice so low it sounded more like a growl.

Vincent had to admit that his mother getting mad always scared him more than his father, because when she did there was no running away or escaping. You were at her mercy.

When the door slammed open a second time Elian flinched so hard Lilith disappeared again, and it was good she did. Because standing in the doorframe was Vincent's mother. And she was fuming. There was no need to add another thing to the list of reasons she was angry about.

“Elian says she can organize a portal to drop her off as far away as possible from us” Lilith suggested in her place. Vincent didn't really care, he just wanted all of this to be over. “Whatever, as long as she's gone”.

Lilith waited for someone to object but they kept quiet. The only ones in the room that could've had an opinion were Elian and Vincent anyway. “Alright then, where do you want to let her go? I assume it won't be anywhere near your homes.” “I heard Alaska is quite nice,” Vincent scoffed.

Chizuru was left sleeping peacefully, as if all the screams of agony had never happened. “I stripped her of everything I gave her, she's mortal now”, Lilith explained. “She will die of old age, unless one of you objects.”

Vincent went back into the room after he had called his mother to let her know what was happening. After all the history with Chizuru she deserved to know. And luckily the screaming had stopped.

𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘱𝘦𝘵, Lilith assured her. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯.

And not in a way that Lilith’s actions seemed to warrant—in a way that had Elian not been watching, she’d have thought the skin was being flayed from Chizuru’s bones. It was unnerving, but there was no way for her to hide or turn away. Or slip out of the room altogether, like Vincent.

Chizuru’s jaw ticked, but there was no fear in her eyes. “Thank you, Mistress.” Lilith hummed noncommittally. And then Chizuru began to scream.

Elian grumbled, but didn’t linger on it long, too worried about what would come after this. Vincent appeared similarly afflicted, pacing incessantly as Lilith and Charmeine talked, chewing on one ragged thumb nail. “I’m going to begin now,” Lilith finally announced. “I expect it will be painful.”

With Audrey safely tucked away and Vincent still reeling, the door firmly locked, Elian let Lilith loose again. Watched her open Chizuru’s robe to reveal the mark that had caused so much fuss. 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 my 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴? 𝘐 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.

“Come on, Audrey,” Elian interrupted, shaking her head at the confusion on Vincent’s face. “You need to stay in your room where it’s safe, okay? It’s not time to go out looking yet—you’ve got a little while longer.”

“Audrey,” she whispered, hurrying over to the meek woman, “I’ll come see you in a bit, okay? You don’t need to be in here.” She looked past Elian, blue eyes on Vincent as she asked, “Have you seen my boy?” “I—”

They ended their journey in the room that had belonged to Hypnos during their stay. “The bed,” Lilith ordered with a small gesture. Instantly, Chizuru obeyed. But before Lilith could do a single thing, there was a soft knock at the door, and a face that had Elian ripping control of her body back.

Elian was spared further conversation on the matter by Charmeine’s return. With her came Chizuru, who jerked in surprise at the sight of Lilith, constantly looking back at her over her shoulder as Charmeine dragged her through the house.

𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵, 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, Lilith reasoned. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘓𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘴—𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦.

“I don’t see why it’s necessary for you to be here 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭,” he grumbled. “Didn’t you do enough?” Lilith sighed. “Elian can explain it to you if she decides—I’m not here to pretend I was perfect or good or redeemable. But…she needed help. I provided it when no one else did.”

When their conversation was finished, their space decided upon, Charmeine excused herself to retrieve Chizuru, leaving Lilith to face Vincent’s stare alone. “I won’t stay any longer than necessary,” she told him, the distrust in his eyes only building.

It was a strange experience, listening to Lilith and Charmeine talk. Being looked at but not seen. Present but absent. But it wasn’t painful. It seemed far more uncomfortable for Vincent than it did for Elian. He’d not stopped watching her since she’d climbed into the backseat of her perspective.

“Thank you for everything,” Lilith said when Charmeine held her tighter, tears pricking in Elian’s non-corporeal eyes. Charmeine stepped back from the embrace with one final squeeze, dark gaze expectant. “Tell me what you need.”

“You had me questioning my intuition for a time,” she said through the smile taking over her face, before she stepped into Lilith’s outstretched arms. “My dearest friend,” Lilith whispered into her shoulder. “I’ve missed you.”

Elian wasn’t sure it had worked—nothing seemed different at first. Only when Charmeine spoke could she tell something must have changed outwardly.

𝘜𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘻𝘶𝘳𝘶 𝘰𝘶𝘵, Lilith said. 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺? 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘰, Elian sighed back. 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘹? 𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘹.

Lilith chuckled in Elian’s head. 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵—𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. “Let’s step inside,” Elian suggested, ushering Vincent in first, closing the door behind herself once they were clear of it.

“Do you have somewhere you wouldn’t mind us conducting a ritual?” Elian asked as soon as Charmeine opened her front door. The primordial queen blinked. “A ritual of what sort? Is there any mess?” 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?

“Thank you,” Elian whispered as they left, setting course for Charmeine’s. Vincent hummed. “Whatever.”

Layla shoved him only just hard enough to make him stumble. “Yeah, you’re welcome, brat. Elian, you’ll still be here this weekend?” “Y—yeah,” Elian stammered. “Yeah, this weekend, as long as nothing crazy happens.” Layla nodded. “Be careful. See you then.”

Vincent ignored Elian’s wide eyes and shrugged. “Maybe she knows something.” “Maybe,” Layla shrugged right back. “You know who’d be better to ask than me if she does? Her.” “Fine.” Vincent heaved himself up. “Thanks for nothing.”

Elian opened her mouth resigned to her fate. But…it wasn’t her voice that filled the room. “What about that lady with the teeth?” Vincent asked, Elian’s heart skipping a beat, her eyebrows shooting up. Layla snorted. “Charmeine?”

Elian closed her eyes, deaf to whatever conversation was continuing without her. 𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵? 𝘖𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦? …𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘱𝘦𝘵. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸.

Lilith’s hesitation was immense. 𝘗𝘦𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦—𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘓𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵? 𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺. 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘱 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

Layla rolled her eyes and emitted a long suffering sigh. “Sure. But, like you said—not by me. I’m not her janitor. If Little Miss Cultist wanted her mark removed, she should’ve asked Lilith.” 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵? Elian asked internally.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨. “𝘊𝘢𝘯 it be removed?” Elian pushed, just a little. “Like, remove you from the equation—can it be done?”

“That’s barbaric,” she said, tone flat, when they’d finished explaining the mark and who’d placed it and why and when. “But not my problem. She signed up for it—why should I fix it?”

Vincent watched Elian the entire time the idea was tossed around. He watched her on the way through the portal to the Underworld. As she hugged Layla one last time, already mourning their friendship.