“Yeah.” I paused, waiting in case he realized I hadn’t hired her back when I said I would. “Did you change your mind?”
“No. I...I tried talking to him. Earlier today.”
My heart thudded and I shifted to look up at him. “What?”
“We got in a fight. I said as long as he was hostile, we weren’t coming to the party to play nice, and that he had to accept you.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he would see me on Friday and to get the hell out of his house in the meantime, and then he hurled a desk at me.”
I settled my head back against his chest. “I’m sorry.” And I meant it.
“There’s no reasoning with him. And this way is probably best—he can’t remarry and have any more kids.”
Even when plotting an assassination, he wasn’t about revenge—just saving someone from the fate of him and his mother.
I didn’t deserve him in the least.
“I don’t think we should go with Zara there,” I said.
“You don’t think it’ll be obvious if we don’t make an appearance?”
There won’t be anyone left to notice. “I would just...feel weird being there.”
“It’s just after everything...I can’t do it myself without either resorting to magic or getting my ass handed to me, so I feel like I should be there. Something could go wrong. She might need help.”
“Baby, first of all, she’s a professional hitwoman and a vampire. Second, what are you going to do? Stand in the way of whatever he throws at her?”
I chewed at my bottom lip when he didn’t answer, regretting snapping at him if only because he never heard that cold edge to my voice before and I didn’t want him to suspect anything.
“I’m sorry,” I said softly. “I’m just...stressed. I want us to stay here.”
Nate said nothing. He was stubborn, I knew. Too stubborn. But as long as he only made a brief appearance—which, I was sure he would if I didn’t go—and came back home to me, everything would be okay. I told Zara to wait and do the hit late Friday night. He’d be back by then and I could finish the sacrifice by taking his life. And if not, I was still pretty sure Zara killing him would work as well.
Then I’d be a member of the Court. Finally.
I’d deal with the baby later.
“I love you,” he whispered, kissing the top of my head.
And I couldn’t bear hearing it. Couldn’t bear repeating the words of reciprocation. Saying it, now that I felt it, hurt too fucking much.
Instead I shifted my weight to my knees and hands, finding his mouth in the darkness in a kiss and undulating my hips, drawing out his desire so hopefully he’d forget this whole conversation.
Like a scratch behind the ears before I had him put to sleep.
Oblivion
Earthquakes. Plagues. Rivers of blood. The ever-so-popular rain of toads. When end of the world fare is on the rise, it’s well past business as usual in a city where the veil between dimensions is thin.
Quarter-demon Persephone Takata isn’t so keen on killing herself anymore. This time when death approaches, she’s ready to take a stand and fight to protect the woman she loves, along with everyone around them as the apocalypse swings into full force.
Meanwhile, trapped in her home dimension where her antichrist father’s rule is weakening, Mishka Thiering’s hopes for revenge on the living are put on hold when she stumbles across the truth the Court has kept hidden for centuries. Her death was the last piece of the puzzle, leading to a change in the dimensional landscape, affecting humans and demons alike.
Despite its fractured numbers, the shadow government who has kept tabs on Peri and Mishka for years is still very much in the game, ready to set into motion their final plan. For there is something much, much worse waiting in the wings—something old, something powerful, and something far more terrifying than Oblivion or any of the creatures it’s spawned.
Alliances, betrayals, casualties. This is war.
And only one sister can win.
About the Author
Award-winning author Skyla Dawn Cameron has been writing approximately forever.
Her early storytelling days were spent acting out strange horror/fairy tales with the help of her many dolls, and little has changed except that she now keeps those stories on paper. She signed her first book contract at age twenty-one for River, a unique werewolf tale, which was released to critical and reader praise alike and won her the 2007 EPPIE Award for Best Fantasy. She now has multiple series on the go to keep her busy, which is great for her attention deficit disorder.
Skyla is a fifth generation crazy cat lady who lives in southern Ontario, where she dabbles in art, is an avid gamer, and watches Buffy reruns. If she ever becomes a grownup, she wants to run her own pub, as well as become world dictator.
You can visit her on the web at www.skyladawncameron.com. When she’s not writing or being glared at by cats, she’s probably on Twitter. You should ping @skyladawn and tell her to get back to work.
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