by SM Reine
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Dana muttered.
“Go say hi.” Penny nudged her with an elbow. “You know it couldn’t have been easy for her to make it.”
“Don’t know why she bothered.”
But Penny pushed Dana hard enough that she stumbled toward the bar.
Dana faced the younger of her sisters, trying not to glower. “Hey, Em.”
The woman turned. Marion Garin was somehow more beautiful up close than from a distance. From a meter away, Dana could see pores, scars, and bumps on most people. Not on Marion. That was the angel blood in her.
“Dana!” She descended upon Dana with a fragrant and gentle hug. Marion kissed her on each cheek. “Bisou, bisou.”
“Right, yeah, kisses, whatever.” Dana shoved her. “What are you doing here?”
“You sent me an invitation,” Marion said.
Dana glanced over at her bride. Penny was determinedly ignoring Dana, which meant that she was the one who’d sent Marion the invitation, and was now pretending to be oblivious to this awkward conversation.
“I didn’t think you’d ever come. You haven’t been making public appearances ever since you turned your back on our gods,” Dana said. Marion used to be the Voice of God, but she’d quit. She’d never been as dedicated to triadism as Dana.
“My sister’s wedding is hardly a public appearance.” Marion took her hands. Touching Marion’s skin felt like touching expensive silk. “In truth, I would have come even if your wedding was on every single TV in the nation. It’s been too long.”
“Guess so.” Dana pulled her hands free. “Guess it’s nice you’re here.”
Marion planted a kiss on Dana’s forehead. “There. I know you don’t like it, but there.”
Dana scowled. It was bad enough being Dana McIntyre-level famous, but Marion was infamous, and she didn’t want that shit rubbing off. “Where’s your boy-toy?” Dana asked.
“Everywhere,” Marion said. “Nowhere. Outside time and within my soul.” She was romantically entangled with the God of Death. They thought they were soulmates fallen madly, deeply in love. Yawn.
“God can be everywhere simultaneously, but he didn’t want to come to a wedding with you?” Dana asked.
Marion laughed. “He’s afraid I’ll rope him into a wedding of our own.”
“Would you?”
Any other probing question would have earned one of Marion’s ultra-feminine, ultra-charming laughs, accompanied by a flip of the hair. But mere mention of Death was enough to strip her of all her pretense. Her fake smile melted enough to reveal something more wistful underneath. “I don’t think we need to.”
“Yeah, right. I’m sure you don’t want to throw a party together to celebrate your passionate love affair with God. You hate attention so much. Anyway, don’t forget to send me an invite if you guys...you know.”
“Don’t look forward to a wedding, but I’m sure we’ll have another party at our home come Christmastime,” she said. “He’s enamored with these silly holidays.”
“Just not weddings. I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t have to.”
“Hush,” Marion said. “It was a beautiful ceremony. Penny is beautiful. You should be thanking our gods for every moment you get with her.”
Dana glanced over at her wife again. Penny was dancing with Lina, and very badly. The orc was too wide to be graceful. She kept bumping into other dancers—normally something that would humiliate her. But now she was laughing. Surrounded by friends at her own wedding reception, Penny didn’t look remotely ashamed.
Despite the pallor to her green flesh, she was downright glowing.
Dana and Marion didn’t bother exchanging small talk after that. Loving each other didn’t mean they liked each other, and they had literally nothing to discuss at a wedding since Dana didn’t give two fucks what Marion and Death were up to.
They exchanged another kiss. They squeezed hands. Then Marion left to do whatever it was that Marion did, and Dana stood at the edge of the beach to watch Penny.
The orc was now encircled by Hunting Club members, trying to insulate her from the rest of the crowd so that she could dance like nobody was watching. Penny was still laughing, and so were Lina, Dionne, and Chris. In the light from the bulbs dangling under the gazebo’s roof, there was enough of a golden glow to make them look like they were standing in daylight.
All that light also meant that Dana could see it shining on their cheeks. They were crying, too.
“Fuck,” Dana said.
Anthony would have loved that sappy-ass wedding.
She rubbed her arm where Cèsar had removed the tracker. A tiny bit of blood smeared on her finger. She’d gotten it on her tux jacket, too. She wasn’t getting the deposit back on the rental.
“Fuck it,” Dana muttered. She tossed the jacket to the sand. She whipped off her belt, kicked off her shoes, and waded into the waters of Lake Tahoe.
It was cold enough to hurt her feet at first. But then she felt numb—as numb as she’d been when she was a vampire. As numb as she’d felt when Nissa Royal died. As numb as death.
Clark County was rid of its vampires.
But she felt drawn to the darkness in its sewers anyway. The lost and forgotten souls. The shadows held barely at bay.
