by Cynthia Eden
Lightning flashed down on the ground just inches from Cass’s right hand.
“She’s not dead,” Cass said because she couldn’t be. Don’t be dead, Amber. Don’t—
Because he needed her. He…
Loved her?
His chest burned as the fear spread within him. Did my touch do this?
Lightning flashed again—only this time the lightning slammed into Cass’s body. He jerked, his head whipping back as the pain blasted him, and then he found himself flying through the air and crashing into the side of the wrecked sedan.
Cass shook himself off and leapt to his feet. He ran at Luke—
But Luke was touching Amber’s face, his hand tender on her cheek. “I can bring you back.”
He could…Cass staggered to a stop. “Do it.” His words were ragged. “Help her.”
Luke lifted Amber into his arms. He held her so carefully and when he looked down at her, there was grief on his face.
Sister.
Cass couldn’t wrap his mind around that shit. Amber was the sister to the freaking ruler of the dark paranormals? No wonder she hadn’t said anything about that particular connection.
Luke has too many enemies…if the truth got out, they’d use her.
They’d hurt her.
Just as she’d been hurt before.
But if she was Luke’s sister…
Oh, hell, she’s tied to Leo, too.
Cass swallowed the lump in his throat. “I…” I need her. I have to get her back. Please, fucking…bring her back!
Luke’s wings flapped. His eyes glowed with power—a bright light that seemed to consume him and Amber. The light pulsed. It grew. It…
“She’s not waking up.” Cass rushed toward them.
Thunder rumbled again.
“Bring her back!” He wasn’t pleading any longer. He was bellowing. The bastard had just said—
Luke’s head turned to the right. He stared into the darkness. “I know you’re there.”
Cass summoned his scythe. Luke still held Amber, but she wasn’t breathing. She wasn’t moving at all. Her gorgeous eyes were closed and her body was too still. He put his blade right against Luke’s throat. “Bring. Her. Back.”
Luke’s head turned toward Cass once more. The scythe cut him and blood trickled down Luke’s throat. “You think you’re going to kill me?”
“If you don’t bring her back…”
“You believe I’m not fucking trying?” Luke’s voice blasted. The ring on his finger glowed as brightly as his eyes. “She’s not—”
“She’s not yours,” Leo said. The guy had just flown from the sky and landed right at Luke’s side. “She never was…despite what you tried to do to her.” He stared at Amber and grief sagged his shoulders. “She wasn’t yours. She wasn’t mine. And now she’s…gone.”
The hell she was. “Get her back.” It was all he could manage. The world around him was going dark. Fury was welling inside of him. Fury and fear and pain. He’d just found Amber.
She wasn’t supposed to be dead. She’d wanted them to run away, to start over together.
“Get her back,” Cass shouted. “Or you both die.” His scythe was still at Luke’s throat. He would slice Luke, and then he would attack Leo. They thought they were unstoppable. They thought they could play with the lives of everyone else. They were wrong. “She lives…or you both die.” Because he wasn’t some lesser paranormal who had to bow to them.
“You can’t kill us,” Leo snapped. “That’s not the end fate has for us. You aren’t our end—”
“Fuck fate,” Cass snarled. “She is the only fate I care about. Amber. I want her back. You will bring her back. Do it—now.” Because he couldn’t stand the thought of her growing cold right there.
Amber is warmth. She’s light. She’s life.
My life.
“Bring her back…” Leo gave a bitter laugh. “So…what? So you can kill her with your touch again? You did this, Reaper. You’re only made for death. You should have never been near her. You should have never hoped to have Amber as your own. She’s so much better than you can ever dream. You didn’t deserve her, you didn’t—”
“Stop.” Luke’s voice. Flat. Cold.
The scythe had cut deeper into him.
But Luke stared at Cass with no fear in his glowing gaze. No, not fear.
Pity.
“Cass didn’t kill her,” Luke said.
Cass didn’t kill her. He sucked in a deep breath.
