Page 83 of Tethered Souls
And this fucker wanted to kill my entire family.
They might’ve wanted to rebuild the Red Demons, but they were going to do it withmygang, a gang that only follows the rule of a Shadow. Which means for Vinny to be accepted as Boss, he would have to have our magic in his veins...or be the father of someone who does. And with Mother being the only female Shadow…
My fingers burn with the urge to squeeze his fucking neck. He would’ve killed all her children, then raped her.
Beside me, Khalid draws his shadows into the palm of his hand. His reaper mask is deposited there when the shadows fade. It’s a skeletal face that isn’t human, made of tar-black metal. Two sets of gold horns curve out of its forehead, andnestled above them is a gold rune that says:Death claims all.
He lifts it to his face, walks around the table, and pulls a knife from his shadows. He shoves it sideways into Vinny’s throat, then jerks out. As Vinny slumps forward, gurgling on his blood, Khalid wipes both sides of the blade on his tux. Then he turns and heads for the door, off to hunt our uncle alone.
Although he has magic that can kill him from a distance, he will want to question him first. Will want to make sure there are no other secrets that will tear this family apart.
I watch him go, slipping through the archways leading to the front of the house. My chest tightens as I wonder if this is the last time I’ll see him. Myers is weak at the moment, having used an excessive amount of magic in our fight. If a witch isn’t careful, our magic will turn on us, literally eating away at our organs until it finally kills us. Khalid might have a chance of surviving…
I want to go with him, to follow him and make sure he lives, but this is reaper business, and if I join him, it’ll look too much like a hit rather than a serving of justice.
So I glance at Vinny, but there are too many thoughts in my head. Too many questions. Too many doubts. Too much pain.
Turning for the stairs, ignoring Alexis’ whimpers, I make my way to Micha.
Twenty-Nine
HER
Neither my side nor my hand hurts in the slightest, but my head is fucking killing me. As the Shadow brothers leave the room, my eyes turn to the woman who healed me. She looks exhausted as she rubs a hand over her eyes. Like she’s about to fall over at any moment.
Exhaling with a silent grumble, I ignore Dayne gushing over Sau being the Reaper of the Sired still, and climb to my feet. My dress immediately starts to fall due to the tear in its side, and I grope at the flaps as I glare at it. Pinning them to me in an awkward embrace, I head over to the dark-haired woman.
“Who are you?” I ask, trying not to sound too much like a jealous bitch. I don’t know Varius well enough to trust his claim that I’m the only one he’s fucking even though I want to.
She drops her hand as she looks at me, a small smile on her lips. “My name’s Louise Warner. I’m Talon’s secretary.”
“You know Varius well?”
“Not really. He doesn’t exactly let people know him, you know?”
My lips twitch.Don’t I fucking know.“But you left with him earlier.”
She nods, a blush running up her throat.
My lips flatten as my eyes narrow.
“It was strictly business, but he and Khalid both got naked.”
“Together?” Dayne asks, popping into the conversation like a fucking meerkat popping its head up, and I roll my eyes. Of coursethatis what would grab his attention away from the whole Sau is a named sup thing.
“Well, they were both naked at the same time, but ah –” She clears her throat, that blush streaking across her cheeks. “Not like,together.” She makes a little noise. “Not like the twins sometimes do.” A choked breath of air escapes her. “I mean, they don’t fuck each other either, just the same chick. Or at least, not that I know of. Though they are identical, so one could argue that morally, that’d be okay and is akin to masturbation –” Her eyes widen.
“Not that I think they’re the same person. They’re very different, obviously. Enoch is so sweet and his twin is less so. Not that I think Ezriel is an ass.” The reddening of her cheeks says she thinkssomethingabout his ass. “Just that there wouldn’t be any genetic issues. Though there wouldn’t be anyway, obviously, due to them being the same sex so they can’t have kids even if they wanted to – not that I think they want to. Together I mean. But like...you know… Ah…” She trails off, red as a fucking tomato, and my smile spreads across my cheeks.
I like her.
She seems embarrassingly honest and open, and gods is that a breath of fresh air compared to a certain neanderthal.
“Aw!” Dayne says. “She rambles just like you.” His smile has the power of the sun as he turns it on her. “You’re cute.”
Louise blushes even more as her eyes dart up and down his body. He’s well in shape and has that rugged alpha look like he knows how to get down and dirty in the outdoors.
I give her a sympathetic smile. “Sorry, he’s gay.”
