"Do you two know her?" Tasha questioned sternly, seeing Ethan and Mark amused after Adonis pointed to the woman looking in through their window.

She went from joyous after being reunited with her little brother to being a stern mother, her son still hiding behind her.

Understandably so.

With her pale skin and those striking red eyes, Elara looked very suspicious, especially with the abandoned house next door.

"Is she one of those people from that place?" Maren whispered.

"A crackhead?" Tasha added bluntly.

"Well... not exactly," Ethan started.

Mark stepped in, "She’s Ethan’s friend."

He didn’t want to alarm them by revealing she was an A Rank, and also didn’t want her to accidentally blow up their house. As such, he hurriedly went to the front door.

"You should come in," he called out.

Then, turning back to everyone, his tone shifted.

"Be nice," he said firmly.

Seeing Mark so shaken, they were also unnerved as Elara stepped inside quietly. But then she rushed over to Ethan, grabbing his arm, causing everyone’s eyes to flick between them.

"Ohhh..." Maren whispered, a grin spreading across her face.

Tasha raised an eyebrow.

Lila covered her mouth slightly.

"You’ve grown," Tasha said slowly.

Ethan didn’t bother correcting them, not caring enough to.

"I got a white aunty too now?" Adonis blurted out, his eyes lighting up. "This is crazy!"

Laughter erupted again, warm and loud.

For the first time in years, Ethan could feel that warmth, that sense of belonging, like a human. He wasn’t a survivor, a fighter, a Titled, he was just Ethan.

But even as he smiled, as he stood there surrounded by them, something in his chest tightened.

’It feels... too peaceful.’

His life was finally back on track, but it all felt fragile, like something that could shatter at any moment.

’Will this last?’

The thought came uninvited.

’It all feels too good to be true and like something is bound to go wrong, like always in my life.’

He tried to put the thought aside as the mood in the house shifted again when they set the bags they were carrying down on the table.

"Right," Tasha said, clapping her hands once as she moved with practised efficiency. "Everyone, sit. We brought more than enough food."

Takeaway boxes - stacked, layered, overflowing - covered the table within seconds. The smell hit Ethan immediately, rich and savoury, warm and grounding, making the place feel even more like home.

It was enough to feed the large family twice over.

Mark raised an eyebrow. "You lot expecting guests or something?"

"We are the guests," Maren shot back, already opening containers.

Even though Ethan and Elara had eaten more than enough earlier, they both sat down. But it wasn’t just about hunger; it was about the atmosphere.

Voices overlapped, laughter came easily, and for a while, everything felt normal. Ethan found himself leaning back slightly in his chair, watching as the others talked over one another, bickering, joking, arguing about nothing important.

Adonis was loudly explaining something that made no sense.

Maren was interrupting him every few seconds.

Tasha was telling them both to shut up while somehow being louder than either of them.

Lila just laughed softly, trying to keep things from escalating.

Mark shook his head, grinning.

And Clarissa watched it all, content.

Ethan exhaled slowly, a small smile on his face.

’I missed this.’

Sitting beside him, Elara was silent, observing everything, but she wasn’t left out. Even after Ethan clarified that she couldn’t speak, they still pulled her into a conversation.

"Hey," Maren said suddenly, sliding her phone over. "You can type, right?"

Elara nodded hesitantly.

Maren grinned. "Cool."

She opened a text-to-speech app, and just like that, their back-and-forth began.

"What’s your name?"

*Elara.*

"Pretty!"

"Where are you from?"

She paused.

*Far away.*

"Cryptic," Tasha muttered, but there was no hostility in it.

Before long, the girls had migrated closer to her and kicked Ethan away across the table.

"Your hair is so nice," Lila said, running her fingers gently through it.

Elara froze.

"...Can I?" Maren asked, already halfway through grabbing a brush.

Elara hesitated for a fraction of a second, then nodded.

And just like that, she was surrounded: hair being brushed, sectioned, and styled while they chatted away as if they had known her forever.

Surprisingly, Elara was enjoying herself.

There was a faint softness to her expression, a quiet contentment that hadn’t been there before. The robotic voice from the phone chimed in constantly, responding to their questions.

