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Noah did not take him to Soteria. He considered it. For approximately three seconds. Then imagined what Raine would do if Noah drove him several hours away to a hidden demigod school immediately after a monster attack and whatever had happened at home. Probably murder him. Potentially justified.

So Noah drove to the apartment. Raine said nothing during the ride. No music. No sarcasm. Nothing. That scared Noah more than the monster had. When they arrived, Raine stood inside the living room looking around.

"This is depressing."

There he was. Noah exhaled.

"Thank you."

"You have no decorations."

"I've been here two days."

"Excuses."

Raine dropped onto the couch. Noah went to the kitchen.

"Water?"

"Anything stronger?"

"You're seventeen."

"So?"

"No."

Raine sighed.

"Water."

Noah brought him a bottle. Raine twisted the cap. Didn't drink. Noah sat across from him. Waited. Raine stared at the label.

"My dad's alive."

Noah froze. That was not what he expected.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Raine laughed weakly.

"Apparently Mom's known the whole time."

Noah chose every word carefully.

"Did she tell you who he is?"

"No."

Relief. Guilt immediately followed.

"She said she can't."

Noah waited.

"She promised him."

Raine picked at the bottle label.

"She said if she breaks the promise, she dies."

Noah's blood went cold. An oath. A divine oath. Possibly Styx-bound. Fuck. Raine looked up.

"You just made a face."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

Noah sighed.

"What else did she say?"

Raine's eyes narrowed.

"You know something."

"I know a lot of things."

"About this."

Noah didn't answer. Raine set the bottle down.

"She said she promised to keep me mortal."

There it was. Noah's entire body went still. Raine watched.

"See?"

"Raine—"

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know."

"Bullshit."

"I genuinely don't know what she meant."

"Convenient."

Noah leaned forward.

"Look at me."

Raine did.

"I know there are things happening around you that don't make sense."

"No shit."

"I know what attacked us wasn't human."

Raine's expression tightened.

"And I know you're not imagining the shadows."

Raine swallowed. Noah continued.

"But I don't know what you are."

Raine laughed sharply.

"Nothing."

"What?"

"I'm nothing."

Noah frowned.

"You're obviously not."

"Great, thanks."

"No. I mean—"

He stopped. Raine looked away. Noah suddenly understood there was something beneath that word he did not have access to yet. Something old. Something painful. He chose not to dig.

"I think your mom knows more than either of us."

"Revolutionary theory."

"And I think whatever attacked you might come back."

Raine went quiet. Noah hated seeing fear on his face.

"So what am I supposed to do?"

Noah almost said come to Soteria. Almost. One day. He had asked for one day. He had technically gotten less than one. Still.

"Stay with me tonight."

Raine looked at him. Noah immediately heard how that sounded.

"Not—"

Raine's eyebrow rose.

"I mean because of the monster."

"Uh-huh."

"Shut up."

A tiny smile appeared. Good. Noah pointed toward the couch.

"You can sleep there."

"How romantic."

"I'm rescinding the invitation."

"No, you're not."

"No."

Raine leaned back. For the first time since getting into the car, his shoulders relaxed.

"Okay."

Noah nodded.

"Okay."

Silence. Then Raine looked toward the guitar against the wall.

"Is that yours?"

Noah followed his gaze.

"Yeah."

Raine stood.

"You have an amp?"

"Obviously."

"Play the bridge."

Noah stared.

"Right now?"

"I don't want to think."

That answer erased every objection. Noah picked up the guitar. Raine sat on the floor. Noah played the progression again. Raine watched his hands.

"You really are good."

Noah glanced up.

"So are you."

"I know."

Noah laughed. Raine smiled. Their eyes met. And held. Too long. Noah felt it happen. That tiny shift. The moment where the room suddenly became too quiet despite the guitar still humming beneath his fingers.

Raine looked away first. Noah exhaled. No demigods. The rule surfaced automatically. Except Raine wasn't one. Not proven. Not yet.

Noah clung to that technicality harder than he should have. Raine Graves could still be mortal. The shadows could mean something else. The monster could have been following Noah. The Oracle could have been talking about somebody hundreds of miles away. There were explanations. Bad ones. But explanations. Raine stood.

"I should sleep."

"Yeah."

Neither moved. Raine looked toward the couch. Then back.

"Thanks."

Noah blinked.

"For what?"

"Coming to get me."

"Of course."

