Trial By Fire (Beyond The Veil Book 1)

by Cate Dean

  Bran answered for her. “No mortal has ever survived the poison, Reese, so we don’t know.”

  I closed my eyes. “Which means eventually could be never.”

  “We’ll do everything we can, Reese.”

  “I know, Mom.” I opened my eyes. “Thank you, for using up your favor.”

  “Oh, Reese.” She leaned forward and kissed my cheek, tears filling her eyes. “I love you, so much.”

  “I love you, Mom. I’d like to get some sleep now.”

  “Right. You must still be tired.” She stood, and brushed her fingers over my forehead. “I’m going to head home. Bran will call me if you need anything.”

  “Okay.”

  I watched her leave, every movement weary.

  “Reese.” I wanted to hide, to run away from this new reality. Instead, I met his eyes. “We’ll get through this.”

  “You’re okay? Really okay?”

  “I am.” He kissed me. “Really.”

  “Good. Can you help me sit? I want to try something.” He tightened his arm around my waist and eased me up. “Please ignore any random cursing.” I flashed what I hoped looked like a smile, and tried to lift my arm. Muscles twitched, but I could raise it almost to my waist. “Step one,” I whispered.

  “A giant step one, I’d say.” He leaned back against the headboard and took me with him. “You saved lives, Reese—including mine, when I wasn’t sure I wanted to be saved.”

  “Why?” I rested my head on his shoulder. “Why were you about to sacrifice yourself?”

  “By killing my human side, the demon would have been able to take over. Completely.”

  I sat. “God, Bran. Are you telling me that if someone kills you—”

  “And doesn’t kill the demon as well, I will become the demon. Yes, that’s what I’m saying. Still want to be my girlfriend?”

  He said it lightly, but I knew my answer meant everything to him.

  “You bet.” I cradled his face, watched the fear fade from his eyes. “I’ll always have the most interesting man in the room, at any party.”

  “Yes, you will.” He pulled me against his chest and let out a shaky breath. “God, I love you, Reese Pierpoint. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m not letting you go.”

  “Good.” I tucked my head under his chin, feeling hope for the first time since Mom broke the news to me about my arm. “Because I’m not letting you let me go.”

  His laughter rumbled through me. “A constant surprise.”

  “And don’t you forget it.”

  I held on, feeling his breath even out as he fell asleep. When I knew he was out, I eased out of his relaxed embrace, and moved out to the small balcony at the end of my studio. It was a clear night, a crisp, salt-tinged wind blowing off the ocean a couple of blocks away.

  I loved Bran Malcolm with every inch of my heart, but I wasn’t sure I could let him stay with someone who may never recover. I could even get worse—since I was the first survivor with human blood, no one knew.

  I leaned my shoulder against the short wall that enclosed the balcony and made a decision. I’d give it six months. If my arm didn’t improve, I was going to leave him.

  Just the thought of leaving tore at me, but I couldn’t hold him to a promise he made before our lives were blown apart.

  “Suck it up, Reese,” I muttered. “You have six months to get yourself better.”

  Or let go of the only man I ever wanted.

  ~ ~ * ~ ~

  Thank you for joining Reese as she learns more about herself, her new world, and her half-demon. Reese and Bran return in The Enemy You Know, which is available now.

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  Ready for more? Then turn the page for an excerpt of The Enemy You Know.

  Excerpt from The Enemy You Know

  I’d gotten used to doing more things with my left hand, but it was time to start using my right arm more often. I switched the phone to my right hand and carefully punched in her number. When I looked up, I saw Shella watching me. “It’s doing better.” The artist’s voicemail came on, halting any awkward conversation.

  I left a quick message and hung up, turning away from Shella to hang up the phone. That didn’t deter her.

  “You’re not still going through with your ridiculous plan to leave Bran if you aren’t one hundred percent by your deadline.”

  “No.” I sighed, and faced her. “He discovered my plan, and we talked about it this morning.”

  “Good for him. I knew he was a—”

  I didn’t find out what she thought of Bran. A loud tapping had us both staring at the front door.

  No one was there.

  “Weird,” I said. I walked over to the window and looked out, checking the sidewalk in front of the door. “What the—” A black lump of what looked like feathers was spread over the welcome mat. I opened the door and crouched down. “A bird must have hit the glass. Poor thing.”

