Chapter 28 #2
A gasp left Viri as the burning eased a fraction and the veins in Reeve’s arms began to change color, right before her eyes—something Viri shouldn’t have been able to see, not without a hunter’s mark.
They didn’t turn the inky black of reapers, though; instead, silver streaks shot along his tanned skin and disappeared beneath his dark sleeves.
But that was all Viri saw before her inner flames raged to new, excruciating heights, as if the obelisk realized what Reeve was doing and was angry about it.
If he siphoned her magic away, then the obsidian stone would lose its grip on her—it would have to let her go.
But by the same argument, if he siphoned her magic away, then—then—
Viri didn’t have a chance to finish her thought, the inferno blazing so fiercely that it was all she felt, all she knew, and her body simply couldn’t handle the pain anymore.
The last thing she saw before her eyes rolled to the back of her head was Braedan’s terror and Reeve’s determination, the two of them yelling her name, begging her to stay with them.
But she couldn’t.
Because everything turned black.
“You could have killed her! You did kill her! What were you thinking?”
“Calm down, Brae. Look—she’s breathing. She’s going to be fine.”
Viri began to rouse, the familiar voices of her brother and Reeve blurring around her.
“She might be breathing now, but she wasn’t a minute ago!” Braedan sounded furious—and scared.
“Now is all that matters,” Reeve said in a firm tone. “And keep your voice down—she’s going to be in enough shock as it is when she wakes up. She doesn’t need to know what happened.”
“What did happen?” Braedan demanded. “How is she alive?”
There were arms around Viri—arms that tightened protectively when Reeve answered, the closeness of his voice revealing he was the one holding her.
But unconsciousness tugged her back before she could hear what he said, muffling his murmured words, her clarity returning only as he finished, “You know I would die before I let anything happen to her.”
Braedan sighed shakily, his rage having fled at whatever Reeve had told him. “I can’t believe you did that. But I’m—I’m so glad you did. The obelisk was about to rip her apart. And our—our parents—” A choked sound left him.
His grief managed to finally pull Viri awake, her own horror returning as she sat up in Reeve’s lap and groggily looked around, seeing the once-perfect grass now charred and the angelrose hedge no longer glowing, but lifeless—just like her mom and dad, who lay mere feet away.
It wasn’t a nightmare, then. It had been real.
But the pain was gone—the burning was gone. And she was no longer trapped against the obelisk, which stood innocently in the center of the scorched grass, as if it hadn’t just shattered her life.
Tears started pouring from Viri’s eyes, tears of shock, of fear, of anguish.
Her parents were dead. The obelisk had tried to kill her.
Reeve had broken the law and siphoned from her to save her life—and if what she’d heard was true, she’d died in the process, even if she was somehow alive again.
It was too much—everything was too much—
Her shuddering sobs became so violent that Reeve drew her closer and Braedan’s arms encircled them both, all three of them weeping as they held on to each other.
Viri tried to tell them she was sorry, the words tumbling out in blubbering howls, but they kept shushing her, saying it wasn’t her fault, that they didn’t blame her, that they would get through this together.
Their strength was the only thing that kept her from falling apart, the knowledge that, while she might have to face a future without her parents, at least Braedan and Reeve would be with her.
They had each other, and they always would.
“Oh dear, it looks as if I missed all the excitement.”
The silky, dark voice slid over Viri like oil, causing the hairs on her arms to stand on end.
Braedan and Reeve pulled back, scrubbing their cheeks as they stared up at the cloaked figure who had appeared through the dead angelrose hedge.
Viri’s tears continued to fall silently, though her sobs had quieted, if only because all her energy was gone, leaving her exhausted and numb.
It was better than her grief, though she knew that would return soon enough.
“Who—Who are you?” Braedan asked, standing to his feet and holding his hand out to pull Viri up. He didn’t let her go, his fingers gripping hers firmly as Reeve rose on her other side, moving near enough to brush shoulders.
“Can you h-help us?” Viri asked the newcomer, her voice hoarse from crying. “Our p-parents—The o-obelisk—”
A hiccup left her, but she swallowed it back.
The cloaked figure made a tsking noise. His voice was deep and masculine, but his features were hidden by a hood that created unusual shadows covering his face.
“It’s tragic, to lose one’s parents so young.
