Page 49 of The Reaper
He held his hand out and I took it, letting him pull me from the ground. Then I melted into him as he put his arm around me to lead me back to the vicarage.
Once we reached my door, he grabbed my face in his hands.
“My little raven needs her rest.” He smiled and gave me a gentle, loving kiss.
I felt the tears well up in my eyes, and he frowned. “What’s the matter?”
“You called me little raven,” I whispered, holding back my tears. “That’s what my mum used to call me.”
Concern etched his face as he asked, “Do you want me to stop? I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just that in my head, I’ve always called you my little raven.”
“No.” I placed my hands on his cheeks, stroking his face, so the frown lines would disappear. “I love it. You just caught me off guard, that’s all. I love that nickname.”
He gave me one last smile, placed a gentle kiss on the tip of my nose and said, “Well then, goodnight, little raven.”
Hearing him say that name again made gentle waves of warmth and comfort flow through me. Reluctantly, I shrugged his coat from my shoulders, already missing the smell of him. Then he waited for me to open the door and step inside before he walked back down the path to his car.
Why did it feel like my heart was twisting in an unforgiving way every time he left me?
Inside, I could hear my dad clattering around in the kitchen, and the whistle from the kettle told me he was making a cup of tea. I popped my head around the corner of the door to let him know I was home safe.
“You did well tonight, sweetheart. I was so proud of you.”
“Thanks, Dad. I’m going to head straight to bed if that’s okay. Goodnight,” I said, turning to leave.
“What’s that in your hair?” he asked, making me stop and run my fingers through the strands. I felt a crisp leaf entwined in the curls at the back of my head and I used my nails to entice it out.
“It’s just a leaf. Its windy out there tonight.” I knew I was blushing, but I put the leaf in the bin by the door and walked towards the staircase.
“So windy it blew the mud from the floor and plastered it to the back of your legs too from the look of it.” I pretended I hadn’t heard my dad berating me. That was a conversation I was not willing to have tonight. But I couldn’t keep the smile from spreading across my face and a quiet laugh from breaking free.
Devon had made me dirty in more ways than one, and I loved it.
When I got to my room, I turned the lights on and closed the door, ready to get cleaned up and enjoy a night of dreaming about him. And there, sitting on my pillow, waiting to show me how proud they were of my performance tonight, sat a single black origami raven.
“Thanks, Dad.” I sighed as I picked it up and ran my thumb gently along the delicate wings. “And thanks for making these for the future you couldn’t be a part of, Mum.”
I was truly blessed.
Life was starting to look up for me.
The raven was finally flying high.
ChapterTwenty-One
DEVON
Walking back into The Sanctuary, I could already feel a sense of foreboding threatening to burst through the bubble of euphoria I was revelling in after my night with Leah May. I took the back stairs, and with each step, a darkness began to engulf me. When I finally reached our floor and walked towards the living room, the hushed voices warned me I was about to embark on something I wouldn’t like.
I strolled through the door to find them all sitting together, and when they saw me, they glanced between themselves with a mixture of trepidation and guilt.
Adam was the first to speak, holding up a familiar white envelope then throwing it down on the table. Gravely, he announced, “You’ve had another one.”
Tyler piped up next, not even giving me the chance to open the letter and read what it said.
“We checked the CCTV. It was a guy that delivered it to the back door about two hours ago. We couldn’t identify him though. Maybe you might, if you take a look?”
“Can I open the letter first?” I snapped and stalked over to the sofa where Liv and Adam were, snatching the envelope from the table and ripping it open.
