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Light and heat swirled beneath the ghost, the ground jarring with a boom before Hadeon appeared. He snarled and spun to me, then paused and slowly turned back to my poltergeist who was now frozen in place. “Well, now, aren’t you a piece of shit,” Hadeon said to the ghost, then he grabbed the evil fucker by the throat and dragged him screaming to Hell.

I collapsed against the wall. He was gone. It was done. Shoving the door open, I walked out into the corridor.

I didn’t have time to brace before they came at me.

Souls, his victims, so many of them. They came at me all at once, the ferocity of their anguish hitting in a torrent. They didn’t want to harm me. They didn’t want to hurt anyone. They were terrified, and that terror was so great, so overwhelming, there was no stopping what was about to happen, something that hadn’t happened for a very long time.

I lifted my gaze to Ren, but I couldn’t warn him. There was no time to explain. He saw the look on my face and started running toward me.

Everything went black.

Ren

* * *

I sprinted down the corridor, dropping to the floor beside Jasmine. Her body was limp, her face without any sign of life. I knew that look, I saw it every day. “No,” I snarled. “Jasmine!” I pressed my fingers to her throat. Nothing. Not even a weak pulse. “No. No no no. Don’t go, butterfly. Don’t you fucking dare leave me.”

I scooped her up in my arms and ran for the elevator. “Call a healer. She’s unresponsive.”

Rune stared down at her, and his head tilted to the side.

“Fucking call someone,” I roared, clutching her to me and slamming my hand on the button for the ground floor. I pressed my ear to her chest. This couldn’t be happening. Her heart wasn’t beating. She wasn’t breathing. She couldn’t be dead. Jasmine couldn’t be dead.

I looked up at Rune, snarling when he touched her forehead.

He shook his head. “She’s not dead.”

“She’s not breathing. Her pulse—”

“Have you ever heard of catalepsy?”

“What? No, what the fuck are you talking about? She needs a healer. Now.”

Something swirled in Rune’s yellow-green eyes. “She’s not dead. Her condition, whatever this is, is similar to catalepsy in humans. Something back there triggered it, but she will wake up.” He hit the button for the top floor, and as soon as we hit the ground level, the doors closed again and we were on our way back up.

When the door opened again, I followed Rune back into his apartment, Jasmine’s lifeless body clutched to me. “Are you sure?”

“Her mind’s still active, as if she’s in a dreamlike state. I’d get nothing if she was dead.”

I sat on the couch and brushed her hair back from her face. “Wake up, butterfly. Open your eyes for me. Come back to me, baby.” My fox whimpered and clawed at my subconscious before releasing a mournful howl, calling to her, trying to get her to reply, not understanding what was happening.

I don’t know how long I sat there, holding her to me, begging her to come back to me. Light dimmed and night fell. I forgot Rune was even there until the lights switched on. I looked up as he disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door. The shower came on a minute later.

She’d been out for hours. What if he was wrong? What if she was gone? My heart shredded in my chest.

I looked back down, and Jasmine blinked up at me. Her wide green eyes unfocused, confused. “Ren?”

I released a shuddering breath. “Christ, Jasmine.” I crushed her to me. “I thought you were dead. I thought you were fucking dead.”

“I’m okay,” she said croakily.

“What the hell happened back there?” She licked her dry lips, and I had the strong urge to crush my mouth to hers.

“I-it hasn’t happened for a long time. I thought I’d be okay—”

The bathroom door opened, and Rune walked out in pants, no shirt, flashing his inked and branded chest, grinning when he saw Jasmine awake. “You’re back, lovely.”

“Glad to see you’re not distraught over my possible death,” she said to him, trying to straighten in my arms.