who is on his knees, still coughing. Ryker mutters something before picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder. His arm is like a vise grip on my legs, forcing me to stay still as we both disappear in flames and reappear outside the gap in the wall. I kick him hard in the chest, and he drops me, grunting as I straighten up.
“He deserved to die for that! She was powerless and weak, and he brutally and publicly killed her like a dog,” I growl out.
Ryker’s eyes flash red for a moment. “Fae are less than dogs to reapers, Daesyn. You haven’t lived here your whole life, this is normal, and yes, it is brutal. Yes, it is unfair, but killing that one reaper wouldn’t have changed anything for anyone!”
“I know that!” I snap.
“Then think bigger. The throne is at the end of the academy tests, and if you really want to make changes, that should be your focus,” he replies, cooling down a little bit. Seb appears in smoke, holding the body of the fae girl.
“I paid him to let me take the body and forget this ever happened. We will bury her together,” Seb coldly states and walks past us. The prince with so many secrets is kinder than I thought.
And he feels the fae’s pain like I do.
Maybe we are friends after all.
Chapter 19
“Coffee,” Seth greets me as I step out of the lift with Poppy. Poppy’s eyes widen as I stare at the Starbucks cup, knowing he would have gotten the pumpkin spiced latte that I adore in winter. I wrinkle my nose, inhaling the pumpkin spice scent, as I wrap my hand around the cup. Seth smirks like he just won something.
My hand itches to throw the drink in his too pretty face, but it’s coffee, and I’ve only had one cup upstairs thanks to the mild hangover I’m sporting this morning. Seth’s eyes drift to Poppy, and he offers her his hand to shake. “Persephone Riverlite, I presume.”
“Everyone calls me Poppy.” She takes his hand, no clue that she is shaking hands with the literal devil. After they let go, Seth looks back to me.
“May I walk with you to training?”
“It’s not going to be worth the effort to stop you,” I mutter. I quickly walk away, and he easily keeps up with me with his long ass legs, while poor Poppy jogs a little until she altogether gives up and walks a little behind us.
“I see the coffee has not won you over,” Seth states, and I turn my gaze on him as I sip the coffee.
“If you think gifts are the way to get back in my good graces, you are crazy,” I say.
He sighs. “Very well, I will up my game. Tonight I am coming over to yours and taking you to my apartment for the evening. Do wear something nice.”
He disappears in flames, the heat of the flames warming my skin, and I slow down for Poppy.
“What did he want?”
“Dinner,” I comment. “And not like a date. I don’t know why he is really here, but Seth is a trickster, and everything he does can’t be trusted. I will find out tonight the real reason he is here.”
“I still think he is here because he likes you.”
“Do you know what happened to his brothers?” I quietly question her, and she shakes her head.
“I know a little about overlord demons from my books and what my dad told me,” she admits.
“There are two overlord demons left because one of their brothers went mad, stole an incredible and dangerous power, and then tried to destroy the world. Queen Evie and her mates were the only reason there is an Earth left.”
“And you tried to kill her,” Poppy eventually murmurs.
I meet her eyes. “Life doesn’t play fair, Pops.”
“It did though. You lost that battle,” she replies. I smile at her.
“Truth be told, I never wanted to win. I had kinda given up hope when I took the job, let alone when I was doing it,” I admit to her. That’s not something I’ve ever said out loud to anyone before. “I was lonely and tired, and I had a shot of getting paid a lot of money, but I knew the odds were slim. I guess I wanted a way out, and this was a better way than I expected.”
Poppy wraps her arm around my shoulder, and I flinch a little when she rests her head on my arm. “You’re not