Page 56 of Reap the Night
Before he built this castle.
Before it all.
We were happy once.
A family united.
Maybe there is hope for us to be that again. But it all hinges on Orina.
It takes but a moment to get a fire roaring, but movement of my arms causes an aching burn to race across my back where my skin is tight with slowly healing wounds from the whip lashes I administered. Funny how those wounds can heal other wounds and yet themselves remain as a constant reminder of the fact that this body is a prison.
I settle into my armchair mindful of my back. “It’s her, isn’t it? Orina is Arabella. We were right the first time.”
“Maybe.” Ordell sips his tea. He’s using one of the largest mugs I’ve seen, and the tea is dark and strong, the way he likes it when he’s stressed. “But she doesn’t believe it. Doesn’t want to. I think she’s afraid to allow herself to feel more for him than she already does.”
“Then we have to help her, push her, and?—”
“No. We let nature take its course. If we push her, we might scare her. We might cause her to put her defenses up even more. We need her to let her guard down. It’s the only way she’ll fall in love with him.”
She knows that the only way for the curse to be broken is for the incarnation of Arabella to fall in love with Ezekiel. Love, not lust. Not infatuation. And if she is indeed Arabella, as we think she is, then she’s not there yet, because if she was, the curse would have ended.
Love is such a funny thing.
“Love takes time,” Ordell says, echoing my thoughts. “Time that we have if we’re smart about it.”
“Do we?” I arch a brow, allowing my gaze to drop to his collar. “How much time doyouhave?” I keep my tone even and light to hide the panic that races through me at the thought of what’s happening to my brother.
“I’m fine,” he says. “It’s barely spread.”
He’s lying. “Let me see it.”
“No.”
Which means it’s definitely spreading. “Ordell, ignoring it won’t make it go away.”
“What choice do I have?”
What choice indeed, because the one thing that can save him could doom us all. “She’s almost there.”
“I know. I have hope.”
If only hope could save us.
Chapter 20
ORINA
Bringing Holly fully into the circle of trust was a provident move. She immediately started talking about potential ways to stave off the progression of the mullo infection, to slow it down to a crawl to give us time to find a cure. Excitement sparkled in her eyes. She truly believed she could help.
There was nothing we could do for Merry, though. Not without a pureblood fae healer on hand to look at her. Kaster hadn’t had any luck in finding one yet. Merry proposed the idea of asking Crush for help, and we all agreed that she should go see him tomorrow.
So it was an exhausted watcher that climbed into bed that night. Both mentally and physically, but once under the duvet sleep eluded me.
I kept wondering if Ezekiel was okay. Had he woken again, trapped in his dream and acting out the past? I should have stayed with him. I should be there.
My throat ached, reminding me why it probably wasn’t the best idea to be around him right now, but another part of mewhispered that he needed me. He needed an anchor, a guide to bring him back from the hell he was lost in.
Why would mention of his family or the fact that Ordell and Hemlock were his brothers fracture him this way? The question had been circling in my mind for hours, and there was only one answer.
