Page 91 of The Reaper's Vice

“This would be my home.” A booming voice echoes from the shadows, causing Seraphina to jump. She looks around wildly, trying to find the source of his voice.

I sigh, rolling my eyes as I gesture to the darkened passageway to our right. “Seraphina, you should remember Ghost. You might have to speak up when you talk to him because he’s?—”

“Old.” Ghost interrupts, stepping forward out of the shadows.

“Well, it’s no fun when you say it,” I grumble. Ghost shoots me an exasperated look before turning his attention back to Seraphina.

“I’m sorry for your loss,”

She sputters, open-mouthed. “How-how do you…?”

Ghost doesn’t explain, only nods toward the couch. “Please, follow me, Seraphina.”

Seraphina and I share a glance, both just as confused.How the hell could he have known about Vee?

I’m halfway to the couch when I stop short, my mouth popping in horror. “Oh myGod,are you a fucking psychic?”

Ghost jerks back like I struck him, a flabbergasted expression crossing his serious features. “Were you hit on the head? Take a damn seat.” He gestures to the loveseat Seraphina is lowering herself onto.

A smirk crosses my face as I shoot over, grabbing Seraphina’s hips and hauling her onto my lap before her ass can hit the cushion. Ghost rolls his eyes to the ceiling as I wrap my arms around Seraphina’s stomach, nuzzling my face between her shoulder blades.

“Could you please be serious for one moment?”

“What?” I grin into Seraphina’s skin, shifting my hips so her ass is pressing directly against me. “You told me to take a seat.”

Ghost sighs and drops the issue. His face goes taut, all signs of relaxation running from his face as he looks into Seraphina’s eyes. “Earlier… you wanted to know how I knew of your friend’s passing?”

I shift to the side, gazing at Seraphina’s profile as she nods. “Yes.”

Ghost clears his throat. “I guess the easiest explanation is that I am a man whoknowsthings. You see, I had been raised as a?—”

“Phantom,” Seraphina finishes, her muscles tensing. “I… I remember now. You were the Phantom I saved that night at the Sanctum. The night I…”

The night she burned it all down.

Ghost nods. “I thought you might remember me eventually. Which means you also might remember the things the Sanctum did to you.”

Seraphina lets out a shudder. “I remember too well.”

“And you also remember the Madam who raised you?”

She nods.

Ghost sighs, looking anywhere but Seraphina. “Calathea—your madam—was an unusually cruel woman. She was the one who oversaw my training, so I am no stranger to the type of evil she possessed. But there was another—the one before her…”

At this, Ghost looks her directly in her eyes, a faint memory swirling in the violet depths. “Her name was Elvira. But you might have known her as Vee.”

44

SERAPHINA

“TIGER CUDDLES”

My heart seizesin my chest as I stare at the man with the strange-colored eyes, focusing on the vibrant purple hue bursting from his shoulders so I don’t have to think about what he just told me.

Vee—my Vee—was a Madam. She was just like Calathea.

A shudder runs through me, and suddenly, there’s not enough air in the room. Orion rubs his palm down my spine, gentle tingles sparking from his touch and grounding me as the information whirls through my mind.

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