  I reached toward it—and screamed when the lump burst up and flew straight at me.

  I lost my balance, falling backward. The bird flew over me and into the store.

  “Damn it—” I scrambled to my feet, propping the door open. “Stay out of the way, Shella. It’s a raven.” We had them where Mom lived now, and describing them as mean would be a huge understatement. I moved toward it, where it perched on a branch of the resin tree that I had impulsively put in one corner of the store. “Stay there, now,” I said, my voice calm, even. “We can get you out where you belong. All you need to do is—”

  “Do not touch him.”

  The deep voice had me snatching my hand back. Just in time, too. The nasty bird missed my fingers by less than an inch with his sharp beak. A man ran past me and snapped his arm out. His long fingers closed over the raven’s beak—and to my shock, he used his other hand to cover the bird’s eyes.

  “What are you—”

  “I need a blindfold. Quickly, before he can recover.” Not until after he said that did I notice the faint, white-gold glow around the raven.

  “I got it,” Shella said. I turned in time to see her dash into the back room, and I knew what she was going for. One of the scarves in the lost and found.

  She returned, and tossed the scarf to me. I moved forward, until my left arm brushed the sleeve of his black coat.

  “When you are ready,” he said. “I will remove my hand. Blindfold him as quickly as you can. Do not look into his eyes, or listen to whatever whispers you may hear.” My head jerked up at that, and I met a pair of brilliant blue eyes. “Nod when you are ready, Reese.”

  I didn’t want to take the time to ask how the hell this stranger knew my name. I’d do that after the obviously enchanted raven was dealt with. Moving as fast as I could, I stretched the acrylic scarf between my hands, careful to have my left hand leading the anticipated move.

  I took a deep breath, and nodded.

  The man uncovered the raven’s eyes—and I understood his warning when a silky voice slipped into my mind.

  “Free me, and all I am will be yours to command, Seer.” I froze, staring at the raven. “This human filth would have you believe I am the enemy, when he is the one who will—”

  “Blindfold him!”

  The man’s frantic shout broke our fragile connection. I reached past his arm and laid the scarf over the black, too-intelligent eyes. The second I did, his voice stopped its seductive pleading. I awkwardly tied off the scarf, the raven almost too high for my right arm. Once the knot was secure, my arm flopped down, shaking uncontro
llably.

  He moved to me and met my eyes, like he was asking permission to help me. I nodded, relieved when he slipped his arm around my waist and led me to one of the chairs I had scattered around the store, for bored husbands and boyfriends. After he settled me, he crouched in front of me and cradled my right hand.

  “Thanks,” I whispered.

  “You heard him.” I nodded, studying his face. He was younger than I expected, considering the presence he exuded. “Squeeze my hand.” I did, responding to the authority in his voice. “You are healing, but not as well as you should be.” He swallowed, despair clouding those brilliant eyes. “I am sorry I was not here to prevent this.”

  “You know me,” I whispered. The part of my heart that had been reserved for one man already knew, but I asked anyway. “Who are you?”

  “My name is Aidan Quinn, and you are my daughter, Reese.”

  ~ ~ * ~ ~

  Trial By Fire

  Beyond the Veil Book One

  Cate Dean

  Copyright, 2016.

  All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission of the author, except for use in any review. This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, locales, and events are either pure invention or used fictitiously, and all incidents come from the author’s imagination alone.

  Cover design by Funky Book Designs

  About the Author

  Cate Dean has been writing since she could hold a pen in her hand and put more than two words together on paper.

  She grew up losing herself in the wilds of fantasy worlds, and has had some of her own adventures while tromping through the UK, and a few other parts of the world.

  A lover of all things supernatural, she infuses that love into her stories, giving them a unique edge.

  When she's not writing, she loves cooking, scaring herself silly in the local cemeteries, and reading pretty much anything she can get her hands on.

  There - I got the official biography out of the way. I love to write, and yes, I have been doing it most of my life. I've made up stories in my head for as long as I can remember, and I am thrilled to be able to write them down and share them with you.

  I love writing different types of stories, and jump from fantasy, to mystery and paranormal, then over to romance and YA. So many genres, so little time...

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