Page 29 of Our Vicious Descent
Layla studied her face, taking in the narrowing of her cheeks and the hollow bruises beneath her eyes. Despite her recognizable scent, the heiress’s essence seemed off. Something else wrestled within her, and Layla sensed it to be more than just her mental state. “What did you do?” she asked before she could think better of it.
The Saint’s gaze flicked to her. “Pardon me?”
“You seem less afraid,” Layla said.
Elise blinked. “We all have to grow up eventually. I figured you would appreciate me crying and complaining less. Jamie certainly does,” she muttered.
Layla shook her head. “It’s not that. You do not care about your life.” She remembered Elise reaching for the gun when she entered the alleyway. Perhaps her sense of danger only arose when it came to Layla. A sinking feeling took over her chest, and she suddenly regretted asking Elise anything.
“My life does not matter anymore.” Elise shrugged. “There’s not much to look forward to nowadays, is there?”
Her words reminded Layla of herself. There had been a time, years ago, when Layla’s own life had become collateral in her ownmotives for vengeance. The path she’d taken had brought her to darker places than Layla ever imagined. The thought of Elise taking the same descent scared her. If Layla had hardly survived it as a reaper, there was no hope for Elise.
“You don’t have to worry about me. We’re in this together only until we find my sister,” Elise said.
Layla narrowed her eyes. “That’s exactly why I have to care. You are my ticket out of here. So you cannot be reckless with your life because you have to stay alive long enough to vouch for my immunity after all this is over.”
Elise pursed her lips. She hesitated, her mouth twisting while she thought. Finally, she nodded slowly and spoke again. “Allow me to be reckless once more. The last few attacks have been in places where public officials and Saint associates were around. If Josi really is targeting those people, we can set a trap for her.”
A long sigh left Layla as she pressed a hand to her forehead. “You want to be bait again, don’t you?”
“I would not say it’s what I want, but it does seem necessary. We have no support outside of each other. Let’s make the best use of ourselves.”
***
Layla insisted on walking Elise back to more neutral territory, despite Elise’s protests. “This is unnecessary.”
The reaper looked up at the setting sun and shook her head.“It’s almost sundown. If what you said is true about the new beast, that sunlight deters it, then you’ll be vulnerable when the sunlight disappears.” They turned to go down a covered alley, a shortcut that would save time.
“Ifwhat I said is true…” Elise rolled her eyes. “What will it take for you to just take my word for it? I do believe if we are to be partners again, you should trust me. I have no reason to lie to you now.”
“I’ll trust you when you stop lying,” Layla said sharply. She stopped walking and gave Elise an expectant look.
There wasn’t much Elise could say that wouldn’t make Layla treat her differently. Jamie and Sterling already looked at her like she was losing her mind. She didn’t want to further strain their partnership before it properly began. “We do not have to make this personal. The less emotional investment you have in me and the decisions I make, the better the outcome will be when we inevitably have to part ways again. Would you not prefer that?”
Layla stiffened, and Elise sensed the striking fear she had made a mistake. The reaper held her hand up. “Shut up.”
“Excuse you—” Elise started, but a shadow loomed from behind her. She began to turn, her hand resting on the grip of her gun. Before she could face the threat, Layla was slamming her into the nearest wall. Elise tumbled several feet away, rolling to a halt in a crouching position. A gasp of surprise tore from her as she spotted Layla with a massive chain thrown around her neck. An unfamiliar reaper held the other end, and while the metal dug into Layla’s throat, burning her flesh until it meltedinto her collarbones, the reaper holding it had no reaction to the Saint steel.
Elise tried to stand, but someone pushed her into the wall, their forearm pressing into her throat while she pulled her gun from her holster. Julius loomed over her, his eyes dark and furious. “You two just cannot resist each other, can you? I’ll give you one chance to tell me what you’re planning before I rip your throat out.”
“I thought you did not want to be involved?” Elise rasped. Her throat ached beneath the pressure of his arm, but he was too close for her to get her gun out.
“I want the Saints to stay out of reaper business,” he spat. Julius removed his arm only to clamp his fingers around her throat. His nails, sharp and unrelenting, dug into her flesh. Blood leaked from the new cuts, pooling in her collarbones. “You’re poison to Layla, and she’s spreading it to my clan.”
Layla could barely cough up a pained response. She clawed at the ground, leaving deep scratches while her blood leaked out of her throat. The chain continued to seep into her flesh with each passing moment.
Elise choked out a nervous laugh. “The poison has already existed in your reapers for centuries. Layla is the least of your worries.”
Julius tightened his grip on her throat. Her eyes watered with the effort to breathe past his grasp, but he was ruthless in his claim over her. “You know nothing. You think you know her, but you couldn’t be more wrong. The longer you sit here, posturing instead of giving me answers, the closer we get to that chain tearing her head off.”
A gurgling noise left Layla. She lifted her head, revealing bloodshot eyes and pulsing black veins making their way across her face. “I’ll kill you. Let her go—”
The reaper holding her yanked the chain back, and she collapsed.
With the last of the air remaining in her lungs, Elise scoffed at Julius. “Why would I ever trust you?”
“Because I know where your sister is, and she is not invincible. Layla knows as much.” Julius’s voice made her blood run cold.
