180 The Ones Who Stayed [Nicole]
It felt like ages since I last saw him, though it hadn’t been long at all. At least, not in the way ti moved inside my mind. My mories were tangled, stretched, and folded over themselves, tied to him in ways I couldn’t explain to anyone else. Maybe not even to myself.
I stared up at the washed-out Markend sky while lying in the ditch he practically tossed into. Mud soaked through my skirt, and the sll of wet concrete filled my lungs. I didn’t move, just watched a lonely cloud drift overhead until a shadow blocked it.
Soone leaned over .
Sa face as mine. Sa eyes. Sa voice when she opened her mouth, though hers was laced with pure irritation.
Onyx.
Her dark hair was a ss, unlike my neat, office-polished look. She wore a black biker jacket covered in scuffs, as if she’d survived a dozen brawls before breakfast.
“For god’s sake, Nicole,” Onyx said, grabbing my wrist. “Get up. You lost him again. Again. Can you even believe yourself?”
Another face appeared above us. Sa features, but softer, delicate, and almost ethereal. Her hair was silver, brushed neatly behind her shoulders. She wore the sa biker jacket, only cleaner.
Silver clicked her tongue. “Onyx, don’t bully her. It’s not her fault she’s weak.”
“I’m not weak,” I muttered.
“You fell into a ditch,” Onyx said flatly.
I sighed, letting them bicker over my head. These two versions of had appeared the day they “died” inside him. The day everything changed for a second ti. They showed up in my life without warning, acting like old roommates who never left.
But I knew why they existed.
I knew everything about him. Because I had been there. As Silver. As Onyx. Even when they died in his presence, their mories had bled back into like my own. Every glimpse. Every mont. Every ti he breathed in their direction.
Even now, I still saw flashes.
And he had the nerve to pretend he didn’t know .
I pushed myself upright, brushing dirt off my clothes. Onyx swore under her breath, pacing in circles. “That bitch had to be Alia. Ugh. Can’t believe they’re that close already. Did you see her? Clinging on him like that? Gross.”
Silver folded her arms and looked away. “Maybe we should just… let him be. Maybe it’s better if we stay out of his way. We could live our own life.”
Onyx stared at her. “Absolutely not. The guy always gets the girl at the end. That’s how the story goes.”
Silver pouted. “He did get the girl. It’s just not… us.”
“Speak for yourself,” Onyx snapped, pointing at . “We’re still here. We’re plenty alive. I should’ve never said goodbye that day. I should’ve said see you again. Maybe he wouldn’t have forgotten us.”
I didn’t know what to say to either of them.
I wasn’t them.
I wasn’t Silver, and I wasn’t Onyx. I was a new person. But their mories sat heavy in my head, making everything more confusing. I knew everything about him, but he didn’t know anymore. Not the way he used to. Not the way they rembered.
And I had no idea what I was supposed to do with that.
While I stood there, caught between two versions of myself arguing over a man who wasn’t even looking my way, a large biker with tattooed arms walked by. He didn’t even glance down before his shoulder slamd into , knocking back into the ditch.
“Outta the way,” he grunted. “Lookin’ pitiful down there.”
I just lay there again, staring at the sky.
Honestly, at this point, I couldn’t even argue with him.
The biker had barely shoved past when he suddenly doubled back, his face shifting from annoyance to syrupy interest, pupils softening like lting tar. He leaned in, breath warm and heavy. “Hey there, sweetheart,” he said, voice dripping with forced charm. “Didn’t an to knock you over. You alright? Soone as pretty as you shouldn’t be lying around in a ditch.”
Of course.
I’d seen this look too many tis. That murky haze of affection. That magnetic pull I never asked for.
I knew I was pleasing to the eyes. People reminded every day of it, whether I wanted them to or not. But this wasn’t just appearance. I could feel it. The tug of my Empathy reshaped through Telepathy, a reconstructed echo of what I once had. The special nature of my empathy made people like more than they should, instinctively.
It was an awful, convenient curse. Of course, it wasn’t always like this and I could control it most of the ti, but since reawakening my power, it had changed a lot.
“Oh my god,” Onyx groaned behind . “He has a boner.”
Silver scoffed sharply, her silver hair catching the light. “Great. That’s exactly what we needed today. I’m already irritated.”
Onyx began cussing, pacing back and forth. “Move, Nicole. I swear, let handle this. I’ll rip his tongue out and feed it to a stray dog. I’ll—”
She didn’t have to continue.
I was stressed. Beyond stressed. Irritated, tired, overwheld. And this idiot had chosen the exact wrong mont to flirt with like a creep.
I gave him a sweet smile and laid a hand on his shoulder. He brightened instantly. “See? Knew you were the friendly type. Y’know, I’m sothin’ of a gentleman—”
His thoughts told otherwise. His intentions scread otherwise.
I struck fast.
I slamd the heel of my palm into his throat, cutting off his breath with a sharp wheeze. Before he recovered, I grabbed his head and smashed it into his bike’s handlebar. Bone thudded, tal clanged. I lifted his face and slamd it a second ti for good asure. His body went limp, dropping beside his bike.
Empathic-derived strength caused by simple hormone manipulation. A common trick that Onyx taught in great strides.
I dusted my palms off, walked around the fallen bike, and unlocked the nearest car with a key. I slipped into the driver’s seat and started the engine. Onyx and Silver appeared into the back, half-arguing.
