Slowly, Matt became aware of his senses. He could feel the soft bed beneath him and the warm afternoon breeze from an open window brushing across his bare chest and arms. He could hear the sounds of the ocean and seagulls in the distance. When he finally opened his eyes he had to blink a few times to see clearly.

Then he knew he had died.

But what he didn’t understand was why he was in a place of light. This wasn’t where he belonged. Why did the face of an angel look down at him? Her summer-blue eyes were filled with such purity, such goodness, that it was difficult to look directly into them. She was the most beautiful creature imaginable—her long, loose ringlet curls were the lightest shade of gold, the edges of it glowing white in the pool of sunlight that touched her. Her flawless skin was fair, with a natural touch of rose in her cheeks and perfect lips. Then he felt her incredibly soft hand on his face.

“It’s all right now,” she said in a sweet, soothing voice.

The sound caused something to stir inside him, and his chest began to ache dully. He took in a deep breath, trying to ease it, and inhaled her scent—fresh, clean, and lightly floral.

He licked his dry lips and swallowed. “Why...?” he whispered hoarsely, then cleared his throat. “Why am I here?”

“I’m taking care of you.”

“This isn’t the Plain of Darkness,” he pointed out matter-of-factly. “I’m supposed to be in hell.”

She smiled, revealing dimples in her cheeks, making her even more beautiful. “You’re not dead.”

“But...” His brow wrinkled in confusion. “You... you’re an angel.”

Her smile widened, and she bit her bottom lip for a second. “No, I’m not. I’m Tess' cousin, Sera, and I’m just a healing cleric.”

He sighed and rubbed his face; his arm felt weak and almost as if it wasn’t his own. “Where am I?”

“The temple of Aryst in Port Vallyn. You’ve been unconscious for almost three weeks.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to recall what had happened. He watched the memory that played through his mind. He remembered Tess' face, and her scared—yet somehow caring—eyes. Had she survived? Or had it all been for nothing? “Tess,” he said quietly. “Is she okay?”

“She’s fine,” Sera said, her tone reassuring. “She’s alive and well, thanks to you.”

He felt a flood of relief and looked up at Sera again. “Where is she?”

“She went home,” Sera answered. “Back to Brunya City.”

He gave a short sigh of disappointment. “And Ayden?” he wondered after a moment.

“He’s home, too. He and Tess are together now.”

“Good.”

Sera smiled as though his answer happily surprised her. “I have a message from her.”

“What?”

“She says thanks, and that you don’t have to be the bad guy, that you’re not anymore,” Sera relayed. “She also said that you do choose your own destiny... that you did.”

Matt scoffed. “She’s so naive. Like one good deed—no, not even that. All I did was save her from something I got her into—and she thinks that makes me a good guy all of a sudden?” He laughed harshly.

“You are what you choose to be,” Sera said softly. “If you decide you want to be a good guy now, then you are.”

“Doesn’t work that way.”

She obviously disagreed, but didn’t argue. “I want to say thank you as well. I can’t imagine a world without Tess in it.”

“I was the one who was going to kill her in the first place.”

“Regardless of how she got there, or why you did it, you risked your life for her,” Sera told him firmly. “Saving her was a very selfless, heroic thing to do, and the proof of it is on your wrist.”

Matt lifted his right arm and frowned at it. His hellhound birthmark, Malluk’s symbol, was gone. “How’s that possible?” he breathed.

“By doing something that was completely good, by showing mercy and compassion.”

Compassion, he thought—there was a word that was never said in any conversation that included his name. He automatically felt the denial of it, as well as mercy. But why else had he saved her? He remembered her talking about being friends; she had wanted to be his friend before she had known who he was, before she had known about his power and money. She hadn’t wanted anything else from him, just friendship. She had cared, even when she shouldn’t have. And he couldn’t understand why she would care about someone like him at all.

He inwardly grumbled at his thoughts. He didn’t want to admit that he cared—because that would mean he did have a heart, and therefore all the weakness that went with it.

“You went against everything Malluk stands for,” Sera continued.

Matt lowered his arm. “Doesn’t change who I am,” he told her flatly.

“Who you were before can never be changed. But who you are today and tomorrow, that’s for you to decide.”

“You don’t know me.”

“I know that you have a good heart. You can deny it if you want to, but it’s been proven. And I believe in you, Mathias.”

He rolled his eyes. “You don’t know me,” he repeated. “And I have no intention of changing anything.”

She ignored the last part. “I know more than you think, and yes, I know what happened between you and my cousin.”

He rubbed his face again. “You still know nothing. Tess knows nothing.” When Sera laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, he shrugged her off. “Stop touching me!” he snapped.

“Sorry, it’s a healer’s habit. I do it without thinking.”

He glared at her. She was apologetic, not scared. She moved her hand away slowly, not quickly as someone like her should in response to his fierce tone. She wasn’t like Tess—Sera was soft and seemed so delicate. Abruptly, his glare turned into a frown, and he sighed. “You shouldn’t be touching someone like me,” he said without thinking. The words came with an unfamiliar weight that pressed heavily down on him. “I mean...” What did he mean? That he was just a monster? It wasn’t a conscious thought, just a feeling that he tried to ignore, as well as the ache in his chest. He growled silently at himself. What was wrong with him? Shoving the ridiculous new feelings away, he met her gaze with a menacing stare. “You don’t know what I do to girls like you,” he said nastily.

It didn’t have the desired effect. Instead of being frightened, she rolled her eyes. “Oh, shush,” she told him, obviously trying to sound disapproving, though her voice was too sweet to pull it off. She took his hand and gave it a tug, urging him to get up, but he didn’t move. “It’s a beautiful day, and you’re almost fully recovered. All you need now is fresh air, sunshine, and lunch at a cute little place down the street that has outdoor seating.”

He just scowled at her and didn’t budge.

“Come on,” she said coaxingly. “You can even bring your mean face and scare off the people walking by.”

The corner of his mouth lifted in spite of himself.

“What do you know, he smiles,” she teased.

He sighed resignedly and sat up. He felt weak, hungry, and lightheaded, and decided getting out was a good idea. Then, suddenly, the full realization of what he had done, of the consequences it would have, came crashing down on him. He had gone against his mother and his god. The whole of Malluk’s church would be against him. All of Malluk’s followers would be enemies now. He had lost everything—the only life he had ever known.

He swallowed and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t want to go out there yet,” he muttered. He needed all his strength before he faced anyone. “I’m too well-known here.”

“Okay,” Sera said easily. “Well, we already have an open window; I’ll just bring some food up, and we can eat in here.” She turned to head out, but then remembered something and grabbed his black sleeveless jacket off of a nearby chair where it hung next to his boots and sword. “Here, I mended it for you. It got torn in the fight, but look”—she turned it so he could see the back—“good as new.”

He just looked at her as if she were crazy. She set it beside him, smiled cheerfully, and slipped out of the room. He put his jacket on and pulled his silver case out of the breast pocket. Lighting a cigarette, he took a comforting drag and exhaled the smoke in a heavy sigh.

He had saved Tess, somehow survived, and lost everything, he thought... now what?