Page 55 of This Ravenous Fate
Elise stopped walking. Someone bumped into her from behind and she let Sterling pull her to the side of the street so they didn’t interrupt the flow of traffic. “It’s not fine. I’m supposed to be your friend. I hurt your feelings, Sterling, I saw your face. And I know you hate going behind my father’s back because your job means a lot to you, so you don’t have to come to this fundraiser if you don’t want to—in fact, you can forget all about today.” Elise exhaled. Her head throbbed and her eyes burned. She wanted more than anything to sit and be alone, to pick her mind apart until it fell silent. But there was no time. “I can’t do this anymore—”
“No,” he said roughly, “you’re right. You were unnecessarily vicious back there. But in the face of a gangster who causes more cruelty every day and your old friend, who tried to kill you, I don’t care. What I care about is you accepting defeat before you’ve even begun. Your father expects a lot from you, Elise, and I know it’s difficult, but at least it’s something. Some people have nothing. Do not let your family and your legacy slip away from you so easily.” Sterling’s voice broke and Elise had to look away when tears filled his eyes. “There is nothing selfish about wanting the best for someone else. I think that whole idea is a myth. Because even if you’re doing it for yourself, you’re still helping someone else.”
He paused and his eyes glazed over as he began to slip into hispast, rummaging through his most treasured memories. “My father married my mother out of love. I used to think that was what got him killed. His courage and his devotion to her. But I realized it was not his fault at all. It was this world and its backward beliefs. He was caught in the cross fire of a country trying its hardest to destroy itself. If anything, it’s made me realize that this world was not built for us. Even the most natural things that come to us—love, anger, fear—those things are sacred to us. We cannot take them for granted. They are what makes us human, what others try to deprive us of. Don’t ever let that part of you slip, Elise. This world killed my mother just as it killed my father. Even though he died with a noose around his neck and she died with her blood drained by her own volition, the same world killed them.”
Elise sniffed. “Sterling…”
“It’s okay. We will be fine,” Sterling said. “You are the strongest person I know. You’ve been to hell and back, yet you’re still fighting. That alone is worth notable recognition.”
Elise wanted to cry. But she didn’t want to create a new situation. So she nodded and forced a smile. “Thank you, Sterling.” It was always thanks to him. Because of him, she still lived, because of him, she was still a human, rather than a reaper, because of him, she still had something to live for. Elise glanced over his shoulder and spotted a boutique just a few feet away. “Do you think they have masks there?”
Sterling looked over. “Sure. Shall we go?”
“Yes. I’ll meet you there in a bit. I just need to make a quick call.”Elise waited until he was in the store before she slumped against the alley wall. Her chest felt heavy, like it was on the verge of caving in on itself. Elise clutched her hand over the tightening spot on her chest and turned to face the alley. Heavy breaths tore from her body as she fought to lessen the pain, but it only worsened. She buried her face in her hands and bit the heel of her palm to keep from screaming.
The situation she had thrown herself into was far too much for her to take on herself. The only way she knew his proper validation would be bestowed on her was if she handed the city to her father on a silver platter dripping with reaper blood. But Elise played with the piano, not with guns.This was not her.
She wanted comfort, but she didn’t want to explain her complicated web of feelings. She didn’t want anyone to know she was not okay. The burden was her own to bear.
Elise had no choice but to be brave. Feeling made her vulnerable. And in a country where strength was expected of her, and anger made her a target, it was best for her to wipe her tears and keep going. No matter how hard fighting got.
So, drying her face, Elise stood up and left the alley.
24
The Hotel Clarice felt colder than usual. Layla’s heart shuddered at the empty atmosphere and frigid glances she got from her clan members as she walked into the massive foyer.
A semicircle formed around the center of the room where Valeriya sat waiting. “Join us, Layla,” Valeriya said. She quickly glanced in front of her. On the table sat a crystal glass still full of blood and a notebook. Her eyes found Layla’s. “Have you decided where your loyalties lie? With us, or with the Saints?” Valeriya asked.
Reapers started murmuring around her.
Layla gaped. “Of course I’m loyal to this clan. This is my home. You—” Her voice broke and she swallowed, willing herself to sound strong. “You are the closest I’ve ever had to a family since I lost mine.” Layla sniffed. “People say reapers are heartless, but this clan has stuck together through the hardest times, and that proves just how much we care for each other. I think we have more hearts thanthe entire Saint empire.”
Valeriya lifted the cup to her lips and passed Layla a cold look. It pierced through Layla, her body tensing. Valeriya nodded. “I know that. But your loyalty remains unknown.” She gestured to the clan members around them, who all murmured agreements under their breath. “Sit.”
Layla listened. She sat in one of the free seats, somewhat farther away from everyone else. Valeriya continued the meeting as if there had been no interruption. “We’ve recently lost two of our own. Both times, Layla, you have been at the center of the crime. And now you are running around with a Saint—”
“I’m bound by an agreement with the Saints. We reasonably believe Theo Smith killed those Saint members that night as a reaper. The problem is that he was not just a reaper. He became something worse. Close to demonic. And in death, he was human once more. So were Giana and Shirley,” Layla said.
Valeriya sucked her teeth as the entire room burst into commotion. Mei shot Layla a bewildered look from across the room. “I have lived for hundreds of years and never seen such a thing,” Valeriya drawled.
“I was at the scene of both crimes and I saw such a thing,” Layla seethed.
Mei spoke over the shocked murmuring around them. “How does this involve the Saints?” she asked.
Layla swallowed as she remembered the sallow skin and empty eyes that stared up at her under the harsh morgue lights. “They arepartnered with the mayoral candidate, Stephen Wayne, and are supporting his clinic.”
Someone’s voice rang up from the back of the room. “They are working on a cure for reaperhood?”
“If it’s only a cure in death, I’m not sure it can be called a cure,” someone else muttered.
Layla almost shouted her next words. “Nothing is positive yet. Only that the murder was not just a reaper attack. Knowing that there is a potential cure out there… It’s what we’ve all wanted. I aim to find out more about it. This could be the beginning of something new, where violence is not the answer and peace is promised,” she said softly as the clamor settled down.
Valeriya cleared her throat. “There is no cure for reaperhood. Whatever you’ve found, it’s not to be trusted. Especially not if it comes from the Saints. They want to get rid of us. Not fix us. You will not ruin the order I have created for us in Harlem.” She stood, her skirts billowing around her in a graceful wave of black and purple silks. “Meeting adjourned.”
Layla’s heart dropped. She pushed her way through her clan members to catch up with Valeriya, who was already halfway up the grand staircase. “Valeriya—”
“Save it, Quinn. You will not get my vote of confidence for inciting chaos,” Valeriya said coldly.
