Reaper Unleashed

Eve

The sky above is as clear as the day I imagined it. How much longer before my eyes close for good? I can’t move now. The eons of running from time are catching up, and my body is no longer my own.

I’m dying.

Which means Cain is dead.

Sorrow twists my insides, but not for the loss of my son. For the loss of what may have been, given more time.

Samael…

My Samael.

Something shifts in the fabric of my world, and my thready pulse accelerates, leaving me breathless.

“Eve?”

Oh god. I want to turn my head, to see his face, but I’m immobile.

And then, like a prayer, his glorious visage hovers above me. He lifts me gently into his arms and cradles me to his powerful chest. My eyes are void of tears, too dried up to cry.

My mouth moves but no words come.

“I know,” he says. “I know.”

I love him. Have always loved him, even though he wasn’t mine. I’ve waited for so long and he came. He came to me, and now I can go in peace.

“Sleep now,” he says. His hand sweeps across my forehead in a gentle caress as I devour him with my eyes. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I’m sorry I couldn’t give you what you wanted. Maybe in another life…”

Another life…

I take my final breath.

Lilith

Mammon glares daggers of loathing at me from his cell—an emotion he’s kept hidden for too long. I’ve always suspected his hatred. I rejected him time and time again, after all.

I’ve never liked the fallen angel, only tolerated him. Mammon’s ambition is for himself and himself alone. He cares nothing for others, not even his kin, as he demonstrated when he slaughtered his daughter.

A life in a cell is too good a punishment for him.

There must be more, and I have just the thing in mind.

“Look at you,” he says. “Gray and haggard. Your beauty is gone.”

“Look at you,” I retort. “Locked up like a common thief. Did you honestly believe you could steal my kingdom?”

“I almost succeeded.” He frowns. “If not for unforeseen circumstances. Cain was not on my radar.” He sits on the narrow cot that serves as his bed. “It’s a shame he was unable to end Samael’s life. But I must say, seeing you like this—gray and wrinkled—is enough to keep me warm in this cold, dank pit.”

I allow my lips to curve in a smile. “Oh, Mammon, did you honestly think this would be the extent of your punishment?”

Doubt flickers across his face. “Samael passed his sentence.”

“I am queen here.” I step closer to the bars. “And I have yet to pass my sentence. Samael has no idea of the grief you’ve caused me or the extent of the torment you put me through. This punishment is not enough.”

He raises his chin. “I’m not afraid of you, Lilith. Look at you. You’re nothing.”

And my next actions will make me even less, but they will be worth it. I close my eyes and reach into the abyss, into the place called Taraffel—the afterlife for creatures like me. Like us.

Loke, I have a proposition.

Lilith, you honor me again. The gatekeeper’s voice is clear in my mind. What is it you desire?

I offer you a decade of what’s left of my life if you admit this soul into the maze.

A soul that is tethered is no use to me.

But all tethered souls must sleep.

A low chuckle. Ah, I see what you desire. A forever sleep, and a one-way trip into a forever nightmare.

Will you accept my offer? My spine cracks and curves, and my vision blurs.

“What’s happening to you?” Mammon looks horrified.

I can feel my body failing. I look at my hands to find paper thin skin speckled with age spots and stretched over bone. I can only imagine what my face looks like. But there’s joy in my heart, because this means Loke has accepted my offer. It means that—

Mammon yawns then looks surprised. “What…” His eyelids droop, then he falls onto his side, fast asleep.

He will not wake again.

“Sweet nightmares, Mammon. For eternity.”

It is time for me to rest.

Two months later

Cora

“Oh shit, I’m nervous.” Fee locks eyes with me in the mirror.

Her cheeks are flushed, and her eyes are bright. She looks fucking stunning in the red, black, and cream dress that billows out around her like something from a fairy tale. It’s a work of art. I should know—I helped design it.

I resist the urge to clasp my hands together and simper with glee. “You’ll be fine.”

She’d almost postponed this day after Lilith’s demise, wanting to be by Samael’s side in his grief, but Samael put his foot down and insisted the ceremony go ahead.

“Are they here?” she asks for the fifth time.

“Yes, they’re here, and if it’s any consolation they’ve each asked if you’re here.”

She takes a shuddering breath. “This is so stupid. I mean, we’re together. I know we are, and that isn’t going to change. I shouldn’t be so nervous.”

“But you’re making a public commitment to be a family, to love and be loved by six guys.” I chuckle. “Babe, you’re braver than I am.”

She smiles. “Bravery doesn’t come into it. This was meant to be. These are my guys, and I’m theirs.”

“And you’ll do fantastically,” Delphine says from her perch on the chaise lounge. She looks even pinker than usual today. “Cora, take a picture, so I can show Cyril later.”

I snap another picture with the polaroid and hand it to the snake. He’ll be at the reception, but right now he’s on egg watch duty. Fee told me about Cyril’s doubts on fatherhood. Looks like he’s overcoming them.

“Are you ready?” Delphine asks Fee.

Fee’s back straightens, and I can almost see the nervous tension drop from her shoulders. “I’m ready.”

Fee

We wanted a wedding, but a wedding didn’t feel right. It didn’t fit us, so Cora did some liaising and came up with a Commitment Ceremony, one that would be officiated by a demon, a celestial and a Loup pack minister.

As I stood outside the heavy double doors to the hall Vi had sourced for us, my heart pounded against my ribs.

I was about to claim these men in front of all our friends and colleagues. I was about to say they were mine, and I was theirs. I was excited and eager and terrified.

Cora squeezed my hand. “You look gorgeous,” she said again.

And then she stepped back and Eldrick and Samael took her place standing either side of me.

The doors swung open and the room beyond was revealed. Azazel, Mal, Grayson, Hunter, Uri, and Keon stood at the top of the aisle, three on each side, and in the center, waiting to greet me, was the divine, a huge smile on his face. Lilith’s cardinal stood to his left and the Loup magistrate stood to his right. There were people, so many people, but I had eyes only for my guys.

They’d dressed in suits and tails even though I’d said they didn’t need to. They’d shaved and groomed too, and now they watched as I glided toward them. The thunder in my heart calmed beneath the balm of love shining from their eyes.

This was meant to be.

This was always meant to be.

As Samael and Eldrick stepped back and the guys surrounded me I knew that right here, among them, was my forever home.

Cora

Fee’s smile hasn’t faltered, not once. The guys take turns to dance with her, whirling her around the floor like a beautiful doll. My friend has found her happily ever after, and my heart can’t be fuller. I sip my champagne then gag. Why the fuck am I drinking this crap?

A glass of amber liquid appears beneath my nose. “I believe this might be more to your taste.”

I take the whiskey but, don’t bother to look at the deliverer. “I don’t recall sending you an invitation.”

Jasper grips the nape of my neck lightly. “I don’t need an invite, Cora. I take what I want.”

A shiver skates down my spine. “Go away, Jasper. Not tonight. Tonight is about Fee.”

He leans in so his breath tickles the delicate shell of my ear. “And tomorrow?”

I suppress a shiver of desire and finally turn my head to look at his wickedly beautiful face. “Tomorrow is another day.”

His lips curved in a hungry smile. “And tomorrow, you’re mine.”