Page 103 of Goldrage
Cold metal against hot skin.
The lion watches. Lucian watches. He knew—Lucian knew—this is how it would always end for me. So he tried to beat strength into me: the strength to endure this world.
But he failed.
Time slows to honey, thick and golden and suffocating. Through the amber haze, I watch Aurelia’s expression shift—confusion to understanding to horror in the space between heartbeats. Her weapon clatters to the floor, forgotten. She moves toward me like she’s underwater, every motion stretched and distorted.
Her eyes are wide. Frantic. Green with those flecks of gold that still make my heart flip.
I loveyou.
I have always loved you.
Adrian’s mouth is moving but no sound reaches me. Just this buzzing. This endless buzzing in my ears. A high-pitched ringing that makes my teeth ache.
My brother. Still my brother, even if we don’t share blood. Even if he knew the truth and never told me. Even if he was always the favorite, the legitimate one, the one who actually deserved everything.
I look through the haze and smile at him.
I love you, brother.
Always have. Always will.
For the first time in my entire life, I’m peaceful. Real peace. Not the temporary quiet that comes from violence or control or drowning myself in whiskey or a woman’s body. This is different. This is…
Final.
And what a fucking relief.
I look at Aurelia again. She’s so close now I can see the tears gathering in her eyes. Can count each freckle across her nose. Can remember exactly how she tasted that first time, when we were just kids playing at being adults.
Before everything went to shit. Before the lies.
Before I became this person I hate.
“I’m a reaper,” I whisper. The words come out quiet. Broken. Too soft for her to hear.
But I imagine us back when we were teenagers, before the world broke us into sharp pieces. Before I learned that love was just another word for death.
She would have given me that goofy grin, the one that made her whole face light up. The one she reservedjust for me back when I was her best friend. She would’ve rolled her eyes and said,“And I’m the killer of reapers. But if you die, I die too, remember?”
But she won’t die without me.
She’ll finally get to live.
My finger tightens on the trigger.
“Maybe this way, I can save you.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
DANTE
BAM!
Time stops. My heart stops. Everything stops.
Except Julian.