“You’re not done with me, are you?” Dana whispered at the near-full moon, her fist clasped on the triadist charm.
Stars twinkled. The moon glowed. Water slopped to her not-yet-numb knees, reminding her that she stood in snowmelt.
Nothing responded to her question. For now, there was no next quest. This one was done.
“Thanks for Penny,” Dana told the sky.
She was probably imagining it, but it kinda looked like the stars winked at her.
Dana slopped out of the water. A wave came up to steal her bloodstained tux jacket, sucking it out to the black depths of the clear, cold lake. And Dana McIntyre returned to the warm light of her wedding with no vampires left to slay.
For now.
About the Author
Hi! I’m Sara, a super-prolific author who publishes as SM Reine. I’ve put out over fifty titles, most of which are urban fantasy, and all of which serve as evidence of my nonexistent social life.
I’m a proud Nevadan, an enthusiastic mom-nerd, and animal hoarder in possession of cats, dogs, chickens, bees, toads, and little boys. I write gratuitous violence to balance out my real-life chill. I like kissing books and science fiction movies.
If you occasionally think “Hey! I wish I could see a million pictures of some random author’s dogs and children!” then you should follow me on Instagram. I also say stupid things on Twitter a lot. The best way to find out when I have new books is to join my list for new release email alerts, though. Allons-y!
smreine.com
Did you love Suicide Queen? Then you should read Witch Hunt by SM Reine!
A brutal murder.
There are scratches on Cèsar Hawke’s arms, a discharged Glock on his coffee table, and a dead woman in his bathtub. Yeah, maybe he brought the waitress home for some fun — he was too drunk to remember it — but he knows for a fact that he didn’t kill her. He’s an agent with the Office of Preternatural Affairs. He doesn’t hurt people. He saves them.
The cops disagree. Now Cèsar is running.
The search for a shaman.
Isobel Stonecrow speaks with the dead…for the right price. She brings closure to the bereaved and heals broken hearts. But when she resurrects someone for the wrong client, she ends up on the OPA’s most wanted list.
One risky solution.
Tracking down Isobel is the last case assigned to Cèsar before he bolts. If he finds her, he can prove that he didn’t kill that waitress. He can clear his name, get his job back, and bring justice to the victim.
She’s just one witch. Cèsar has bagged a dozen witches before.
How hard can one more be?
Read more at SM Reine’s site.
; Also by SM Reine
Dana McIntyre Must Die
Drawing Dead
Kill Game
Cashing Out
Suicide Queen (Coming Soon)
Ein Tarothexen-Liebesroman
Wolf im Käfig
Preternatural Affairs
Witch Hunt
Silver Bullet
Hotter Than Helltown
Shadow Burns
Deadly Wrong
Ashes and Arsenic
Once Darkness Falls
Bitter Thirst
The Road to Helltown (Coming Soon)
Preternatural Affairs, Books 1-3: Witch Hunt, Silver Bullet, and Hotter Than Helltown
Seasons of the Moon
Seasons of the Moon Series, Books 1-4: Six Moon Summer, All Hallows' Moon, Long Night Moon, and Gray Moon Rising
Six Moon Summer
All Hallows' Moon
Gray Moon Rising
Long Night Moon
Tarot Witches
Caged Wolf
Forbidden Witches
Winter Court
Summer Court
The Ascension Series
Sacrificed in Shadow
Oaths of Blood
Ruled by Steel
Caged in Bone
Lost in Prophecy
Torn by Fury
Sins of Eden
The Ascension Series, Books 1-3: Sacrificed in Shadow, Oaths of Blood, and Ruled by Steel
The Cain Chronicles
New Moon Summer
Blood Moon Harvest
Moon of the Terrible
Red Rose Moon
Darkmoon
Of Wings and Wolves
Alpha Moon
The Cain Chronicles
The Descent Series
Death's Hand
The Descent Series, Books 1-3: Death's Hand, The Darkest Gate, and Dark Union
The Darkest Gate
Dark Union
Damnation Marked
Dire Blood
Defying Fate
Paradise Damned
Death Scream
The Descentverse Collections
Preternatural Affairs, Books 4-7: Shadow Burns, Deadly Wrong, Ashes and Arsenic, Once Darkness Falls
The Mage Craft Series
Cast in Angelfire
Cast in Hellfire
Cast in Faefire
Cast in Balefire
Cast in Godfire
The Mage Craft Series, Books 1-3: Cast in Angelfire, Cast in Hellfire, and Cast in Faefire
War of the Alphas
Omega
Beta
Alpha
Pas
Watch for more at SM Reine’s site.
