Reaper (Dragon Prophecies Book 1)

by Hickory Mack

  “What is it?” he asked in alarm, trying to pull away, but she wouldn’t let him. “Are you hurt?”

  “I don’t deserve you,” she whimpered, and he sighed, cradling her in his arms.

  “Don’t I get a say in it?” he asked, and she shook her head.

  “I hurt you so badly for so long! How can you still love me so much?” she sobbed, burying her face in his neck. He softened and rolled them onto their sides so he could hold her tighter.

  He could feel her regrets, her pain, her sadness. She hadn’t just hurt him. She’d hurt herself, too. She’d suffered right along with him, though he never would have guessed how deeply until now.

  “Elsie,” he said, and her eyes snapped to his. He’d only called her by her name once before. “I love you this much because I know what it’s like to live without you. You’re my treasure, and I will do whatever it takes to protect you. I cannot live without you again.”

  She nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes, but it didn’t stop new ones from forming. “I love you, too. I love you so much. I missed you so badly.”

  “I know,” he said, kissing her gently. “I can feel it all, Mistress. I know everything.”

  “Does that mean you forgive me?” she asked, sniffing slightly and giving a light laugh.

  “It means you owe me double the debt. You hurt yourself that much, too, and you’re going to have to make up for it,” he said sternly. She nodded and snuggled into him even closer.

  “Okay.”

  Elsie spent the entire night with him, knowing full well she was getting herself into trouble back at the compound. She didn’t give a fuck. There wasn’t a force on Earth that could separate her from him. Just the thought of leaving in the morning sent her into another fit of tears.

  “I think sealing the bond has made me hormonal or something,” she laughed. “My emotions are so ridiculously heightened.”

  “Me too,” Saint agreed, looking around the room as the sun rose. “Why did you pick here of all places?”

  “They won’t find you here,” she said, slightly worried by his sudden silence.

  “Why does that sound like you have every intention of leaving me behind? I’m expected to lay low and let you do all the dangerous stuff? You don’t have to keep me safe anymore,” he said. She understood where he was coming from. They used to fight at each other’s side, protecting one another as naturally as breathing.

  “I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure those assholes never harm a hair on your head. I can’t fucking lose you again.”

  “You aren’t going to lose me again. The only way they can harm me is through harming you. You’re the only family I have left. Mistress, you are everything to me. Stop hiding me away, let me stand next to you once more.”

  “You will, as soon as I have what we need to get out of here.” She explained what Santisima had told her about how to break the curse.

  “An invitation to meet a pair of witches? Who talks like that? Why the hell wouldn’t she just tell you where to go? Can I meet your mother? I have so many questions for her,” he growled.

  “You don’t understand how recognizable you are. If Cornick has seen you in person even once, he will recognize you,” Elsie warned, reaching up and touching his curls. “You’re beautiful.”

  It had once been a subject he hated. His looks were exactly why he’d been chosen to be her companion. The reason why, out of his entire family, he was the only one left alive. He was pretty, and that simple fact had destroyed his life. Now, his looks were cursing him again, keeping him from joining Elsie at the compound. Despite everything, he would be left behind once more.

  He pulled away and sat on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands. The urge to take her away from all of this was too overwhelming, but he couldn’t give in to it. She’d be way too pissed off if he tried. Seconds later, Elsie followed, climbing out of the bed and kneeling at his feet. She laid her head in his lap.

  “I’m not changing my promise,” she said. “I will never let you go. I don’t care what it takes. I will keep you safe.”

  “I want to take care of you, but I can’t do that if we’re in different dimensions.”

  ‘Saint,’ she said into his mind, pressing how much she loved him through their bond, ‘even when we’re apart, you will never be alone again. I’m here for you, and I always will be.’

  “You’re missing the part where I want to be the one who’s there for you.”

