Page 111 of When Bones Whisper
Nathaniel took her coat, his gaze softening when he looked into the demon’s eyes.
No.
How could he think that was her?
Her long, dark curls were tied into a tight bun, and an orange dress wrapped around her body. While it still looked like her, the expressions were all wrong and her eyes were different. Thosegreen irises she’d seen in every reflection for years brimmed with a void that needled her through the veil.
Her lips tipped into a smirk and Charlotte gasped.
Delanie could see her.
Nausea swirled in her stomach when she saw Katherine walk in behind them. How could she possibly have been forgiven? Unless, Delanie had, and persuaded Nathaniel to let her live.
Were they working together?
They walked inside, Alexander smiling and hung his coat and hat on the rack. “It’s raining cats and dogs out there.”
Delanie glanced at Charlotte, before quickly averting her eyes and looking at Nathaniel. “Shall we go toourbedroom?”
Nathaniel pressed a kiss to her temple, eliciting a silent scream from Charlotte’s ghost who watched helplessly. His low voice grumbled into the demon’s ear. “Later,” he promised, and took a step back. “Why don’t you rest? Alexander and I will find us dinner.”
Charlotte ran to them, pushing her hands against his chest, but they went right through him.
Please open your eyes. See what’s happening.
She watched, defeated, as Delanie grinned. “I don’t mind hunting for our food.”
Nathaniel's dark brows shot up his forehead, his hands diving into his pockets. “I assumed you would not enjoy that part.”
Delanie inhaled sharply, her eyes tracking Charlotte in her periphery vision. “I should embrace what I have become, no?”When Nathaniel grimaced, she quickly cleared her throat and added, “Maybe Idoneed some rest. It has been a long day.”
Katherine walked beside her and said, “You can show me around this big house while they hunt.”
The mirror’s pull dragged her back just as Nathaniel squeezed Delanie’s arm. She was only glad he did not kiss her on the mouth. The thought was too much to handle.
Tearless cries wrenched her body as she was sucked through the manor and back into the darkness of the mirror.
A few hours later, a hollow tapping sounded in the mirror, making her jump.
The souls of her uncle and cousin pressed themselves up against the glass, but she pushed herself beside them when she heard her name.
“Charlotte?”
Nathaniel’s solemn face appeared on the other side of the glass, his fingertips caressing the metal roses on the ornate, silver frame.
Hope swelled in her heart, a desperate cry lost to the soundless void of the Realm of the Dead.
“I know you’re in there,” he said. “I’m going to get you out. I promise. Just hold on for me a little longer. I won’t give up on you.”
She watched him bow his head, letting out a prolonged, heartbroken sigh. He knew! He realized it wasn’t her soul in her body.
Despite knowing he couldn’t see her, she brought her hand up to the other side of the glass, anyway.
I miss you.She repeated the words in her head, hoping they could cross through the bond, but that had broken the moment she was killed.
The demons were getting impatient. Every lost soul haunting the void behind the mirror waited for Nathaniel’s return, including her uncle and cousin.
Charlotte watched with bated breath. If he opened the mirror, then they might all be able to climb out before she had a chance.