“That bastard Gregory did. Amber told me…I saw through her eyes. He wanted me to think Cass had taken Amber’s life. Wanted me to fly in with a fury and attack the Reaper.” Luke’s hold tightened on Amber’s body. “He wants a battle. He wants me dead. He wants the Reaper out of the way. He wants chaos…”
Leo’s body had stiffened. His gaze searched the darkness.
“I saw through her eyes,” Luke said again. “I saw him smiling as he broke her neck.”
Something in Cass seemed to break right then.
His gaze dipped to Amber’s neck. “Bring her back.” His voice had gone hoarse.
“I tried,” Luke rasped. “But Amber is light and dark, a mix of our parents. I can only reach the dark…”
Cass yanked the scythe away from Luke’s neck and shoved it against Leo’s throat. “You’re supposed to be the fucking good one.”
Blood slid down Leo’s throat.
“You pour your power into her, do you hear me? You give her your power and Luke gives her his…and you bring her back. You reach the light side of her, he pulls in the dark, and you bring her back.” The breath he took burned Cass’s lungs. “Give her your power or I will take your life right now.”
Leo smiled at him. “Do you think you have to threaten me?” He moved closer to Amber and Luke, not seeming to even feel the wound at his throat as the scythe cut deeper into him. “I have loved her since the day she was born.” Then Leo put his hand on her cheek. “She used to follow me around…always laughing. She loved me.” Power swirled around him—the same brightness that had consumed Luke moments before.
“She loved me,” Luke said, his voice still low. His eyes glowed. Lightning flashed once more. “Loved me so much that she gave up her wings to save me. She wasn’t supposed to do that. She was never supposed to suffer for me.”
Their light pulsed around her. Then it seemed to sink right into her.
But her eyes didn’t open. She didn’t breathe.
And the madness clawing at Cass’s soul grew worse. “She’s not waking!”
Lines of strain appeared on Leo’s face. “Sleeping Beauty doesn’t always wake…”
She wasn’t fucking Sleeping Beauty. She was Amber. She was the woman the Reaper loved. And Death wasn’t going to let her go.
Not ever.
“Heaven or hell,” he growled. “Tell me where she is.” And he put the scythe to his own throat. “Because I will go and bring her back. I will—”
Her lips parted. Amber sucked in a quick breath.
The light around her vanished. Her eyes opened—and they glowed with power.
“Amber!” Relief swept through him and he reached out for her. So desperate to hold her and feel her in his arms and—
Leo blasted him with a surge of white-hot power. Cass fell back, but lunged up—
Leo was in his path. “You want to kill her again? Because I don’t know how many times we can bring her back.”
My touch…In horror, Cass glanced at his bare hands.
Luke put Amber on her feet, and his hand stayed on her arm. He was touching her so carefully.
But Amber wasn’t looking at him. She was staring at Cass, and her eyes were wide. “Cass?” She smiled at him. “You’re okay! You didn’t—you and Luke didn’t—”
“We didn’t kill each other,” Luke said flatly. “Because I’m not a fucking idiot and I knew Gregory wanted us dead.”
Gregory.
“Now that you’re back in the land of the livi
ng…” Luke muttered, “It’s time to finish some business.” He put his hands on his hips and turned toward the line of trees to the right. “Come out, come out…you soon to be headless vamp.”
Amber was still staring at Cass.
“I believe you broke a deal with me, Gregory” Luke yelled. “And that is a very, very bad move. The kind of move that gets a vampire killed.”
Gregory had broken Amber’s neck.
Cass walked toward her.
Once more, Leo stepped in his path.
“Get the hell back,” Cass snapped. “I won’t hurt her.”
“Like I’m supposed to believe the Reaper?”
But then Amber was the one shoving Leo out of her way. She threw her arms around Cass and held him tight.
His hands didn’t touch her. His eyes squeezed shut.
She’s warm. She’s alive.
“Your heart wasn’t beating,” she said, her voice thick. “That scared the hell out of me.” She looked up at him and there were tears on her lashes.
“You were dead,” he told her. “And that scared the hell out of me.”
