“Demons are not well-liked beings. I'm not sure that I've ever reaped a soul that didn't hate them. Demons are stupid, base creatures according to those in Enyre.”
He stopped talking but continued to trudge along, misery seeping from his pores. So, he worries that I will report him? Or that the cowardly attackers will? Not likely.
The units were thicker now, meaning we were much closer to home. We needed to figure this out before he stepped inside and covered himself in some ignorant male pride.
Just as I started to prod him to keep going, he did so himself. “There's a reason I've never revealed myself. I pass for full Reaper, so that's what we've always written. At this point, I'd be put to death.”
I sucked in a breath, and my gasp sounded so loud to my own ears, though no one could have heard. Unless… I switched on my Sight, looking around to make sure the Reapers hadn't found us again. The world became wavy, and I wobbled on Trace's back, feeling as if my arms weren't really connected to my body. When I scanned the area, I saw nothing unexpected. That allowed me to deflate a bit, assured that they hadn't learned of his admission. Hopefully, no one would connect Trace the Reaper with Trace the scary Demon. Still, despite my relief that no one was spying on us, I kept my Sight clicked on, enduring the nauseating effects just in case.
“I've lied on everything since I was a child, knowing what revealing myself would mean. The King wouldn't like that much, I'm sure.” A bitter laugh crawled out of him, grating on my ears and making me wince. “That wouldn't be a dungeon visit. That would be a spectacle. He really hates Demons for some reason.”
I leveraged myself up again, having slipped as I dealt with the effects of the strange world with Sight on, and hissed, “I'd kill him first.”
I didn't even want to consider such things, but I would. Perhaps Master Akai is right, and I should just assassinate the King and his heir.
My mind wandered, filling with ideas, and I hadn't even noticed that Trace had stopped until he spoke.
Whispered words spilled out of him, thick with emotions. “Why? I didn't expect that you would want anything to do with me now.”
Shadow reached out and froze a tiny spot on the back of his head as I unlocked my hands long enough to slap his chest.
Who the fuck did he think I was? I could sense the switch in me, no longer filling my well with concern as it became a bubbling, heated mess of anger and hurt.
“Are you serious? Do you not know me at all?” My voice remained calm despite the violent tempest swirling inside, my words cutting in their coldness. “You assume I would toss you aside, all because of something you do not control? No, Trace. You clearly have not paid any attention to me since we've met.”
He didn't move, not even rubbing the spot Shadow had touched, though I knew it must have hurt. I took a few deep breaths, trying to push away his perception of me. That was not the focus. I was not the focus. Shit, I likely had nothing to do with the notion, if I thought about it. That was ingrained in him, and it would have mattered little who I'd been or how I'd behaved. He believed that no one would want him once they found out, so his statement hadn't been an opinion of me specifically.
“Sorry,” I said in a much gentler tone. “Go on. But Trace? I really don't care what you are. I only care who you are.”
He nodded, but it didn't seem like an agreement, merely an acknowledgment that he had heard the words.
“I messed all of that up. Now, you and all of those Reapers know. I should just turn myself in and get it over with. Let them see how none of you knew anything,” he said, his voice growing louder as that stupid idea came to his mind.
“You will not,” I demanded.
“If I stay—”
“Oh, you will stay, all right. First of all, if you allow them to Harvest you, they will drag the rest of us in for the highly illegal things we are doing,” I hissed, glancing around again. “Secondly, do you honestly think they recognized you? I certainly didn't. It wasn't until after they left, and you started all of this sad