Page 98 of This Ravenous Fate
Layla’s lips twisted with confusion. “Trust you for what?”
Water dripped from the woman’s hat as she leaned forward, finally making her green eyes visible. They flickered over to Valeriya’s body. “You have no idea how valuable this original reaper is, do you?”
“Valeriya—”
“Sena,” the woman corrected her. “She was one of the first reapers. Her venom could change the world and she had no idea.”
Hearing that name again was like a punch to Layla’s heart. The letters were to no one. Valeriya had been signing her own name on those letters so she did not forget it. She swallowed. “You want to sell her remains?” Her voice hardened. “Are you working for Stephen Wayne?”
“My country hates what that man is doing. His ignorance of Sena and our knowledge of her keeps us one step ahead of him. Back home, we have evolved, and it’s getting grim. We need your help and I promise, we can return the favor.”
Layla narrowed her eyes. “We?”
The woman lowered her umbrella, and Layla gasped.
The second the fading sunlight hit her skin, it melted into an ashy gray color, her once high cheekbones sliding and sagging. Those brilliant green eyes turned red, and her hair went limp. Thehand that held the umbrella became nothing more than gray bone and black talons. If decay was a person, this woman embodied it. She gave Layla a wicked smile and fangs peeked out from behind her lips. “I told you.Grim.”
45
Elise had not heard from Layla in days. Resisting the urge to show up at the Clarice made her anxious enough to go to Jamie’s apartment instead, hoping she was hiding out there.
Jamie shrugged in the doorway of his apartment. “Sorry, kiddo. I haven’t seen her in days—”
A cat’s hiss sounded from behind him, followed by a curse. Elise gasped and shoved past Jamie. She found Layla almost instantly, her focus locking on her small form by the window. “Layla—”
“I can’t talk right now, Saint, I’m busy fighting the devil,” Layla hissed. She tried to walk away, but Elise cornered her.
“I know what I did upset you, but you promised me we were in this together,” Elise said sharply.
Layla glared. “That was before you went behind my back—”
“She took my sister. You have to understand—”
“Well, I don’t! I don’t understand anything now.” Layla almostshouted.
There was a haunted look to her eyes that Elise had not noticed before. She took a few steps back and sat on the couch, gesturing for Layla to sit. “Talk to me.”
“There have been some developments since Valeriya died.”
Elise sat back and nodded, encouraging Layla. By the time she finished, Layla was twisting her fingers in her lap. Even Elise had no idea what to make of the news.
“The news, while extremely mystifying, is not what I was asking for.” Elise placed a gentle hand on Layla’s knee, feeling her tension melt away beneath her touch. “I want you to talk to me about how you’re feeling.”
“I’m not sure how I feel. I just feel…empty.” A shadow passed over Layla’s eyes, and she pulled away. When Elise’s hands closed over empty air, she almost regretted her own tenderness. “Valeriya was the closest thing I had to a mother since my own died.” Layla paused. “Before her, when we were best friends, you were the only one who knew how to ground me. I’m not sure how to live anymore.” She said it so nonchalantly, but Elise saw the hard-edged sadness in her eyes. She wondered, if forgiveness was tangible, would it spring up between them right now, like a field of flowers, waiting to be picked and fawned over? Or would it be like a bridge, finally falling into place over the abyss that had existed between them for five years?
Old, familiar emotions rushed in so hard and fast, Elise couldn’t stop the tears that rose in her eyes. “You are,” she whispered.
Layla’s brow wrinkled. “What?”
“You said wewerebest friends. But youaremy best friend,” Elise said quietly.
Layla fell silent for a moment. Her teeth dug into her lower lip and she looked away as her smile faded. “You’re only saying that because you have no one right now.”
Hurt lanced through Elise’s heart. She looked down, swallowing. “I’m sorry.”
Layla drew closer, her shoulder bumping against Elise’s until she looked up. “Remember when I said a reaper’s fears and desires don’t just disappear when they turn?”
Elise nodded.
