by K. C. Hamby
A Shadow Reaper. An actual Bringer of Death. The goddess of Death according to Hades. I’m supposed to go to the Underworld and accept my fate with a smile on my face and have the mortality burned out of me.
Yes. Fucking burned. After what Damien did to me in Tartarus. After he set fire to my fucking flesh and had me melting into Fal puddles beneath my dangling, charred feet. The thought has my throat closing if I linger on it for more than a second.
Nina told me receiving her immortality didn’t hurt, but Eddie countered with how Nina’s immortality was a gift and not something required. Eddie’s mortality was burned out of her and she told me the truth.
It was fucking awful.
I want to tell myself I’m not afraid, but I’m terrified. I would rather not be burned alive. And what if it changes me? Isn’t mortality the link to my humanity? What if I become the Monster I’ve always tried to overcome? I couldn’t do that to Nina. She’s the reason I’m not a monster already and she doesn’t deserve to deal with that shitty part of me all the time. I wouldn’t want her to. I would insist she didn’t.
I slip into the armory and down the dark stairs. The basement is soundproof, but I can hear them going at it down there anyway. Predestined hearing and all that.
I push through the heavy metal door and am met by loud as hell rock music and Lilith belting out a note with Corin giving a heart pounding riff, meaty fingers dancing across the strings of his guitar. I slide through the door and close it behind me, finding my usual seat on the worn, pinkish-colored sofa. Ash smiles at me from his place behind the drums and Eddie winks as per usual when she spots me.
They are killing a cover of Sia’s Chandelier. Eddie’s voice is hitting every high note with perfection, measured and practiced breaths giving her vocal cords enough strength to reach the pitch of words fantastically.
I totally misjudged Eddie when we first got here. Of course, she didn’t exactly help with how she pretended to flirt with Nina, but her self-preservation didn’t allow her to have proper social skills either. She didn’t realize I’m not keen on that kind of humor. Especially not when it comes to Nina.
But she’s actually pretty cool. I mean, she came to hell to save my asshole self and now, she’s trying to help me transition into the Death goddess/Shadow Reaper role. She said she doesn’t know exactly what my abilities will be, but I will probably get a feeling and a small vision like she does when a job needs to be done. It’s impossible to ignore. An itch that can’t be scratched until the job is complete.
Seems infuriating.
She also warned me about the sensation a kill gives her when she’s done. Pleasure that almost hurts. She calls it the Frenzy. It’s apparently almost better than sex. And it heats your blood and drives you mad until you release the built-up energy.
Usually with…sex. Or murder.
Her past made a lot more sense when she told me that.
Their song finally ends and Corin puts down his guitar to flop on the couch beside me, throwing a dark and muscular arm over my shoulder.
“Fally Fal! What’s up?” He pulls me into his side and kisses my cheek.
My face heats as I try to act normal with all the attention on me. “Gracing you all with my presence. The usual, you know.”
He snorts, shaking me a little. “Of course. Thank you for being so generous, Your Majesty.”
I stick my tongue out at him and he almost flicks it with his big ass finger. I shove him once and he starts cackling.
“How have you guys adjusted without Kiyana? I know she was pretty damn good on the keyboard and it sucks to lose a band member.”
When I spot Ash’s clenched jaw from his place behind the drums, it tells me not everyone thinks it sucks.
“Aye. We lack the feel of PVRIS or Van Halen a wee more, but we’re a’rite. We are magic at adaptation,” Eddie informs me, pride in her smile.
“I don’t doubt it one bit. You’re fucking great from what I’ve heard so far. Are you guys ready for tomorrow?” I ask, avoiding the actual conversation I came to have with Eddie for as long as I can.
She takes off her guitar the same time Lil removes her bright purple bass.
“Uh, duh,” Lil growls with a raise of her brows. “We’re going to bring the goddamn place down.” Her emerald eyes have all the crazed conviction I need.
“I think you could bring down the entire place by yourself, Lil,” I joke, and she bats her lashes, clasping her hands in front of her chest.