Silver crossed her arms and sighed. “Nick wouldn’t forget us. There must be a reason he’s keeping his distance. Sothing happened.”
Onyx jabbed a finger at the window dramatically. “He ca back to Markend. Back here. Of all places. Obviously it’s because of us, not that stupid bitch hanging off him.”
Silver frowned. “Onyx… maybe not.”
“No! He must’ve been kidnapped or brainwashed or sothing!”
I let my forehead fall lightly against the steering wheel. “Onyx, please. That’s not possible.”
We all knew how strong Nick was. Nothing short of a cosmic accident could restrain him. Onyx wasn’t worried. Instead, she was jealous. Silver kept watching , concern softening her expression.
“Nicole,” Silver said gently, “you have a life of your own. You don’t have to listen to us. We’re just… ghosts of the past. Echoes. You don’t owe us anything.”
I stared at the road ahead, fingers tightening on the wheel.
“I just want to see him again,” I admitted, voice low. “To confirm how I feel. Because… even if I’m a new person, that doesn’t change the fact that I was you. Both of you.”
My phone buzzed once.
A single ssage. No na. Just a string of numbers.
“A job.”
I turned the car around and drove silently until the large sign appeared before :
MARKEND FUNERAL HOS INC.
Onyx cracked her knuckles. “Good. Maybe this’ll help us blow off steam.”
I cut the engine, stepped out of the car, and smoothed my skirt. Silver and Onyx leaned forward as I opened the door.
“Behave,” I warned them.
Onyx grinned like she wouldn’t. Silver nodded like she might.
I walked into the building.
Markend had always been divided between two major powers, the gangs and the capes who pretended they had everything under control. But beneath all that noise was a third force, the one whispered about only in backalleys and morgues: the Funeral Hos.
They weren’t undertakers. Well, they were, technically. But they buried more than bodies. They buried secrets, threats, and anyone the world needed erased.
No one knew who owned the organization. It simply appeared one day and began accepting applicants from mundanes, capes, and anyone productive. I rose through their ranks with ridiculous speed. Before long, I beca one of their top assassins.
A fresh start, courtesy of Nick. And I used it to beco a killer again.
Typical.
I reached the elevator, brushed dirt from my skirt, and pressed the coded sequence along the hidden panel. The floor indicator flickered, then the wall behind slid open, revealing a narrow steel corridor.
Onyx whistled low. “Still creepy as hell.”
Silver murmured, “It’s supposed to be.”
I ignored them both and stepped inside. The hallway was long, dim, and quiet except for the soft hum of servers behind the walls. At the end stood a massive reinforced door. It scanned my face and swung inward.
I entered.
The dark room lit up only by the enormous screen at the front. Static fuzzed across it like snow.
I bowed my head slightly. “Monitor.”
A voice layered through the speakers, tallic and calm. “Nicole. Are you ready for a new mission?”
“Yes,” I answered. “I’m ready.”
The static shifted, forming a dossier. My breath caught.
On the left: Nick’s unmasked face. On the right: Eclipse’s infamous image from his rampage against the Murder of Crows.
The Monitor spoke steadily. “This request cos from the Monarchy. They’ve confird Eclipse has resurfaced in Markend. The mission: track and assassinate him.”
I clenched my jaw. “With all due respect… is that even possible? You know what his powers are.”
“This contract is worth 10.2 billion marks,” Monitor replied. “Every top assassin in our firm has accepted it. Everyone risks their life for money, Nicole. Whether you accept is your decision alone.”
I stared at the screen, feeling my chest twist.
How did I end up here? Nick had given a clean slate. A chance to be soone new. And what did I do? I beca exactly what I was before, technically an adjacent to it, but an assassin was no better. I told myself I needed resources to find him. That this job was a ans to an end. A justification.
But in the end, I hardly used any of the resources. And then he showed up again, suddenly and violently, like fate was mocking .
Onyx snarled, her voice echoing in my head. “The Monarchy? Those degenerate bastards. Let at them. I’ll gut every last one of their inbred—”
Silver cut her off with a sigh. “I hate them too, but please don’t encourage Nicole to burn down an empire today.”
I folded my arms, thinking. I had no love for the Monarchy. If given the chance, I would wipe every one of them off the planet. But the mission wasn’t about them.
“I accept,” I finally said.
Silver gasped. “Nicole, why!? That’s betraying him!”
Onyx smirked. “No, you idiot. She’s being smart. She’s gonna use this chance to get close to him, kill all the assassins trying to kill him and swoop in like so badass knight. God, that’s hot.”
I turned and walked toward the door.
“That’s not the reason,” I said quietly.
Both of them went silent.
Onyx asked, “Then what?”
I stopped halfway down the hallway and looked at my past selves and my ghosts.
“Tell … do you know anyone in Markend who can kill him? Because we all know what Eclipse is. And if he disappeared for four months, he probably ca back stronger.”
Silver’s expression softened. “Then why accept the mission…?”
“Because,” I said, breathing out slowly, “this might be the only way to et him again. Properly. As capes. With masks. On equal ground.”
There was a beat of silence.
Then Onyx burst out laughing. “You crazy bitch… no, wait. You crazy genius bitch!” She slung an arm around my shoulders even though she was not really here. “Oh my god. Lovers to enemies to lovers! It’s so romantic I could puke!”
Silver covered her face. “Why am I the only sane one here…?”
I pushed open the exit door.
Ti to prepare.
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