  “You will be. I’ll be here every day, as often as I can. I couldn’t bear it if something were to happen to you. As it is now, the hunters barely tolerate Frost, and they’re the ones who forced me to take him. If there was a safe way to bring you with me, I would,” she told him. He leaned over, grabbed her raven mask from the floor, and held it up to his face.

  “What about this? I could wear a disguise. It works for you, why can’t it work for me? The only person you’re worried will recognize me is Cornick, right? As long as I stay away from him and keep the mask on when I’m around other people, it’ll be fine,” he said, his brilliant eyes glittering from behind the mask.

  It was tempting. She could keep him locked away in her suite, where nobody else was allowed to go, but truth be told, she wasn’t convinced her privacy would be maintained if someone got too curious.

  “You don’t understand what it’s like there,” she said after thinking it over for a minute. “Even if Cornick didn’t recognize you, everyone would know you’re a demon. If you were away from me for even a moment, it would be assumed you escaped from somewhere. They experiment on your kind. They’re putting something in demons’ heads that controls them, and I can’t risk letting them get their hands on you.”

  “So I won’t be away from you, not even for a second. Who cares? It’s what I want anyway! I’m not going to stay here like a kept lover.”

  “This is only temporary!”

  “But there’s no way of knowing how long temporary is.”

  “I know my mother can be a little strange with the way she handles things, but she could have broken the curse herself. The fact that she didn’t leads me to believe there’s something else we need to do first or the witches she’s talking about are somehow important. I don’t think she would have left the curse in place if it was going to take too long,” Elsie said, putting some faith in the goddess.

  “The woman left you with the hunters for fourteen years. I think her perspective of time is a little different than ours,” Saint sighed. “I’ve watched you wait for her in blind faith before, Mistress. For years, you stayed in a place that made you miserable because of that woman. I won’t watch that happen again. I’m not asking for permission, Mistress. You can’t stop me from coming with you.”

  Elsie closed her eyes and chewed on the inside of her lip. He was right, damn him, but at the very least she’d had to try. “What do you suggest we do?”

  “If there’s one pair of witches out there strong enough to break your curse, there must be others. Or at the very least, we can find them ourselves. We steal a large enough stock of the elixir to last, and then we leave. Fuck the hunters. They never would have gotten close enough to curse you in the first place if I had been at your side,” he said confidently. He wasn’t wrong. Saint was one hell of a fighter, and his protective streak was on a level even Frost couldn’t touch.

  “I’ve already started stockpiling the elixir. They give me a vial every day, but I’ve only been taking it every other day. With the seven I started with, then the three Cross kept for me, I’ve got enough to last a month if I continue taking it the way I have been. Give me a week,” she compromised. “Let’s see how things stand then.”

  “Anything can happen in a week.”

  “Exactly. That means there’s the potential for something good happening.” She didn’t tell him that a week on Earth gave her three weeks in the other dimension. It was deceptive, but it gave her the time she needed to make things happen and would be short enough on his end to placate hi
s worries.

  “When did you become such an optimist?”

  “When you came back into my life and decided to stay. If you can give me a second chance at forgiveness after what I did to you, anything is possible.”

  “Hmph. You aren’t doing a very good job of convincing me to forgive you,” he complained. Elsie propped her chin up on her arms and looked up at him. She could change that. Getting up, she slipped into his lap and wound her arms around his neck, staring into his eyes as she gave him a flirty smile.

  “Is this better?” she asked.

  “It’s a start.”

  Elsie leaned down and kissed him, but he wasn’t ready to give up.

  “I have a different proposal. You want a week? You have it. But I get to be with you. If you’re so worried about me being there, it’ll give you that much more incentive to move faster.” He blinked his eyes innocently.

  “You’re impossible,” she growled.

  “If it’s so easy for you, get up right now and walk out that door,” he challenged, and she tightened her hold on him. His eyebrows raised.

  “This is a terrible idea.”

  “Maybe. But I refuse to be apart from you any more. Mistress, do this for me,” he pleaded, his dark eyes catching hers. “I’ll shave my head and wear a mask. No one will recognize me.”

