Page 52 of Right Hand Of The Reaper
I just had this weird feeling, like something had burrowed deep in my chest and was leading me deeper into the woods. Towards what, I didn’t know.
“I don’t like this,” Rayne grumbled.
“You don’t have to like it,” I snapped. “But I need to find Thane, and something is telling me to go this way.”
“Hey!” Rafe shouted back, grabbing my arm. “I get that you want to find Thane. We all do. But that is not an excuse for you to put yourself in unnecessary danger.”
“You can’t just follow this blindly,” Rayne added, the pair of them looking at me with matching expressions of worry and concern.
I looked to Atticus, hoping to find some kind of support but his expression matched the twins.
Atticus stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with the twins. “They’re right, Roux. This forest is full of creatures, and some may have the skills to lure you to your death. We don’t know what we’re facing.”
I pulled my arm from Rafe’s grip. “Don’t you think I know that? Look, there is more to Thane’s disappearance than meets the eye. Something is going on at Olympus. Something weird. We have to find him. I…” My words trailed off, the sudden sorrow at the thought of losing my friend eating them up.
“I know you feel honour bound to find him,” Rafe said as he pulled me into his arms. “And we will find him.”
Rayne wrapped himself behind me and squished me in the middle between him and his brother. “You mean everything to us, Roux. We aren’t going to risk losing you.”
Rayne wasn’t one for expressing his feelings, so hearing those words had a lump forming in my throat.
“I know,” I muttered softly, just taking a moment to enjoy their touch. “But this doesn’t feel like something leading me to my death.”
“What do you mean?” Atticus asked, watching the three of us with a mix of curiosity and interest. I was glad to see there was no judgement in his eyes, not that I was expecting any. I just know the relationship I had with the twins often raised a few eyebrows. To be honest, I think Atticus was drawn to the twins and I couldn’t wait to see how that evolved. Even if it wasn’t sexually, I think Atticus wanted to delve into the minds of Rafe and Rayne, like he wanted to see what made them tick. He’d said he wanted to break them, and I had to admit, I was curious as to what that would entail.
“I mean that it’s more like something is calling me home,” I said looking into the depth of the woods. My feet itched to walk deeper into the forest, like I couldn’t resist, even if I wanted to.
“Okay. Let’s go,” Atticus said as he turned towards the direction I had attempted to walk in earlier.
“Just like that?” I asked, a little shocked.
“Yes,” he said with a nod before a feral grin showed off his sharp teeth. “Besides, I quite fancy the idea of a fight. Sounds like fun.”
Rayne huffed a laugh and stepped away from me, and closer to Atticus. “When you put it like that… what are we waiting for?”
Rafe kissed the top of my head and headed towards his twin, leaving me questioning what had just happened. I thought the twins didn’t like Atticus, but now, with the promise of death and violence they were suddenly best friends? I wasn’t sure I liked this new development.
Atticus turned back to face me when he realised that I wasn’t with them. “Come on, kitten. Lead us onwards.”
“Kitten?” Rafe asked with a cheeky grin, and I suddenly wanted the ground to open and swallow me whole.
“Yep,” Atticus said with a wolfish smile before turning his attention to Rafe. “But I’m not telling you why. If she wants to share that with you, that’s her choice.”
Oh, thank the gods. I wasn’t sure how the twins would feel about that story.
“I like it,” Rafe replied. “Makes her seem cute.”
“I am not cute,” I ground out.
“You are a little,” Rayne said, holding his index finger and thumb out.
“You do know I can kick your asses, right?” I was right. I did not like the twins and Atticus being friends.
The three of them threw their heads back and laughed and something about the image made my heart lurch. I wanted so much for that to be my future. The four of us together, but it would never be. Maybe Hades would see it differently after everything that had happened between us. I’d have to ask again, and with Atticus saying he’d help, perhaps it would change his mind. If I were being honest with myself, I was still surprised and unsure what to do with what had happened between Hades and me. I hadn’t seen him since and I was worried that he might try to brush me off or pretend it didn’t happen. Well, I wasn’t going to let that happen. And I was going to make him see that he was wrong about Reapers and their Hounds, even if I had to piss him off to do it. That was always fun. Seeing how far I could push him before he snapped.
The sensation beneath my solar plexus lurched and brought my focus back to the forest in front of me. I pulled my scythe out of the shadows and promptly dropped the thing.
“You okay there?” Rafe asked with a snigger.
