Reaper Unhinged (Deadside Reapers #6) - Debbie Cassidy Page 0,88

mine.

I stroked his back. “I’m okay. I’m okay.”

I was back from…wherever I’d gone. Somewhere…

Uri released me and Azazel to scoop me up and sat on the single-seater with me. Mal and Grayson gravitated toward us, crouching either side of the sofa as if they couldn’t bear to be too far.

“I died…” I said the words out loud to test them, then looked up at Cora, who was leaning against the mantelpiece. “You…came for me?”

“Damn straight I did,” Cora said. “Like fuck was I letting you ride that stinky bus or the over-the-top bike.”

What? My mind was fuzzy. “Bus?”

Cora frowned. “You don’t remember any of it?”

“She’s not supposed to,” Vi said. “No one who returns recalls anything.” Her expression was speculative. “But you do…”

Cora shrugged. “I guess I’m special.” She grinned. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that Fee’s okay.”

There was a flash of movement to my left, and my head whipped around in time to watch Hunter stride from the room.

Uri locked gazes with me for a long beat, his ember eyes filled with relief and love, and then, giving me a nod, he headed after Hunter.

“Well.” Missy pressed her hands to her thighs. “That was not fun, and I will not be doing it again, so if someone could take me home, I’d be very grateful.” Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she passed out.

“Shit,” Vi said.

I’d died, which meant Eve’s curse had activated.

Shit indeed.

I was back. I was alive and my guys were ecstatic. But all I could think about was Lilith and what my dying had done to her. There was no time to revel in the victory of my survival, and not much time to connect with Azazel or Mal, because my dying had made it even more urgent that they get back and fortify Imperium. Still, the guys lingered for a day, taking every moment to touch me, to hold me, to tell me that they loved me. But even just a day was too long for them to stay away from the Underealm.

If Lilith was damaged in some way, Mammon would use that to try and wrest control of the Underealm.

But she wasn’t dead. At least that’s what Azazel said. “I’d know if she was dead. I’d feel it.”

So, that was good news.

“We’ll send word periodically with Conah,” Azazel said. “Keep you updated on the situation in the Underealm.”

I stroked his jaw. “I’m so sorry.”

He looked confused. “What for?”

“For dying,” Mal said. “She’s sorry for dying.”

“Dammit, Fee,” Azazel said. “You had no control over that. I don’t blame you. I blame the bastards who put the curse on you.”

“Thank fuck for Cora,” Mal said.

Cora had brought me back only to vanish with Jasper. She didn’t have to spell out why. It was written all over his smug face, and it made me sick. I made me sick.

“She saved me, and there was a price, but it’s fuzzy. All I know is that she’s always giving pieces of herself for me.” My stomach rolled as I accepted the truth. “She’ll always give pieces of herself for me, and one day it will get her killed.”

Azazel and Mal were silent.

My stomach churned with the revelation I’d been holding at bay. “I need to let her go. I need to make her leave me.”

“You can’t force Cora to do anything,” Mal said. “The woman is a force of nature.”

“And I want her to stay that way.”

Azazel nodded. “We’ll figure it out.”

I smoothed back my hair and took a breath. “Go. Find Lilith.”

“She’s alive,” Azazel said. “I’d know if she wasn’t. Maybe whatever Eve did with the curse wasn’t death…It was something else? Keon is tied to her too. I’ll speak to him.”

He didn’t know what Keon was to him, and even though I ached to tell him, it wasn’t my secret to impart.

“I love you both.” I took their hands. “Be safe. Come back to me.”

“Always,” they said in unison.

“Send a phoenix if you need us,” Azazel added.

They each kissed me, and then they were gone, leaving me bereft and empty once again.

Arms wrapped around my waist, and Grayson hugged me to his chest. “It will be all right.”

I closed my eyes and reveled in the contact. “Where’s Hunter?”

“Has a meeting with Eldrick.”

“And Uri?”

“On a donut run.” He chuckled. “Having a celestial who can teleport comes in handy.”

I laughed. “And you’re okay with him staying here?”

Grayson turned me to face him. “Uri’s a good guy. I like him. But maybe you’ll want to spend a couple of nights a week at your quarters.”

I blushed. “Okay.”

I looked around the lounge, tidy now, and occupied by my pack as they watched TV together. We’d busted onto an island and saved a bunch of humans and vamps. Killed a bunch of super vamps and kidnapped a scientist who right this moment was in Magiguard custody along with Kristoff. I’d died and come back to life, and Lilith could be seriously affected by that. War loomed on the horizon in the Underealm, but right now. This moment. Life felt almost normal.

Grayson nuzzled my ear. “You want to go to bed for a bit?”

My body responded with instant eagerness. “Yes, please.”

He took my hand, and we headed toward the lift. Grayson was about to press the call button when a gust of air blew through the house—warm and floral-scented.

The hairs on my nape stood to attention. Grayson had gone very still too, his grip on my hand flexing. He released me, and we both turned to the entrance to find a woman standing there.

She was dressed for summer, hair braided with flowers, feet bare, and totally out of place against the winter backdrop behind her. But what grabbed me by the throat and shook me was her face.

She had my face.

“Hello, Seraphina Dawn,” she said. “We have a problem.”

To be continued….

Grab the thrilling finale to Fee’s adventure, Reaper Unleashed

HERE

Other books by Debbie Cassidy

The Gatekeeper Chronicles

Marked by Sin

Hunted by Sin

Claimed by Sin

The Witch Blood Chronicles

(Spin-off to the Gatekeeper Chronicles)

Binding Magick

Defying Magick

Embracing Magick

Unleashing Magick

The Fearless Destiny Series

Beyond Everlight

Into Evernight

Under Twilight

The Chronicles of Midnight

Protector of Midnight

Champion of Midnight

Secrets of Midnight

Shades of Midnight

Savior of Midnight

Chronicles of Arcana

City of Demons

City of the Lost

City of Everdark

City of War

For the Blood

For the Blood

For the Power

For the Reign

For the Hunt (novella)

Heart of Darkness

Captive of Darkness

Bane of Winter

Fate’s Destiny

Deadworld

Deadworld

Dead City

Dead Sea

Dead End

The Nightwatch Academy

Shadow Caster

Shadow Weaver

Shadow Warrior

Shadow Master

The Nightwatch Series

Ghost of a Chance

Give up the Ghost

Ghost at the Feast

Lay the Ghost

Deadside Reapers Series

Reaper Unexpected

Reaper Uninvited

Reaper Untamed

Reaper Unveiled

Reaper Undone

Reaper Unhinged

Reaper Unleashed

The Iron Fae Series

Taste My Wrath

Feel My Power

Dragon Guard Series

Dragon Trial

Dragon Rising

Survivor’s Heart (Planet Athion World)

Novellas

Rogue

Rebel

Survivor

Standalone Novellas

Blood Blade

About the Author

Debbie Cassidy lives in England, Bedfordshire, with her three kids and very supportive husband. Coffee and chocolate biscuits are her writing fuels of choice, and she is still working on getting that perfect tower of solitude built in her back garden. Obsessed with building new worlds and reading about them, she spends her spare time daydreaming and conversing with the characters in her head – in a totally non psychotic way of course. She writes High Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Space Fantasy, and Reverse Harem. Connect with Debbie via her website at debbiecassidyauthor.com or twitter @authordcassidy. Or sign up to her Newsletter to stay in the know.