  Elsie gasped in shock. Not his hair! She kissed him again, her sweet, beautiful mate. “We’ll get you a beanie and a mask.” She lay her head on his shoulder and played with one of his curls.

  “Oho!” he teased. “All I have to do is threaten the hair? Is that all it takes? Tell me honestly, do you love my curls more than me?”

  Elsie laughed at him. “Yes.”

  He snickered at her, one hand absently stroking her back. His stomach growled, and he contemplated breakfast, but Elsie stood on unsteady feet.

  “If you’re coming, we need to get going. They’re going to be so pissed. I wasn’t scheduled to do anything for them today, but I’m supposed to be accessible at all times. Ah, crap, I’ve technically been gone for two days on their side of the gate. If anybody went looking for me, I’m screwed,” she complained. “I’m going to shower.”

  He followed her in for another round under the water, which lasted far longer than she’d expected. They stayed until the water went cold, forcing them to wash up while shivering. Toweling off, they got dressed, Saint watching her every move.

  “How long do you think it will take for the lust to wear off?” he asked as she buttoned up her shorts. Elsie flushed and fumbled, almost breaking her nail. She cleared her throat.

  “I, uh, I don’t know.” She could feel it too, and catching how much he wanted her every few minutes through their bond wasn’t helping. “Perrie said newly mated couples tend to disappear for a while, but she didn’t tell me for how long. She mentioned that they’d be encouraged not to come out in public because of how uncomfortable they’d make other people feel.”

  Saint let out a laugh and finished dressing, following her out the door when they were both ready. She brought him to a shop to buy him a few outfits, which surprised him. In the past, she’d always made his clothes. He got several beanies and new boots, and then they went and bought his mask.

  They found a black and gray wolf mask that looked slightly less lupine than the rest. It wasn’t the same as making one for himself, but in a time crunch, it would work. Saint pulled on the mask and pushed his hair back before squashing it under one of the beanies. Elsie couldn’t stop staring at him. He looked like an entirely different person without his hair springing out all over the place, and she wasn’t sure she liked it.

  “Now what?” he asked as they made their way through the demon town.

  “Now we go find Frost and head back to the compound while bracing ourselves for trouble,” she said, stopping midstep. Something with a whole hell of a lot of power was coming their way. Saint sensed it too, but before either of them could react, a group of demons came around a nearby building.

  A girl with long dark brown hair rode on the back of a collared incubus with the brightest red hair she’d ever seen. Her head seemed to be on a swivel, taking in all the sights at once.

  At their sides were a wolf demon with a bright orange and blonde afro that darkened at the roots, a mask fitted over her face. There was a sprite with long purple hair and violet eyes. She had a scary amount of dark magic. Next to her was something else. A demon with horns that she couldn’t quite figure out. He kind of looked like a supermodel or a rock star, and for a second, Elsie wanted to follow after him.

  Her eyes followed him before she tore her gaze away. Whatever the demon was, he looked like a teenager, and she wasn’t interested in little kids. The group passed them by, barely giving them a look.

  “Did you just see what I just saw?” Saint asked, nodding toward the group.

  “How were every single one of them that fucking beautiful?” Elsie demanded, as though insulted by their audacity. “And how do they have that much power? Are they Lords and Ladies? Why the hell do they need that many weapons? They looked like they’re about to start a war.”

  Saint laughed at her rapidfire questions. “I don’t know if they’re Lords and Ladies, but with that level of magic, some of them could be. That wasn’t what I was talking about, though.”

  “What?”

  “You need to pay closer attention to the important details, Mistress. The girl and her pet incubus, they’re half-breeds. Both of them are witches.”

  Elsie turned to look at him, seeing only the glitter of his dark eyes through the mask. She looked down the street, but the group was lost to the crowd. Not only had a pair of witches come, but they were both powerful. All she needed was an invitation to meet them.