Something about the answer bothered Raine. Noah could see it.

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why 'of course'?"

Noah frowned.

"Because you called."

"That's not an answer."

"Yes, it is."

"No."

Raine crossed his arms.

"You barely know me."

Noah stared. There were a hundred answers. Because you're my assignment. Because Soteria told me to keep you alive. Because monsters are hunting you. Because your shadows scare the shit out of me. Because I promised myself I don't care. Because you called. He chose the simplest.

"You needed me."

Raine went completely still. Noah immediately regretted it. Not because it was wrong. Because of the way Raine looked at him. Like nobody had ever said something like that and meant it.

"Yeah," Raine said quietly.

Noah set the guitar down.

"You should sleep."

"Probably."

Still, neither moved. Noah became painfully aware of how close Raine was standing. When had that happened? He couldn't remember either of them moving.

Raine looked at him. Noah looked back. There was no plan. No buildup. No clever comment from either of them. One second, they were standing there.

The next, Raine kissed him.

Or Noah kissed Raine.

Neither of them would ever agree on that part afterward. It wasn't graceful. Their noses bumped. Raine nearly stepped on Noah's foot. Noah caught his arm to steady him, and Raine laughed against his mouth. That should have broken whatever spell had apparently possessed both of them. It didn't.

They kissed again. This time intentionally. Noah's brain supplied exactly one coherent thought. Oh. Then another. Fuck.

Raine pulled away first. Barely. His forehead rested against Noah's. For several seconds, neither spoke. Then Raine whispered:

"Well."

Noah laughed under his breath.

"Yeah."

"That was..."

"Unexpected?"

"Extremely."

Noah looked at him. Raine was smiling. Small. Nervous. Nothing like the sarcastic grin Noah had become accustomed to seeing. It made something in his chest hurt. Bad. Very bad. Noah should move. He didn't. Raine's fingers were still curled loosely into the front of his shirt. Neither seemed particularly interested in acknowledging that.

"So," Raine said.

"So."

"Are we going to pretend that didn't happen?"

Noah considered it.

"No."

"Good."

Raine kissed him again. Apparently that settled that. Later, neither of them could have explained exactly how long they stayed there. Long enough for the song to be forgotten. Long enough for Raine's bad night to temporarily disappear. Long enough for Noah to forget every rule he'd spent years constructing around himself.

Eventually, exhaustion won. Raine ended up curled beneath a spare blanket on Noah's couch, his hair thoroughly ruined and a smile he kept unsuccessfully trying to hide. Noah stood near the kitchen pretending his heart wasn't still beating considerably faster than normal.

"This doesn't mean I like you," Raine said.

Noah looked over.

"Obviously."

"You're still annoying."

"Devastating."

"And your third chord still sucks."

"Go to sleep."

Raine smiled into the blanket.

"Goodnight, Sunshine."

Noah smiled despite himself.

"Goodnight, Dracula."

Raine flipped him off. Better. Much better. Noah turned off the main light. The room dimmed. Within twenty minutes, Raine's breathing evened out.

Noah remained awake. Watching the windows. Watching the door. Watching Raine. And absolutely refusing to think about the fact that he had just kissed the person he had been sent to investigate.

At 1:13 A.M., the shadow beneath the couch moved. Noah saw it. His entire body stiffened. The darkness stretched slowly across the floor. Toward him. Noah's hand moved toward his weapon. The shadow stopped. Not near his weapon. Near his bare foot.

It touched the edge of his toes. Cold. Noah held his breath. Then something impossible happened. The darkness curled around his ankle. Not attacking. Not pulling. Resting. Like a sleeping animal. Noah stared at Raine. Still asleep. No control. No awareness.

The shadow remained around Noah for several seconds. Then slowly retreated beneath the couch. Noah sat perfectly still. His heart pounded. Every excuse he'd spent two days constructing collapsed one after another.

Not a trick of the light. Not stress. Not coincidence. Not mortal. He looked at Raine. At the pale face half-hidden beneath the blanket. At the white streaks in his black hair. At the boy he'd kissed less than an hour ago. Noah remembered the bells. The Oracle. Death has fathered mortal blood.

He whispered:

"No."

Because accepting the truth meant something else now. Something considerably worse. Raine Graves was a demigod. And Noah Santiago had just broken the one rule he'd sworn he never would. He had gotten involved with another demigod. And worse— he was already getting attached