Chapter 13

"What? You're lying. Father Benedict would never do something like that." Rose frowned. Her eyes still trained in horror at the mark on Jericho's skin.

"Of course he wouldn’t," Jericho replied, smiling sadly, "I asked him for this mark."

Rose gasped, unable to reply.

Jericho sighed and she could tell he was gearing up for an explanation. "You know I'm Nephilim. At the time, I was desperate, looking for a way to prolong my life. When Father Benedict contacted me about the marriage ritual, I thought my problems were over. But then I hit my limit. That made me consider the mark, despite Father Benedict's warning of what it might do to me."

Rose remained silent, studying Jericho's eyes. He looked calm as he recalled the story, as if he'd already put the fact of his mortality behind him. Rose wanted to ask him what it was exactly that made him desperate enough to live to get such a mark, but she felt like it was too personal to ask. Jericho's gaze turned more and more intense by the se