“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” she croons.
I grin and shake my head. I mean…I would like to think I’m becoming nicer.
“What about you, Ash?” I ask, rubbernecking around Eddie to look at him walking up to us. “Are you ready for your big debut?”
“Yeah, I think so.” He bites his lip and Eddie reaches for his hand, no doubt taking away his growing anxiety.
“Aye, you’re gonnae do magically, like I said. I dinnae lie, lad.” She smiles up at him and he melts.
It’s nice to see him happy. After everything he has dealt with, he deserves it more than anyone I know.
Eddie turns to me, but I avoid her gaze like it could turn me to stone. She ducks, meeting my eyes anyway, and squints, seeing right through me as usual. “A’rite, you wallopers. We are done until warmups tomorrow.” She nods her head at me to follow her back outside.
My sigh is a little dramatic, but I’m seriously not good with stuff like this. Being vulnerable is stupid and makes my hands sweat.
“Eddie?” Ash asks, looking between us with nothing short of suspicion on his stony face.
“Got some business to attend to, aye, Falen?”
I huff out of my nose and flick my eyes to Ash hoping to all hell he doesn’t sense the fear in my scent. “Yeah. I won’t keep her too long, brother.”
He sneers at me, but I’m too nervous to even flip him off with my perfectly capable middle finger. I just wave to everyone we leave behind and follow Eddie up the stairs and out into the midday sun. She looks around to see if anyone is in hearing distance before she turns to me with a raised brow, pulling her long hair to hang over her left shoulder.
“What is it, lass?”
Here we go.
“I need your help with...a sensitive matter.”
She takes a step forward, ears ready to devour the information.
I swallow and push it out. “I need your help with, um...fashion.”
She frowns at me and takes a step back, giving me a disappointing onceover with her nose scrunched almost in disgust. “That cannae be why you’re sweatin’ to death, Falen.”
I groan and rub my palms on my shorts. “Okay, fine. I need help with fashion and…and...ring selection.”
Her brows furrow for a split second before a huge smile lights up her face. “Oh?”
I rush to explain before she can make any annoying assumptions. “I know Lupi don’t typically do marriage, but Nina isn’t Lupi. I wanted to do something specifically for her since she has uprooted her whole life for me. That and...I want her to be mine in every way possible.”
And because I love her more than anything.
“You dinnae need to explain, lass. Of course I’ll help. When?”
I glance at the oddly vacant area around us and bite the inside of my lip. “Can we go now?”
She blows a laughing breath from her nose. “Sure. Cummoan.”
We head to the ferry dock on the other side of Olympia in silence, my nerves keeping my mouth shut. If I try to talk, I’ll just sputter out something stupid about how nice the weather is today or something equally as tragic.
Way to go, Fal. I tell myself. Just when you thought you were getting better at socializing.
At least I can trust my mouth to stay shut when I want it to now.
“We’re goin’ to be travelin’ in that fancy car of yours, aye?”
I snort and nod my head. She’s obsessed with my black 2018 Corvette Z06 almost more than I am. I was able to
finally get it to Greece and I have it parked in a garage owned by the High Council beside the ferry dock on the mainland. “Yes. You know, if you like it so much, you should get you one.”
“Ach, no. I like my bike. And why get a Corvette if I can just ride in yours?” Eddie asks and grins like a devil.
“You know motorcycles are stupid dangerous, right?”
She stops walking and raises a brow at me when I stop to watch her. “Lass, I’ve one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. If I get through all that and meet the Reaper on my bike, that’s just the way I’m meant to go, you ken?”
I press my lips together, the word ‘Reaper’ causing an added wave of anxiety for a moment. “Yeah, okay. That’s fair. I guess I didn’t think about it that way. I’ve never ridden a motorcycle except for learning how to drive one just in case I have to steal one.”
We get back to walking again side by side. I stuff my hands in the shallow pockets of my shorts.