Ethan watched, amused.

’I was worried she might flip out, and that demon come out, but they seem to be getting along.’

Time passed quickly, and everyone was enjoying themselves.

But without warning, Ethan suddenly stood up, the movement cutting through the room.

"Already?" Mark asked, frowning.

Ethan stretched slightly.

"Yeah," he said casually. "I’ll be showing my face more often, but... I need to leave."

Silence followed.

"...Why?" Lila asked softly.

"It’s still early," Maren added. "And you can just stay."

"This is your house too," Tasha said more firmly.

Clarissa didn’t say anything, just looking at the troubled man that she had helped raise.

Ethan scratched the back of his head.

"I’ve got some things to do."

It was a lie, and an obvious one, but the truth didn’t make sense.

Everything felt too good, and that made him uncomfortable, which was insane to think about. He almost felt like he didn’t deserve to be happy, and he was afraid to get close to them, just for them to lose him, or vice versa.

Before anyone could press him further, he moved one by one.

To his Aunt Clarissa first.

He placed a wad of cash into her hand.

"Ten grand," he said simply.

Her eyes widened slightly, but before she could react or give it back, he moved on.

"Tasha."

Another bundle.

"Five."

"Ethan-"

"Lila."

Same.

"Five."

She looked conflicted.

"Maren."

He paused.

Then handed her a smaller stack.

"One."

She blinked.

"Why do I get less?"

"Because you’re still a kid in school," he replied plainly.

It was crazy to think that he was around her age when he went in, while she seemed so young and innocent.

Ethan didn’t dwell on it, nor did he care much about money.

At one point, it was all he wanted, but now it felt insignificant in comparison to the supernatural power he was chasing. All he wanted now was to reach a point where he could live and do as he wanted, and he was sure that would come soon enough.

Mark was last.

Ethan tossed him a bundle.

"Ten."

Mark caught it instinctively.

"You’re insane."

"That leaves me with about ten," Ethan said openly. "More than enough."

He looked at all of them seriously now.

"If you need anything, anything at all, just let me know. I’m back now."

There was a pause.

"And I’m not going anywhere."

Tasha and Lila exchanged a look of suspicion, since they knew what Ethan and Mark used to do. That confidence and fearlessness, it came from somewhere that wasn’t good.

"You’re not back to doing that stuff, are you?" Tasha asked bluntly.

Ethan sighed.

Before he could answer, Mark stepped in again. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"He’s a Titled now."

There was a moment of silence before...

"Really?!" Maren said.

"That’s crazy!" Lila added.

"What can you do?" Tasha asked, narrowing her eyes.

Adonis leaned forward, eyes shining.

"Are you like Titan? He’s my favourite."

Ethan chuckled.

"Nah," he said, shaking his head. "I’m just an E Rank."

He shrugged casually.

"Can’t do much. Nothing to be amazed by."

They bombarded him with questions, but seeing how reluctant he was to answer and how much he wanted to leave, they eventually let it go.

"Fine," Tasha said finally. "But you better come back."

"Yeah!" Maren added.

"Soon," Lila said softly.

Ethan nodded.

"I will."

With that, he left, but he didn’t go far.

The moment he stepped outside, he jumped effortlessly, latching onto the side of the roof before pulling himself up like it was nothing.

He moved to the edge, sitting down, legs hanging over.

A second later, Elara followed suit, telling everyone that she was going with him and couldn’t stay. She landed beside him silently, jumping up to the roof with ease.

As usual, she sat too close, her body against his.

Ethan didn’t say anything and just pulled out a cigarette, lighting it before taking a slow drag. The smoke curled into the night air as he leaned back slightly, eyes lifting toward the sky.

The moon was full, bright, and clear, like it meant something.

He held the pack out toward her.

"Want one?"

She looked at it, then at him, before shaking her head.

*Those things are nasty.*

She even shifted slightly away, seemingly disturbed by the smoke.

Ethan smirked.

"I’ll smoke even more now just to keep you off me."

*Hey! That’s mean!*

He just laughed, and oddly, despite containing a demon inside her, Elara was quite comforting to have beside him. And before he knew it, for the first time in as long as he could remember, he began opening up about his life....