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Celine always claimed hunter’s premonition was a mere myth, even as Rumi survives by the skin of her teeth in situations that could only be explained by supernatural intervention. When she gets older, with years of hunting under her belt, Rumi sees the truth. It is real, as real as demons or the Honmoon itself, but Celine, for all of her brilliance, was too weak to have ever experienced it.
She should have realized then that maybe Celine was wrong about other things, too.
Jinu discomforts her.
It’s not him specifically, but rather, what he implies.
Unlike all the other demons they’ve faced, he’s wily. He understands how humans work, because the embers of his humanity still flicker inside him. The other Saja Boys do too, even if they’re further gone than he is. Rumi can tell from the snippets of conversation she overhears between Mira and Abby and the way Baby somehow consoles Zoey with his goading tone and sarcastic words.
So why hasn’t Gwi-Ma sent something like him earlier? Why put forth years of clumsy, ham-fisted plots with poorly disguised monsters when he has a handsome, honey-voiced weapon like Jinu in his arsenal?
And why aren’t the Saja Boys more successful?
Rumi has not a doubt in her head that if they wanted to, they could ruin the hunters in the blink of an eye. Truthfully, with all three of them so broken, they’re neither used to nor equipped for psychological battles.
So why, when he smiles at her across the stage, does she get the feeling he’s holding back?
To her surprise, Jinu keeps his word.
He machinates an excuse to delay the Saja Boys’ performance. There are no surprise gambits or last minute tricks, and by the time Zoey and Mira step on stage to finish the song, the entire Honmoon glimmers before them like a sheet of sacred spun gold.
She hears Zoey’s giggle and Mira’s sigh of relief, over a decade of pressure taken off their shoulders. Just as Rumi moves to rejoice with them, she feels something twist inside her, more ancient than anything she’s ever known, calling her home.
Growing up, she was told stories of the Demon World, how terrible and wretched it is. But it’s really not that bad, Rumi thinks, though she wishes she could hate it. She wishes the cold darkness doesn’t soothe the swaths of her skin where patterns run, and that the constant thrum of demonic energy doesn’t feel like the embrace she’s longed for since her parents faded away.
First, she hides, carefully casting a fragile glamour, the same way Romance and Mystery did backstage when they thought no one was looking. In the distance, she can feel Gwi-Ma’s incandescent rage, and she wonders wistfully if the Saja Boys will be killed for their failure, though they came closer than anyone else before them.
Then he finds her, seeing through her cloak of darkness right away.
When Jinu reaches out to stroke her cheek, his skin as cold as ice, Rumi lets him, knowing without a doubt it can’t be anyone else. Back in the human world, she wanted him to touch her more, to be more explicit about his adoration. Now, her heart sits in her chest like a slab of stone, because she knows the moment she indulges in even the smallest emotion, she’ll break apart.
“You knew this would happen, didn’t you?”
He nods, his eyes like the reflection of fire on a cold winter’s day.
“Then why didn’t you say something?”
“Because I’ve been searching all my life for you,” he murmurs, glancing at the golden threads that burn above their heads, “and now, we can be together forever.”
“You didn’t even know me until two weeks ago.”
“No,” and his voice thrums like music, “but I’ve felt your absence for as long as I can remember.”
He wraps his arms around her, a flurry of billowing black silk and glowing purple patterns, and as their chests press close, Rumi can feel his heart beat against hers.
“Don’t be sad, my beloved,” he whispers.
“How can I not,” she says, swallowing the lump that rises in her throat, “when I’ve lost everyone I loved?”
“I know. It’s not easy. I struggled too, when I came here. And you know what helped me come to peace with it?”
“What?”
As soon as she learned of his past, Rumi wondered if his beauty was a mask. How likely was it that a starved common boy could grow into such a lovely flower, when his roots were set in the harshest soils? Now, she thinks this must be his real face, so irresistible that not even Gwi-Ma could pass over him.
“We were all created with a purpose." His lips brush against her temple. “And you fulfilled yours beautifully.”
Jinu glances up at the wide golden sky.
“You saved your people. Generations of hunters devoted their entire lives to sealing the Honmoon, yet you did it in only half a decade. And how could you not, when you’re the best of humanity and demonkind mixed into one?”
“But Zoey and Mira-”
“How do you think their lives would have turned out without you?” He sweeps a stray tendril of glowing violet hair behind her ear. “Think about it, Rumi. If you didn’t pick her out of the crowd, Zoey would be slaving away in some other idol group, starving under an agency that rebukes her whenever she dares sing anything besides what they give her. Mira would be a mess of a woman.”
“Mira-”
He kisses the side of her mouth.
“You know that without the purpose and sanctuary you gave her, she would burn herself alive. You healed her, my love. She’ll mourn you, but now she can go on and live the blessed life she deserves. And we haven’t even talked about the millions upon millions of fans you inspired with your voice.”
“But you’re locked here with me,” she protests. “You, and all the other demons…”
“Yes,” Jinu says simply.
“So how can you be okay with all this?”
“You understand the progression of history, don’t you?” His fingers brush against the patterns on her neck, and together they glow purple. “Nothing is forever, and you have weakened Gwi-Ma permanently.”
Rumi’s breath hitches in her throat.
“So stay with me. It doesn’t have to be the end. Not if you don’t want it to be.”
His voice remains level. But one look into his eyes, and Rumi hears the plea behind his words.
So she lets herself melt into his arms, embracing the first day of their eternity.