by Katie May
“I-I promise I’ll do better next time. I-I saw you in my premonition. You need me. Just give me another chance,” the male voice pleads.
“Guys wake up!” I shout, rushing to the door. I grip the handle, but it doesn’t budge. “Hadley!” I scream, my fists pounding on the door.
“I was going to keep you as my loyal servant, but it seems your soul would be more useful as fuel for my own.”
A crash sounds, and I take a few steps back, then charge at the door. My shoulder meets the wood, but it doesn’t give, my body screaming in agony as if I’ve run into a cement wall.
My brothers jump to their feet, looking at me startled. I want to explain, but my entire attention is on the damn unbreakable door. Hadley is in there, unconscious, and I have no doubt in my mind that the voice who sounded familiar belongs to her tormentor, a murderer. And a second person, the voice raspy and unrecognizable. I can’t even discern whether that voice is male or female. It just...is. Like the sky is blue and the grass is green.
“She’s in there! With something bad. Help me!” I plead. I charge at the door again, not caring that my bones are cracking, not caring that blood is pouring down my body. All that matters is getting to Hadley.
“Hadley!” Auston screams. “Let us in!”
“No!” the male voice shouts, oblivious to us just outside. “Please, keep me alive. I-I can help you.”
“Stand back!” I shout and summon my scythe. “Explosio!” I yell, pointing the blade at the door. The red magic blasts from the end and embeds into the door, but the door doesn’t fracture. It absorbs my magic.
“What the fuck?” Auston exclaims, looking at the unharmed door.
“Come here, servant, and accept the fate I have decided to give you,” the inhuman voice rasps.
“No!”
More crashing sounds, and I look to my brothers, frantic. Karston keeps trying to float through the wall, but he’s unable to pass through. Some dark magic is keeping him out.
“What do we do?” I yell, horrified that Hadley’s in there without us. Did they hurt her? Kill her? The thought makes my stomach churn, and I know her death—her second death—is something I wouldn’t get over. How could I? I was falling in love with that girl, and the thought of her essence, her soul, no longer being a part of this world is devastating, gut-wrenching. I don’t think I could recover from losing her again. Especially like this.
“Combine our powers, like we did in the tunnels,” Brax suggests, summoning his sword. Weapons drawn, we point our weapons at the door, then allow them to touch. A stream of magic shoots out of the ends, its force so powerful it knocks us over as it crashes into the door, blowing shards of wood everywhere.
I rush inside, anxious to save Hadley from whatever horrors are inside with her, but what I see before me freezes my blood in my veins.
A girl with sandy blonde hair in a white hospital gown is holding Jake up by his neck with one hand, his body slack and her fingers curled around his neck. Her mouth is opened wide, her once bruised skin paled and grayed as a swirling mist leaves Jake’s body and enters hers.
“Ha-Hadley?” I utter, my voice breaking.
With an otherworldly slowness that feels like time itself has stopped, she turns to me. What were once blue eyes, bright and filled with life, are now black, decayed, void of anything but destruction. I only heard rumors of such eyes, such malice emanating back at me. They’re stories that the big, bad Reapers tell the baby Reapers. Bedtime stories. The type that makes you cower under your blankets. They’re whispered conversations between professors as they discuss the souls found across campus. The souls found with cracked faces, scorched eyes, and ashen skin. One name. One monster.
A monster who is currently staring back at me, wearing Hadley’s face.
The Darkness.
A sinister smile creeps across her face, a face I no longer recognize as she rasps, “Hadley isn’t here anymore.”
Acknowledgments
Katie:
Thank you to my family for your unconditional support and love. I wouldn’t be writing this novel without your encouragement. If you hadn’t pushed me to publish a year ago, I wouldn’t be where I am today. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I would also like to thank my co-author Loxley for agreeing to go on this crazy journey with me. Love you, big sis.
Loxley:
Thank you to my husband and kids for always being there for me.
Both of us:
We would like to thank everyone who made this book possible. Our alpha and beta team, thank you ladies for providing feedback and falling in love with our characters. Thank you to Jess and Meghan for editing our manuscript and making it the best it could be. Finally, we would like to thank our readers for supporting us and encouraging us. We hope you love Hadley and her guys as much as we loved writing it.
About the Author
Loxley is from a town in northeast Ohio. She lives with her handsome husband and three daughters. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her kids or binge watching reality tv. She loves Harry Potter, and anything Irish, oh and chocolate. Can’t forget that.
Follow Loxley here:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/loxleysavage
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/loxley-savage
Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/loxleysavage
About the Author
Katie May is a reverse harem author who lives in Michigan. She loves writing about strong, hilarious heroines and the men who love her. When not writing, you can find her curled up with a good book, playing with her dogs, or catching on the softball team. And being sarcastic. Join her Facebook group to stay up-to-date on all of her upcoming releases and to see exclusive content.
Also by Loxley Savage
FEATHERS AND FIRE SERIES
Bound for Blood - A Dark PNR RH Romance
books2read.com/boundforblood
Cursed to Crave - A dark PNR RH Romance
books2read.com/cursedtocrave
ENSLAVED BY THE KINGS
Saphyre, co written with Scarlett Snow - A Dark RH Fantasy
https://payhip.com/b/K8Mr
WICKED WAVES SERIES
Twisted Tides, co written with Erin O’Kane - A Fantasy RH Romance
books2read.com/twistedtides
COMING SOON
Their Draxis Queen (The Ravaged Book 1) - A Dark Alien Sci Fi
co written with Serena Akeryoid
Also by Katie May
The Damning
1.Greed
2.Envy
3. Gluttony
Beyond the Shadows
1.Gangs and Ghosts
2.Guns and Graveyards
3.Untitled (Coming November 2019)
Together We Fall
1.The Darkness We Crave
2.The Light We Seek
3.The Storm We Face
4.The Monsters We Hunt
The Immortal Legacy (With Elena Lawson)
1.Chasing Time (Coming September 2019)
Afterworld Academy (With Loxley Savage)
1.Dearly Departed