” He tsked again. “But they knew better than to meddle with magic they didn’t understand.
What happened here was their own doing—in more ways than you can imagine. ”
Every word felt like a punch to Viri’s stomach, even as confusion flooded her.
“What do you mean?” she rasped, feeling Braedan’s fingers tighten around hers, while Reeve vibrated with rising anger at her side. “What magic?”
“Nine and a half years ago, your parents made a choice.” The figure stepped closer, his physique hidden by his voluminous dark cloak and the shadows that seemed to follow his every move.
Even his hands were concealed by black gloves, covering every trace of skin.
“They did something they shouldn’t have, took something that didn’t belong to them, awoke magic that was best left undisturbed.
Their actions had consequences, and today, they foolishly paid the price. ”
Reeve made a growling sound, but Braedan spoke before he could say whatever furious thing he was about to hurl at the man.
“How dare you!” Brae snarled, his eyes puffy from crying. “Our parents just died and you’re calling them fools?” He turned to Viri and Reeve. “Ignore this creep. We need to go and summon the Nox. We need to—” His voice broke. “We need to find out what to do next.”
Before they could move a single step, the man raised his hand to fiddle with his glove, the edge of his cloak sliding up along his forearm, revealing a sliver of pale skin.
But that wasn’t all it revealed.
Viri gasped and lurched backward, tugging Braedan and Reeve with her.
They resisted, having not seen what she had.
She shouldn’t have been able to see it either, but maybe the magic of the obelisk had done something to her, changed something inside her.
Whatever the reason, there was no denying the black veins she saw vanishing beneath the man’s sleeve.
“Y-You’re a reaper,” she stammered, fear making her voice tremble. A murderer stood before them, someone who had no qualms about killing children. Someone who enjoyed it.
“Not just any reaper, Viridia Solace,” the man said, amusement threading his voice. “I’m the leader of all reapers—the Reaper Lord.” His shadowed head swiveled to Braedan. “And you’re not going anywhere.”
Viri’s body began quaking, and she felt the same terror emanating from her brother and Reeve.
The feeling only grew when the Reaper Lord waved a hand and her skin prickled with ellixen before her feet suddenly became rooted to the scorched grass.
She tried to move but was trapped in place, with Reeve and Braedan just as stuck as she was.
“You can do magic,” Reeve breathed, staring at the Reaper Lord in shock.
“That was barely a party trick,” he said dismissively, lowering his hands so that his sleeves concealed his veins once more. “I suggest you don’t anger me enough to show you what I can really do.”
A shiver traveled down Viri’s spine.
The Reaper Lord’s tone lightened, turning almost pleasant.
“Now, I’m here to offer you a deal.” He brushed invisible dust from his cloak.
“I need something from you, and one way or another, you’re going to give it to me.
Only, I won’t need it for another few years.
I do, however, need to make sure I have it when that time comes. ”
Viri shared a puzzled look with her brother. Braedan’s face was alarmingly white, his grip near bruising.
“We’re not giving you anything,” he said, trembling as much as Viri.
“I wasn’t talking to you, Braedan Solace,” the Reaper Lord said. That sense of amusement returned. “Though something tells me you’ll be the one who ensures I get what I want.”
Braedan squared his shoulders, looking more like their father than ever—something that caused a stabbing pain to ripple through Viri’s chest. “I’ll never help you.”
“You have two choices,” the Reaper Lord went on, as if Braedan hadn’t spoken. He raised a gloved finger. “One. Viridia comes with me and, in a few years, after she’s done what I need, she’ll be free to leave—assuming there’s anything left of her.”
Viri swallowed back a whimper.
“Or two…” The Reaper Lord’s attention returned to Braedan.
“It’s your sister who I want, but until I need her, I have no use for her.
You, on the other hand, are old enough to be of value.
So she can be my prisoner while she waits…
or you can take her place. A safeguard, so to speak.
She can grow up and live her life, and you…
” A dark chuckle. “You’ll serve another purpose, while relaxing in the knowledge that she’s protected and content as the years pass by. ”
“No,” Viri said sharply, not letting her brother consider it. “You can’t have either of us.”
“Take me,” Reeve offered.
“NO!” Viri and Braedan shouted in unison, both glaring at Reeve, with Viri digging her fingernails into his forearm to keep him from doing or saying anything else stupid.