Wings of the Wicked - By Courtney Allison Moulton Page 0,32

that made her even more furious. She rolled against the wall and examined her arm, which ran with blood.

“I’m sorry,” Sabina said to Ava. “I didn’t kill him. He was my friend. I’m sorry, if he was yours too.”

Without a word, Ava was gone, storming from the apartment and slamming the door shut behind her.

I started to follow her, but Will put a hand on my shoulder to stop me. “Wait,” he said gently. “Give her a moment.”

He was right. I began to believe that Ava and Zane had been much more than just lovers—and for a long time too, if she knew where he preferred to stash the relic he protected.

“Your name is … Ellie?” Sabina asked, studying me in the curious, shameless way that many reapers had. After all, it was kind of a human thing for children to be taught not to stare.

I nodded.

She looked at Will. “And you’re the Preliator’s Guardian. It is incredible to meet you both. Were you here for the Constantina necklace?”

“The what?” I asked, confused.

“The relic,” Sabina explained. “The Constantina necklace that Zane was sworn to protect. If he’s dead, then they probably found it. They wouldn’t leave unless they had it.”

A shiver went through me. “By ‘they,’ you mean Bastian’s vir.”

Her jaw set. “Bastian has been searching for the necklace for some time.”

“Why are you here now?” I asked, still a little suspicious of this stranger.

“Zane hasn’t returned my phone calls for a few days,” she said, her voice falling. “I came to check on him and found you. Is he in there still?”

She must have been referring to his stone remains. “Yeah,” I said. “But the relic was gone from under the stove.”

She blinked at me, confusion filling her gaze. “What? The stove?”

“That’s where Ava said he kept it,” I elaborated.

Sabina blinked again, her confusion now mixed with surprise. “I never knew where he hid the relic. He never told me.”

And with that, I knew the truth between Ava and Zane, and suddenly I felt even worse for her than I had seconds ago. There was nothing more sad than losing the one you loved.

“Zane is gone,” Sabina said. “I need a new mission. Do you have need of me, Preliator?”

“Um…” I was a little taken back. I thought of Ava and Marcus, who made up our little army. Even they might not be enough.

“I’m a good fighter and I’m strong,” she urged.

I watched her carefully. “Is that what you did for Zane? Fought alongside him?”

“When he needed me,” she said. “That’s why I came today. He’d never gone this long without contact. I’ll give you my number and you can call me anytime. It would be an honor to fight for you.”

These reapers and their missions. I took out my phone and saved Sabina’s number.

“Let’s go,” Will said, and touched my arm.

I followed him out to my car, where Ava sat on the hood, staring into the woods beyond the parking lot. Will stopped, but I kept going and stood next to her. She didn’t look at me or acknowledge my presence, but her blue-violet eyes were red and raw. The space between us was fragile in the chill air, the uncertainty like tiny cracks spreading through thin glass.

“Ava,” I said. “I am sorry. Don’t think his death doesn’t matter. I know he mattered to you. I’m sick of you reapers and your feelings of worthlessness. The relic is gone, but it’s not as important as anyone’s life. We’ll get the necklace back, I promise you.”

To my shock, she smiled sadly, gazing through the trees. “He mattered to me, but the only thing that mattered to him was that stupid necklace.”

I studied her face. She took a deep breath and seemed to grow smaller, more vulnerable. A single tear fell from her eye. She wiped at it angrily, as if it were an ugly blemish she wanted no one else to see.

“He loved me,” she said. “I know he did. But his duty to protect the relic was more important to him. So I left him to his duty. I knew he’d die because of it one day, but I wanted to live my life. He was so angry when I left. That surprised me—how furious he was with me. He was so willing to hate me, but so hesitant to love me.”

Tucking her hair behind her ears and folding her arms across her chest, she looked at me finally, offering me a kind, hopeful smile. She looked so