Page 53 of Toward Immortal Ruin

Ten minutes later, she retrieved a blanket, a cup of hot chocolate, and a purring cat. She inhaled the rich fragrance of cocoa, but it did nothing to alter her mood. The peace she sought proven elusive—on multiple fronts.

A knock at the door made her startle.

Torn between answering it or simply pretending she didn’t hear it, Eden was surprised when a woman with white-blonde hair and eerie pale amber eyes let herself in a moment later.

“Key. I wasn’t expecting to see you.”

“Hello, Eden.”

The woman took a moment to scratch Marianne beneath her chin before seating herself on the opposite couch. With a smile, Key grabbed another blanket and pointed at Eden’s book.

“Any good?”

Eden looked at the cover and shrugged. “It’s your standard variety villain meets girl, falls in love, they live happily ever after. Nothing to write home about.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

Frowning at her, Eden asked, “Not that I don’t appreciate you stopping by to check on me, but may I ask why you’re here?”

Key was growing more serious by the moment. “You seem to be … struggling.”

Perhaps the combo of tear-stained face, gigantic cup of hot chocolate, and steamy romance novel gave it away.

“A lot has happened in the last week,” she admitted.

“There’s truth in that,” Key said. “But I think a lot of it was something you wished for—even if you didn’t quite realize it.”

“You think I wanted to be bitten by a rabid werewolf?”

“No, I think you wanted to be swept off your feet. I think you wanted to feel loved, to be cherished. To know kindness andpassion and desire. And you have wanted magic to be real your entire life.”

A part of Eden resented that. “Everyone does.”

“Of course they do,” Key amiably agreed. “Are you resentful that Nero brought you into this life?”

“No—no.”The more Eden thought about it, the more solidified the opinion became. “He brought me here to protect me. Why would I ever resent that?”

“You realize that Nero adores you. Sometimes, those protective instincts get the better of him. But trust me, everything he does, he does with your wellbeing in mind.”

“I know,” she whispered.

“Nero doesn’t know I’m here. As we speak, he’s arranging for you to see a werewolf alpha. You need to go with him—he’ll offer to have someone else take you, but you must go withhim.”

“How do you know all of this, Key?” Eden’s hands fisted in her blanket. “Luna is a healer. Zia can fly. Nero can shift. What are your abilities?”

A sly smile was her only answer. There was something in Key’s words that had sparked suspicion in her.

“Go with Nero, Eden.”

And then the Raeth walked out.

***

Nero’s home was lifeless without him. Eden had thought it so vibrant and colorful before, now everything seemed woefully dull. Sitting in the dark kitchen the next morning, she couldn’t help but shiver.

She spent half the night tossing and turning in Nero’s bed, and the other half worrying feverishly about the full moon ahead. Key’s words continued to echo in her mind.

Eden had blueberry pie for breakfast. The sugar seemed to help with her anxiety. Or perhaps it was the fact that Nero had made it that comforted her. The second slice seemed to solidify it.

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