Page 2 of This Ravenous Fate
Elise looked out the passenger window to see a brown-hairedyoung woman standing just inside the gate.
“The monsters are in my neighborhood, and you must do something about them,” she told the guard.
For a moment the young woman looked so familiar, a bitter name lodged in Elise’s throat, and her heart lurched. But when she turned to get a better look, Elise realized she saw a stranger—not the girl she had left behind years ago, bloody and bruised.
The Saint guard tried to lead her away from the gate. “Tomorrow we’ll send a patrol over—”
“No. They must be dealt with now,” the woman snarled. She stepped toward the car and her sharp eyes met Elise’s, her lips pulling back to reveal fangs. Elise scrambled back in her seat, though the car door separated them. Bloodlust swirled in the woman’s dark irises, her veins bulging and ripe with hunger. But other than her shining eyes and fangs, the reaper looked utterly human. “Murderers. Layla Quinn will be avenged—”
A gunshot cracked through the air. The reaper’s head exploded, and her body collapsed onto the pavement.
“All clear. Someone clean it up,” a guard ordered.
Elise let out a shaky breath and shoved the car door open, avoiding the bloody mess at her feet. As she stumbled out, a gentle voice halted her panic.
“Relax, Lise. She’s dead.”
Elise looked up. “Sterling,” she breathed. She could hardly believe she was looking Sterling Walker in the eye after five years of only exchanging letters. Blood covered her friend’s shirtfront, and he heldhis gun arm steady, but he still smiled. He had gone from a young boy seeking refuge in their home to one of the Saint’s leading reaper hunters.
His thumb traced a cross over the handle of his gun, then he lowered it. “Welcome home, Lise.” Sterling leaned toward Elise, his amber eyes glowing in the dusk, and kissed her cheek. He had always been beautiful with his smooth brown skin and perfectly styled curls. But Elise thought he looked even more beautiful now. She eyed his gun, knowing every day he worked as a reaper hunter, he put his life on the line for the citizens of Harlem. And for her father.
Elise swallowed. Her music studies had kept her father content for this long, but she had no idea how it measured up to the bloody work his people did for him every day.
Elise wanted to hug Sterling, but the blood kept her back. “Are you all right?” she asked.
“I’m perfect. As always. The blood isn’t mine; I’ve been on a patrol. I’ve still got an hour or two left of work, but I wanted to catch you as soon as you got home.” That overly confident grin of his hadn’t waned, and Elise was glad. People said distance made the heart grow fonder, but time also changed people. And she wasn’t sure she could handle Sterling changing. Not when everything else in her life had changed so abruptly.
Elise glanced over at the body by the gate. “The reapers know I’m back now.” She couldn’t even bring herself to say Layla’s name out loud.
Sterling shook his head. “Just that one. Whichever guard let her onto our street is getting fired. Though I will admit, it’s gettingharder to tell the reapers from us. Good thing I caught her just now, otherwise the whole Harlem reaper clan might know you’re here. We can’t have that.”
***
The mansion seemed even bigger than Elise remembered. It still stood, proud and lavish, with the marble columns and pristine hedges fronting the house. The Saint empire seal, with its image of a lotus flower and the North Star, was set into the brick floor of the front veranda. Colm had placed her luggage around the seal, not a single trunk or bag touching the embossed brass. Superstition ran high in the Saint empire, and it was not limited to the hunters who traced the shape of a cross over their gun handles.
The front door swung open. “Lisey!”
Elise hardly recognized her younger sister standing there, eyes bright. Gone were the chubby baby cheeks of a four-year-old: Josi was still little, butso big. When she flew into Elise’s outstretched arms, Elise felt right at home. “I missed you so much, Josi.”
“Mama said you were coming soon, but she didn’t say when—”
“Josephine.” A stern voice broke in as their mother approached. “Back to your lesson, please.”
“I’m sorry, Mama.” Josi ducked her head and went to her mother’s side. The light had gone from her eyes, which made a painful lump rise in Elise’s throat.
“Claude is waiting for you. Go now,” their mother ordered.
Josi shared one last look with Elise, then disappeared into the house. Her mother’s attention finally settled on Elise. “Oh, Elise…”
Elise blinked. A tight smile found her lips, and she nodded. “Mother.” Her skin prickled with unease as her mother’s sharp eyes roamed over her, stopping at the scars on her throat. A fresh pain filled her eyes, and Elise had to steel herself to keep from looking away.
“Welcome home, my love.” Elise accepted her mother’s stiff hug and followed her down the hallway. “Heavens, I’m already exhausted. Your arrival was nearly catastrophic. It’s distracting Josephine.” Her mother paused at the bottom of the grand staircase. “She’s worried about the reapers returning for you. I can’t do this again.”
“It won’t happen again,” Elise said quietly. She peeked over her mother’s shoulder to see Josi sitting restlessly with her tutor. “She’s been writing me about how excited she is to audition for the Paris ballet school. How have her practices been?” Elise asked.
Her mother’s lips tightened into a flat line. “She has not been practicing. There’s no time.”
“What do you mean?” Josi was only ten years old. She could not possibly have that many responsibilities. “Mother, the instructors in Paris are much stricter than the ones we have here. Josi needs to be perfect—”
