Grant Me The End

The Rules

Evelyn

***** One Hour After The Storage Facility Incident *****

The lights came back too fast.

One second the hallway outside the storage unit was pitch black.

The next, the fluorescent lights buzzed overhead again like nothing happened.

But the man was gone.

Rei.

Just gone.

Rainwater dripped from the ceiling somewhere deeper in the building while Mina stared at the hallway with visible panic.

“Okay,” she said shakily. “I’m officially done with today.”

I was too tired to argue.

My chest still hurt from coughing earlier. My lungs felt scraped raw from the inside.

Kairen stood near the storage unit entrance, completely still.

Not tense.

Not nervous.

Just watching the empty hallway like he expected Rei to walk back out of the dark at any second.

Mina grabbed my sleeve.

“Eve.”

“Hm?”

“Why did that guy feel…” She frowned hard. “Wrong?”

Because he wasn’t human.

Because none of this was human anymore.

I rubbed my forehead slowly.

“You remember him this time?”

“Barely.” Mina looked frustrated. “It’s weird. It’s like my brain keeps skipping over details.”

Kairen finally looked at her.

Humans always reacted strangely when his attention landed on them directly.

Mina unconsciously stepped backward.

Not because he threatened her.

Because his presence did that naturally.

Like the room itself became smaller around him.

“You should leave,” he said calmly.

Mina immediately frowned.

“Absolutely not.”

His expression didn’t change.

“You are frightened.”

“Yeah, no kidding.”

“I am not speaking to you.”

The silence afterward felt heavy.

Mina looked deeply offended.

I almost laughed.

Almost.

Another sharp pain twisted through my chest before I could breathe properly.

I bent slightly, pressing a hand against my ribs.

Kairen noticed instantly.

Of course he did.

“You’re getting worse.”

I looked at him flatly.

“You say that every ten minutes like it’s new information.”

“You continue pretending it is manageable.”

“It’s called coping.”

“It is called denial.”

God.

Talking to him was exhausting.

Mina grabbed my arm carefully.

“We’re leaving.”

Honestly?

Best suggestion all day.

I picked up the box of letters from the floor slowly, trying not to trigger another coughing fit.

The second I stood upright, dizziness slammed into me hard enough to blur my vision.

A hand caught my elbow before I stumbled.

Kairen.

Strong grip.

Controlled.

Steady enough to feel dangerous somehow.

I looked up at him.

His gold eyes stayed fixed on my face for exactly one second before he released me.

“You are weak,” he said.

I blinked.

“…Wow.”

“It is an observation.”

“You have the emotional warmth of expired yogurt.”

Mina snorted suddenly.

Kairen looked mildly irritated by our existence.

Good.

We walked out of the storage building together.

Rain hit cold against my face immediately.

Seattle looked miserable tonight.

Grey sky.

Wet streets.

Neon signs reflecting across puddles.

The city always looked halfway haunted after midnight.

Mina unlocked the car fast.

“You’re staying with me tonight,” she said.

“No.”

“That wasn’t a suggestion.”

“I’m not dying dramatically in your apartment.”

Her face changed instantly.

Pain.

That awful heartbreak she kept trying to hide from me lately.

I hated it.

People looked at terminally ill people differently once they knew.

Like they were already ghosts.

Mina swallowed hard.

“Don’t joke like that.”

I looked away first.

“Sorry.”

Silence settled awkwardly between us.

Then Mina glanced toward Kairen again and frowned.

“…Why does looking at him make me feel weird?”

“Because he dresses like a funeral director,” I muttered.

“I heard that,” Kairen said calmly.

“That’s part of the problem.”

Mina hugged me suddenly.

Tight enough to hurt my ribs.

“Call me if your fever gets worse.”

“You sound like my disappointed mother.”

“I am your disappointed mother.”

I laughed weakly.

She finally got into the car after another long look at me.

Like she was scared to leave.

Like she thought I might disappear if she looked away too long.

The second she drove off, silence settled over the street.

Rain hammered against the pavement.

Kairen stood beside me without speaking.

Then:

“Rei should not have approached you alone.”

I looked sideways at him.

“So you do know him.”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“He enjoys provoking people.”

“That’s not a real explanation.”

“It is enough.”

I started walking toward my apartment building.

Kairen followed automatically.

Not protective.

Not caring.

Just… there.

Like a shadow that refused to leave.

“You didn’t seem surprised to see him,” I said.

“I was aware he arrived in Seattle.”