Her gaze held his.
Gregory broke her neck.
Carefully, Cass bent his head. He pressed a tender kiss to her throat. “He will pay.”
“Cass?” Fear hitched in his name.
He kissed her throat once again. “I’m sorry I didn’t protect you.” His wrist began to burn.
She gave a little gasp and he knew she felt that burn, too.
Their cuffs appeared, one on her wrist. One on his.
“The forty-eight hours are up,” Cass told her, swallowing. “You’re free.” He pressed a kiss to her mouth. “And I swear, I will make sure that Gregory never hurts you again.” He backed away from her. Then he reached for the cuff that surrounded his wrist. He shattered that cuff, breaking the bond between them.
Lightning was still flashing in the sky. Thunder rumbled.
“I feel him close by,” Luke said. “The bastard thinks his magic is strong enough to hide from me.” He laughed. “Hell, his spell isn’t half as good as Amber’s was.”
“You let me go,” she said, not ever looking away from Cass. “I knew it. You both let me vanish.”
“Because you were in pain,” Leo mumbled, yanking a hand over his face. “I always hated your pain. Being near us—it made you hurt more.”
Cass hated her pain, too. “I’ll find Gregory. I’m the one who should have ended him. The pain he caused her—it’s on me.”
“It’s not, Cass!” Her eyes widened in horror. “You never did anything to hurt me.”
But he’d never done anything to make her life better, either. And he’d failed to keep her safe.
He summoned his scythe. He’d be using it to take Gregory’s head.
Luke waved his hands toward him. “Here you go, Reaper. I’ll give you a head start…”
Wind whipped around him, and Amber disappeared.
Cass opened his mouth to roar her name, but then the wind died away. He realized Luke had sent him deeper into the woods. And Cass turned his head when he heard the rustle of footsteps.
Then the snap of a twig. I’ll give you a head start.
A smile curled Cass’s lips. Luke had given him new prey.
Gregory was smiling when he broke her neck. Cass would smile when he used his scythe on Gregory. “Guess what, buddy?” Cass called out as he turned, keeping the scythe close. “Death is ready for you.”
***
Amber grabbed Luke’s shoulders and shook him—as hard as she could. “Where did you send him?”
His eyes widened. Thunder boomed.
“Easy, there, Amber,” Leo tried to soothe.
She wasn’t in the mood to be soothed. She was pretty sure she’d been dead, and her night was hellish. “Where is Cass?”
Luke’s brows lifted. “He’s Death. He’s a Reaper…I sent him off to—you know—reap.”
“You sent him to Gregory.”
Luke flashed her a smile. “I told you that Gregory was trying to use magic to hide from me. Silly vamp. I could feel him out there, so I sent your Reaper to take what was left of his soul.” He inclined his head toward her. “You’re welcome.”
“I’m not thanking you!” Amber screamed. She shook him again, just because. Then she jerked away from him. “You and Leo—you both always think you know what’s best!”
“We do,” they said in unison.
“You know jackshit,” she fired back. Her shoulders heaved. She pointed at Luke. “You…you think I don’t get that you didn’t want me to sacrifice my wings for you?”
His eyes gleamed. “About that…”
“And you.” She pointed to Leo. “You think I didn’t know how much you blamed Luke for me giving up my wings? But it wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t his choice. It was mine. Hycim had found a way to hurt Luke. Luke was weak because of Hycim. Luke needed time to recover, and my wings bought him that time. They were a small price to pay for Luke’s life.”
He’d stiffened. “They weren’t small to me. They were your power.”
“There’s more to life than power. You both need to learn that lesson. Maybe then you can avoid killing each other.” She rubbed her neck. It still ached. And her back itched. And she felt…weird inside. Shaky.
And scared. So scared…for Cass. “Gregory was the one who gave Hycim all the intel on you—on you both.” Her gaze swung between them. “He admitted that he was the one who turned Hycim into a hybrid. Gregory has been gunning for your power all along, Luke, and you didn’t know that.”
