Page 48 of Right Hand Of The Reaper
“Gave me a letter from Thane.”
“What?” she gasped.
“Don’t get excited. Apparently he wrote it a few days ago.” I pulled it from my back pocket and cracked the seal. My heart dropped to my stomach as I unfurled the crisp white paper.
My dear friend.
If you’re reading this it means I’m in trouble and you’re probably dealing with a lot of backlash, for which I’m deeply sorry.
Please don’t come looking for me. I know you, Roux. You’ve probably already started searching for me, but I’m begging you, please don’t come and find me. There’re dangerous things happening and I don’t want you to get caught up in them.
Stay safe.
Thane.
“Aww, he called you friends,” Lila said with a touch of disbelief. I couldn’t believe it myself really. Wait. Was it a clue? Like in those spy movies when someone does something out of character to try and send a secret message? No. Thane wasn’t that imaginative. I think was genuinely calling me his friend. How sweet. It also just made me more determined to find him.
“Lila, get a message to the twins, we’re going to the River Styx tomorrow.”
“Why can’t you tell them?”
It was a fair question because normally I’d just reach out through our bond and send the message that way. “Um, something happened, and they saw and then they left and now I kind of don’t want to disturb them.”
“Shit, babe. Wanna talk about it?”
I took a deep sigh and rushed the words out as fast as I could. “I mated with Atticus and the twins found out and now they won’t talk to me.”
“Whoa. Hang on. You mated? With a demon?”
I nodded. “Yep. I’ll be honest, I didn’t see that one coming.”
Lila threw her arms around me and squeezed tight. “Congratulations. I’m so happy for you!”
“Thanks babe,” I said with a smile, and I realised, I was happy. Yes, it might be unconventional, but Atticus had chosen me, and I had chosen him. We were meant for each other, and I couldn’t wait to explore the possibilities between us.
“Ooh. We’ll have to celebrate when all this is over. You should have a commitment ceremony and a shindig over at Destiny. And we can invite everyone and—”
I slammed my hand over her mouth to shut her up. “Yes. To all that. But can we discuss it allafterwe find Thane? I need to get G.R.I.M HQ back up and running because I do not like having this damn scythe.”
The fucking thing was heavy, a weight on my shoulders I didn’t want. As soon as I found Thane, I was handing the blasted thing right back.
Lila nodded enthusiastically behind my hand, so I removed it slowly, just in case she started babbling again. She didn’t, which was a relief. Normally she’d go on for hours about something like this, but she must have sensed my distress over the twins because, while the exited little gleam didn’t leave her eyes, she didn’t start talking wedding colours.
“Okay, I’ll get a message to the twins for you, no problem. Do you want the daily rundown?”
“The what?”
Lila grinned like the Cheshire Cat. “Thane always had a daily list of what’s going on. Nigel would always do it for Thane and since you’re the big boss now, I thought you’d like one.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. Urgh, this job just got better and better. “Fine. What do I need to know.”
“Norman has issued a statement about the investigation. He’s kept it vague, said you’re handling things and that we won’t be issuing any further statements until the investigation is complete. No souls have been unaccounted for so the Royal Guard must be handling things relatively well,” Lila said, counting the items off her fingers. “The Games have been announced and invitations will be arriving shortly.”
My ears perked up at that. The Games were held on Olympus and were presided over by Zeus himself. The Games tested all participants in various different skills, from strength to cunning and puzzle solving to accuracy. They opened with a grand ball held in Zeus’ mansion and all the deities would be there.
“Think I’ll get an invite? It might be a good opportunity to sniff around.” Something was going on up there and I was determined to get to the bottom of it, especially if it involved Thane somehow.
“I’d expect so. You are Head Reaper now, even if it’s only temporary,” Lila replied, her hands resting on her hips. “What’s going on?”