“And you didn’t think warning me would've been helpful?”

“He already spoke to you.”

“Still rude.”

Silence.

Then:

“You are still alive.”

I stared at him.

“That’s your version of reassurance?”

“It is reality.”

Honestly, fair enough.

By the time we reached my apartment building, exhaustion sat heavy inside my bones.

The kind that made your body feel older than it was.

I unlocked my apartment door slowly and stepped inside.

Kairen entered right behind me without asking.

Again.

“At this point,” I muttered, dropping the storage box onto the counter, “you basically live here.”

“I do not.”

“You’re here constantly.”

“You continue attracting problems.”

“Wow. I feel cherished.”

My apartment felt colder tonight.

Or maybe that was just him.

Kairen moved toward the kitchen cabinets like he already knew where everything was.

I narrowed my eyes.

“Have you been snooping through my apartment?”

“You are disorganized.”

“That wasn’t the question.”

No answer.

Typical.

I dropped onto the couch tiredly.

Every muscle in my body ached.

My skin felt too hot now too.

Fantastic.

Kairen glanced at me once.

“You have a fever.”

“I have cancer.”

“That is not the same thing.”

“It’s all under the same terrible umbrella.”

He found my medicine bottle eventually.

Then paused suddenly.

The atmosphere shifted instantly.

Heavy.

Sharp.

A knock echoed through the apartment.

Three slow taps.

My stomach tightened immediately.

Kairen stayed perfectly still near the kitchen counter.

Dangerously still.

The knocking came again.

I looked toward the door.

“Kairen…”

“Stay where you are.”

His voice stayed calm.

Quiet.

Still impossible to ignore.

He walked toward the door slowly.

Every movement deliberate.

Like violence sat just beneath his skin waiting for permission.

He opened the door halfway.

Rei stood outside smiling faintly.

Rain soaked through his grey coat.

His eyes moved directly toward me immediately.

“There you are.”

I leaned against the couch.

“You people really need hobbies.”

Rei laughed softly.

“I wanted to see if you survived the storage facility.”

“She did,” Kairen said flatly.

“Obviously.”

The tension between them felt awful.

Not loud.

Not dramatic.

Just controlled hostility sharp enough to cut through the room.

Rei looked at Kairen carefully.

“You’re wasting time.”

“That does not concern you.”

“It concerns the Higher Realm.”

That caught my attention immediately.

Higher Realm.

Right.

The terrifying demon government.

Fantastic.

Rei’s eyes shifted toward me again.

“Has he explained the rules yet?”

I frowned.

“What rules?”

Silence.

Kairen looked irritated instantly.

Which meant yes.

There were absolutely secret demon rules nobody bothered explaining to me.

“Seriously?” I said tiredly. “Why does everybody in this nightmare speak like a cryptic movie villain?”

Rei leaned lightly against the doorframe.

“Demons are forbidden from becoming attached to humans.”

I blinked once.

“…Attached.”

“Yes.”

I looked toward Kairen slowly.

Then laughed.

Actually laughed.

“No offense,” I said, pointing at him vaguely, “but he barely tolerates people breathing near him.”

Kairen’s expression remained blank.

“I do not.”

“Exactly my point.”

Rei looked entertained now.

“That rule exists for a reason.”

“What reason?”

Silence again.

God, these people were exhausting.

Finally Kairen spoke.

“Attachment interferes with judgment.”

I crossed my arms.

“And?”

“And demons who break that law are punished.”

Something about the way he said punished made my stomach tighten slightly.

I looked between them carefully.

“What kind of punishment?”

Neither answered immediately.

That silence said enough by itself.

Then Kairen finally spoke.

“They are erased.”

The apartment became very quiet.

Rain hammered against the windows.

I stared at him.

“…That sounds dramatic.”

“It is permanent.”

“Still sounds dramatic.”

Rei looked at me carefully.

“You find this amusing.”

I pointed toward Kairen again.

“You’re talking about this guy falling in love. Be serious.”

Kairen’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“You continue speaking nonsense.”

“You literally threatened a nurse for me yesterday.”

“She was incompetent.”

“And emotionally unstable.”

“She mishandled medication.”

I stared at him.

Then looked at Rei.

“See? That wasn’t denial.”

Rei looked one second away from laughing.

Kairen looked one second away from murder.

Honestly, incredible dynamic.

Then dizziness hit me hard.

The room tilted sharply.

I grabbed the couch arm immediately.

