Page 76 of The Reaper's Vice

She must think I’m her old love, Aaron. The one who gave her the ducks.

“Aaron?” Her smile drops as she struggles to sit up—to find her Aaron again.

With my heart cracking, I place my hand atop hers that is still clinging to my cheek, praying the tears won’t fall and break this ruse. “I’m here, Elvira. It’s me, Aaron. I’m Here.”

“Oh,Aaron!” Her eyes squint as a fresh wave of moisture builds in the corners. “Aaron, I’ve been so worried about you. Those masked people told me they killed you after they found us together that night. They taunted me with it, but I knew better.” She clutches her small black duck tightly in her palm. “I knew you would come back for me.”

My throat burns with the strength I keep my sob inside. For a moment, I don’t know if I can carry on with this—but then I look down at her. At my Vee. At my poor, dying Vee.

“I will always protect you. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here sooner,” I whisper, wishing I could have more time with her. Wishing, selfishly, that I could say goodbye as Seraphina.

Vee brushes her thumb across my cheek, frowning slightly at the wetness she finds there. “Aaron… why ever are you crying?”

“I’m just so happy to see you.” I choke on the lie as I brush her silvery hair back from her bloodied forehead. “I missed you.”I will always miss you.

“Oh. I missed you too.” She smiles up at the ceiling, and for a moment, she’s the picture of serenity. I watch as her eyes close slowly, as she labors with each breath she draws. “But we’re together now, aren’t we?”

I nod, unable to stop the choked sound that claws out my throat. “We are, Vee. Together.”

“Vee?” Her eyes flutter open for the briefest moment, a deep eleven between her brows. “Vee… that sounds familiar.”

I shake my head even though I know she can’t see it. “Maybe you imagined it.”

“Yes… yes, I must have, mustn't I?” Her eyes drift closed once more, and I stifle a sob, preparing for the last breath to leave her. But a few moments later, she jerks awake with a gasp.

“Aaron? Aaron?” She looks around blindly, her eyes wide with fright.

“I’m here.” I continue to brush her hair back. “I’m still here.”

“Oh.” She relaxes once more, her eyes fixing on a point on the ceiling and never wavering. “Oh, Aaron, I had the strangest dream.”

“Really?” My voice is hoarse with emotion. “What was it about?”

“Oh, it was so awful...” Her lips quiver as she stares at that one spot, like somehow, it will tether her to this earth. “I dreamed—I dreamed that I was old. That you were gone, and life was…” She shudders, her eyes taking on a glossy sheen. “It was all just a bad dream, wasn’t it, Aaron?”

“Of course.” My words come out in broken, heaving sobs. “Of course it was.”

She smiles. Her chest rises once more, and then never again.

I clutch her frail body to me, closing my eyes tight as her warm blood seeps into my clothes.This isn’t real. Vee can’t be gone. She can’t.

Yet she is.

“Vee,” I whisper, brushing her hair behind her ear. I’m numb all over, forced to look at the lifeless body of the woman who was like a mother to me. And where all that nothingness had been a moment ago is suddenly filled with raw, blistering hate.

Who did this? Who would dare to hurt someone I love?

The answer comes as fast as the question—as true as the golden masks on the intruder's faces. The Sanctum did this. They took her from me, like they’ve taken nearly everything else.

A nasty snarl twists my face as I lean my head back, screaming my pain into the empty skies above. Wishing, praying someone will listen, will bring her back.

Nobody does.

My sobs are cut off abruptly as the sound of shuffling footsteps makes their way to my ears. I raise my head, surprised to see Orion standing in the doorway, his face ashen as he stares at the carnage—at the dead woman in my arms. The aura bursting from his shoulders is tinged with blue, swirling and melting into the black and eating up all the light in the room.

“Seraphina…” He takes a step toward me, bright blue eyes piercing me through the shadows. “Seraphina… let me help you.”

I stare at him unblinking, the corners of my vision crowding with red as my broken mind twists and weaves its own narrative.If he hadn’t killed those people at the Neon Flamingo… if he hadn’t kidnapped me, the Sanctum probably would never have found me. If he just left me the fuck alone, none of this would have happened. Vee would still be alive.

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