  Chapter 38

  “Should we go after them before it’s too late?” Saint asked. Elsie bit her lip, considering the same thing, but in the end, she shook her head.

  “They’d think we’re crazy, chasing after them like that. Santisima told me I have to wait for an invitation,” she said. “I think that means we’re going to be spending as much time in town as possible, so there’s a higher chance we’ll meet them.”

  “Who do we know that will also know them?” Saint asked doubtfully.

  “Maybe we don’t know them yet,” Elsie guessed. “Which is why we’ll have to spend more time here, getting to know people and making acquaintances.”

  “Okay, but what should we do now? Should we start walking around and scaring the shit out of people now, or later?” he asked. “Mistress, you’re standing here in your full reaper robes with a mask on while holding a giant staff. Is that your scythe? What’s going on with that thing?”

  “Yes, it’s my scythe,” she laughed, looking at the weapon. The staff was kind of a giveaway. Elsie transformed it into the katana from before, Grief. “Swords are less scary, right?”

  “Not much,” Saint snickered.

  “Okay, I’ll get advice from Wren on how to dress next time we come to town.” She rolled her eyes, noting how quickly the expression disappeared from his face. He didn’t want to upset her with his thoughts on the matter. “Oh, you think Wren is bad? Wait until we’re in the compound and you have to deal with Cross.”

  “His name is Cross? I remembered it wrong, thought it was Chris.”

  “Macías Cross,” she replied. “We’re still in the ‘acting like we don’t know each other’ phase, but he’s been helpful.”

  She could see the thoughts turning over in his mind. He took her hand and posessively threaded their fingers together. “You should continue in that phase for as long as possible.”

  “Please try to be nice to him.”

  “I’m not promising anything,” Saint said, following her out of the town and through the barrier. He hadn’t had time to look at it the night before since they’d been in such a rush, but in the daytime, it was impossible to miss. It was impressive enough that he wondered who’d created it.

  Wren popped into their sp
ace, and Saint tripped a step backward, nearly cursing out loud in surprise. She’d found him wandering around, searching for Elsie, and brought them together, so he was grateful for that, but he wasn’t over how terrifying she could be. He kept waiting for her to become a giant and toss him through the air again.

  Elsie stepped forward immediately, worry on her face. Wren looked frantic, nearly panicked. “What is it?” she asked, taking Wren’s shoulders in her hands.

  “Please, please don’t be angry with me,” the spirit begged. Elsie’s heart dropped into her stomach. What could possibly have happened to frighten the earth spirit so badly?

  “I’m not angry with you. What’s wrong, Wren?”

  “I don’t want to, I swear.” Her blue eyes were wide and shining with fear. Elsie closed her eyes and pressed their foreheads together.

  “Breathe,” she said encouragingly. “It’s okay. Whatever it is, it’s okay. We can work it out together.”

  Wren was shaking so hard, Elsie pulled her in for a tight hug. The spirit buried her face in the reaper’s neck, clinging to her. “Wren, you’re scaring me.”

  “I have to leave, and I don’t know when I can come back.”

  “What? Why?!”

  Wren finally looked her fully in the eyes, and Elsie noticed how pale she was. Something had her terribly frightened. “It’s Muethdee. He’s awake.”

  “Oh. Oh gods,” Elsie whispered. Of all the elemental spirits to awaken next, why did it have to be the spirit of fire? The spirit with the most power to hurt Wren, especially without the water spirit around to protect her.

  “It’s the Key. She’s moving faster now. It was four years between Kahna and I waking, and it’s only been two years since Kahna woke. Plus, she balanced my magic. There are only four more of my siblings to wake, six of us to balance,” Wren said, her eyes unfocused.

  “I’ll come with you,” Elsie said. “I’ll protect you.”

  Wren smiled and gently stroked her hair. “He may not yet be fully aware of what’s happened, where he is, or how he got there. It was incredibly disorienting for both Kahna and myself. Muethdee has a temper, my love. I won’t allow you anywhere near him. He may lash out in confusion.”