Kairen crossed the room before I could say anything.

His hand pressed briefly against my forehead.

Cold skin.

Sharp tension settled instantly across his face.

“She’s burning up,” Rei observed.

“No kidding,” I muttered weakly.

My body suddenly felt unbearably heavy.

Every breath scraped painfully through my lungs.

Kairen stepped back slightly.

“Go home, Rei.”

Rei watched him for a long moment.

Then his gaze shifted toward me.

“Careful, Evelyn.”

“With what?”

But he was already walking away.

The hallway lights flickered once after he disappeared.

Kairen shut the apartment door quietly.

The silence afterward felt strange.

Heavy.

I leaned back against the couch trying to breathe normally.

Didn’t work.

“You should sleep,” Kairen said.

“Bossy.”

“You are deteriorating.”

“You make terminal illness sound deeply inconvenient.”

“It is.”

I stared at him.

“You genuinely have no people skills.”

“I am not a person.”

Fair point.

I pushed myself upright slowly.

The room spun immediately.

Before I could fall, Kairen caught my wrist.

Strong grip.

Steady.

Dangerous.

“You will collapse,” he said calmly.

“I’ll collapse beautifully.”

“You will collapse stupidly.”

I almost laughed.

Almost.

“You know,” I muttered tiredly, “for someone who claims demons can’t get attached, you sure spend a lot of time following me around.”

Silence.

His eyes stayed fixed on me.

Still.

Unreadable.

Then:

“You have not made a wish yet.”

There it was.

Cold logic.

Not concern.

Not care.

Just obligation.

Strangely, that annoyed me more than it should have.

I pulled my wrist free carefully.

“Right. Almost forgot I’m supernatural paperwork.”

Kairen said nothing.

I walked toward my bedroom slowly.

Every step hurt tonight.

By the time I reached the bed, my fever felt unbearable.

The blankets felt too heavy.

My lungs burned.

I barely remembered closing my eyes.

Somewhere beyond exhaustion, I heard movement in the apartment.

Kairen.

Still there.

Watching.

Waiting.

Making sure I didn’t die before becoming his problem permanently.

The thought should’ve bothered me.

Instead it felt weirdly comforting.

Which honestly felt concerning.

Kairen

***** Past Midnight — Evelyn Mercer’s Apartment *****

Her fever worsened after midnight.

I stood near the bedroom doorway watching her breathing become uneven beneath the blankets.

Humans were fragile.

Temporary.

Easy to lose.

Normally that meant nothing to me.

But Evelyn Mercer was becoming inconveniently difficult to keep alive.

She shifted weakly in her sleep.

Pain tightened her face even unconscious.

The mark on her wrist glowed faintly in the dark.

Forty days remained active.

But her illness was progressing faster now.

Too fast.

If she died before making a wish, the contract would collapse unfinished.

Unacceptable.

Evelyn coughed suddenly.

Blood stained the corner of her mouth.

I stared at it silently.

Then looked away.

Human bodies failed constantly.

That was normal.

Expected.

Still irritating.

Another weak sound escaped her throat.

“…hurts…”

My jaw tightened slightly.

I moved toward the bed before thinking too long about it.

The room smelled faintly like medicine and rain.

Evelyn’s skin burned beneath my hand when I touched her forehead.

Too hot.

The fever would continue rising by morning.

Temporary healing would stabilize it.

Nothing more.

I already knew the consequences.

The Higher Realm monitored interference carefully.

Especially emotional interference.

Especially now.

I placed my hand against her forehead anyway.

Power moved instantly beneath my skin.

Dark gold light flickered faintly across my fingers.

The fever began lowering slowly.

Her breathing eased.

Magic spread carefully

through damaged lungs and poisoned blood.

Just enough.

No more.

Pain exploded across my hand immediately afterward.

Burning.

Sharp enough to split through bone.

Black cracks spread beneath the skin of my palm.

Smoke curled faintly upward.

So.

Punishment had started already.

Interesting.

The apartment lights flickered once.

Warning.

I flexed my burned hand slowly.

Pain meant little.

But the reaction had been stronger than expected.

On the bed, Evelyn’s breathing finally steadied.

Peaceful now.

I stared at her silently.

Then she shifted weakly beneath the blankets.

Half asleep.

“…You stayed.”

Her voice sounded soft from exhaustion.

I looked away first.

“You have not made a wish yet,” I said calmly.

But my burned hand continued smoking quietly in the dark.