“I’d almost compare it to bein’ a wolf. It’s definitely not that fast, but it’s all good fun and easy to park.” She laughs at herself. “I’m nae good at parkin’ anythin’ bigger than my bike. It’s truly tragic how bad I am.” She grins at me, showing all her teeth when I snort.
I didn’t think she knew how to be bad at anything other than social awareness like me.
“So, when are you plannin’ on askin’ the lass?”
I bite my lip again and step onto the waiting ferry. The Lupi driving waves at me and Eddie before we head to the back as we usually do. “I…don’t know. As soon as I can. Maybe tomorrow? Or no I don’t think that would work. Well, maybe it will…”
Goddess, I don’t know. I’m barely able to talk about it I’m so nervous. Much less actually decide when I’m supposed to do it.
Eddie tries to hold back a laugh and the corner of her gold eyes wrinkle. “You’re full of nerves, lass. You ken she will say yes, so why are you sputterin’ like a pissed off cat?”
I groan and stare out at the water as the ferry pulls away from the dock. It’s beautifully blue and reminds me of the color of Nina’s eyes before she became Hecate’s Prophetess. “Because Nina does this to me. She makes me feel things I’m not used to feeling and I don’t know how to handle it.”
“Well, that’s not exactly her fault you cannae handle your feelins’,” Eddie nearly growls, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at me like I just slapped her grandma.
“Oh, for the love of the goddess. I’m not mad about it, you asshat. I wasn’t alive until I met Nina. I didn’t have any emotions other than rage. But meeting her brought out every single emotion I wasn’t used to experiencing; anxiety, happiness, fear, sadness…all of it came flooding in like she personally demolished the dam holding them back with some goddamn strong dynamite. I’m still learning how to properly handle myself when I feel these things. Anxiety is definitely my least favorite emotion of them all.” I comb my hair from its braid with my callused fingers and impatiently rip the tangles out. The unbound strands hang down nearly to my hip bones. “I can deal with fear. Fear causes me to act. But anxiety, I have no control over the situation, and it drives me insane.”
“Ach, that one’s definitely nae my favorite either. And I get it. Ashy does that for me.” She pushes off the railing, turns around, and leans her back against it. “After everythin’, I turned it all off. It wasnae worth feelin’ if it was just goin’ to hurt. And then your bonnie brother comes along, and all my bottled-up emotions just overpowered me. I dinnae regret it in the slightest, but I still worry I’m nae worth the trouble.”
“Yeah, I understand what you mean. I’m that way too. But you deserve Ash. You two are perfect together. Even when I wanted to kill you, I knew that.”
Her only response is a quiet laugh as she runs her fingers over the scars left behind by my wolf’s teeth on her throat, so I let her have some silence and stare out at the water.
Of course, I regret scarring her like that. I almost killed my brother’s Mate. After all the bullshit he’s been through, I almost disposed of the only person able to complete his soul.
Eddie touched Nina and my wolf doesn’t understand people touch each other all the time without it meaning anything. All she knew was Eddie touched her Mate and she was going to teach her a bloody and fatal lesson. I lost control of myself and almost made one of the biggest, most unforgivable mistakes of my life.
Eddie has forgiven me, but the goddamn guilt of it all still haunts my mind every now and again.
I bite the inside of my lip and shake my head. I have enough things to worry about without guilt eating away at my insides.
So, I turn my mind to the one thing keeping me sane: Nina.
I wonder if she and I would ever want to get a house here in Greece after we got married. Or even before? It’s beautiful and we both love the beach.
Or would we go somewhere else and live? Would Nina want to go somewhere else? I’m tied to my job, so we will always have to be where I am needed. It’s why I worry she will eventually regret meeting me. All I represent are chains and the keys are held by someone else.
Hey babe? I whisper through the bond.
Her surprise rolls through my skin like static. Hi there.
I love you.
I love you, Faligator. Hurry back from your mission, okay?
I duck my head and slam down the mental barriers I’ve been working on to catch myself before I ruin the lie. I couldn’t tell her what I was doing. It would blow the whole thing.
I don’t want to lie to her, but I think this one is worth it.
I will, gorgeous, I send back when I’ve gathered my composer.
“What’s that like?” Eddie asks barely above a whisper.
I look up and realize she’s been watching me. “What?”
“Talkin’ through the bond.”
I lick my lips before pressing them into a thin line in thought. “I mean, it’s a lot like talking out loud, really. Just no one can ever hear your conversation. Have you and Ash not been able to…?”
“No,” she cuts me off with an annoyed snap. “We’ve tried, starin’ at each other like fools and strainin’ our brains enough to hurt, but it just doesnae work.” She clenches her jaw and her nostrils flare.
“I mean, maybe one of you just needs to be in trouble or something. Mine and Nina’s didn’t start until we fought Klythios. Maybe it’s like a survival thing. The bond reaches out to your Mate when you need help as a last resort. I’m not an expert, so I could be completely wrong, but it’s my theory.”
“That makes a lot of sense,” she mumbles, seemingly to herself, before sighing. Her raw and gilded eyes fall on my face. “I would rather neither of us be in trouble, though.”
I snort. “Of course not.”
Chapter 6
Edelina
So, Falen is going to ask Nina to marry her. I almost can’t contain my excitement. They both deserve all the happiness they can get.
Falen stops her car in the parking lot of the Athens Mall. She doesn’t seem to notice when men walk by, appreciating the fine machine she drives. Their eyes widen when we step out, as if not expecting a woman to be the driver.
Men are fucking swine.
We make our way inside. This place has a wee blue flair to it because of the tinted windows in the ceiling letting in light. The air is crisp and not at all like the humid shite outside. It’s a nice reprieve, that’s for sure, but my skin is sticky and uncomfortable from the drastic change.
“A’rite,” I speak up, getting the lass’s attention. “You dinnae want to wear a dress, aye?”
Falen sneers at me in the famous way I’ve grown used to. “Why the fuck would I wear a dress? Hell no.”
I chuckle, not surprised in the least. I may have asked to get a rise out of the lass. “Aye, I dinnae think you the dress type, but I dinnae wantae assume. What kinda occasion? Fancy?”
She cracks her knuckles and groans. This is really stressing her out. “I don’t reall
y know. When I say I suck at fashion, I mean that seriously. I only wear things like this.” She gestures down to her all-black and dark attire and I press my lips together to prevent an annoyed groan from falling out like a sack of potatoes. “I’m going to write her a poem...somehow. It’s undoubtably not going to be Shakespeare-esque or even decent. I can rhyme, that’s about it. But she likes poetry so I figured I could give it a shot. And it’s going to tell her to meet me at the beach.”
“Ach. That’s nice.” However, the thought of Falen writing poetry is laughable. “Have you ever worn a suit?”
She blinks slowly at me a few times and raises her brows.
The lass thinks I’m daft.
“A’rite, you brat. You’ve never worn anythin’ other than the sad attire you are donnin’ now.”
Her lips raise to show her teeth, but I place my hands on my hips and widen my eyes, daring her to contradict me. When she concedes her childish staring, I shake my head at her.
“Well, even though you seem to have no experience whatsoever, I think we needtae go to a suit shop and get you fitted. If you pay the right price, they could have it ready by tomorrow.”
“I’m not worried about the money,” she admits with a shrug.
“No, I dinnae think so.” We get paid plenty to never worry about money being an issue ever again.
We walk through the mall in comfortable silence for a while, but Falen is all over the place. She’s furrowing her brows, probably talking to herself in her head. I don’t think it’s the best conversation, either. By the frown pulling at her lips, she’s assuredly not hyping herself up. The air is thick with her darkness to the point I can sense it practically crawling all over her skin.
“So, have you decided to accept your fate yet? I ken Hecate is patient, but Hades...nae so much.”
She flinches almost instantly before ducking her head. She hates this conversation, but her indecision is eating away at her day by day. “No. I...don’t want to.”
“Why nae?” I was thrilled to be a Fury. Absolutely fucking thrilled.