His face hardened. “Then it’s fitting that the Reaper is about to take his head.”
“You sent Cass to do your dirty work before! Gregory was family to him! Family! Having Cass take his head…that would be like—like—”
“Like me killing Luke,” Leo announced flatly.
Silence.
“Gregory isn’t his family,” Luke said. “Gregory is one of the fucking vampires who killed his family. Then they took in Cass, thinking they could brainwash him into being their attack dog.”
At his words, horror flooded her. “You…you knew that all along? And you left Cass with him?” She stared at him in shock. “They cut off his hands! His hands!”
“And if Gregory was the one yanking Hycim’s strings…then he’s also the one responsible for cutting off your wings,” Luke fired back. “So let your Reaper lover take his vengeance. Let Cass do his worst.” He gave a grim shake of his head. “I’m supposed to govern the dark ones, but I don’t control them completely. They have their own thoughts. They get fucking out of control, and I do my best to clean up the messes they leave behind. When the vampires took Cass—back when he was a kid—I was dealing with fucking twenty other world-ending problems. The apocalypse is always a step away.”
“Amen,” Leo mumbled.
“By the time I realized what had happened…Cass was an adult. And he was a killer.” Luke huffed out a breath. “I didn’t know if I should put him down right away or give the bastard a fighting chance.”
The twisting in her stomach got worse. “You won’t put him down.”
Leo took her arm. “Forget him, okay? You’re what matters, not him, not—”
She turned her head and glared at her brother. “Cass matters to me.” Her voice was low and lethal.
Leo blinked.
Her head turned back toward Luke. “Send me to him.”
“Amber…”
“Send me to him! This fucked-up family reunion can wait! Send me to Cass right now. Right the hell now or I swear I will—”
Luke sighed and waved his hand. “You didn’t even ask why I wanted to see you so badly.”
He sounded…disappointed.
“I don’t care why! I want Cass, I want—”
The wind whipped up around her—and Luke and Leo vanished.
Chapter Fifteen
Cass faced Gregory, staring at the man who’d first been like a father to him…the
n a friend.
And now…
An enemy.
“It isn’t too late,” Gregory said, smiling at him.
Gregory smiled while he broke her neck.
“You and I…we can team up. It is always what I wanted for us. Together, we can take out Luke and Leo. We’ll be the new order. Everyone else will bow down to us.”
“I never wanted anyone to bow to me.”
Gregory held up his hands. Hands that were covered with Cass’s gloves. “But you want to touch people, don’t you? You wanted to touch her. Once we have all the power, I can make sure you find someone else to mate, maybe even someone who can bear your touch.”
I don’t want anyone else. “Amber isn’t dead. Luke and Leo brought her back.”
Surprise flashed on Gregory’s face.
“After I kill you,” Cass added, “I’ll be taking my gloves back.” He smiled. “And then I’ll touch her as often as I want.”
“If they did bring her back, then Luke and Leo want her very badly. They probably have already taken her away from here. You won’t see her again. You’ll never have her again. Not unless you team up with me.” His gloved hands slipped behind his body.
“Are you going for your knives?” Cass asked him, tilting his head. “Because I remember…you always kept two knives on you.”
Gregory lifted his hands. Each glove held a knife.
Cass stared at those blades.
“Do you remember…” Gregory murmured. “What it was like to lose your hands?”
“I won’t be losing my hands tonight. You’ll be losing your head.”
Gregory seemed to consider that. Then he said, “Your parents didn’t think they’d lose their hands, either. But they did. I took your father’s hands first. Then your mother’s. They were pretty much helpless then. So I drained them. Their blood was very, very powerful. And oddly sweet.”
Cass blinked, then he shook his head. No, no, that wasn’t—
Gregory struck. He raced forward with a burst of supernatural speed and his knives flashed out, slicing through skin and bone, slicing to take off Cass’s wrist.
But Cass twisted up the scythe, and it cut right across Gregory’s chest, sending blood flying.
Gregory screamed and stumbled back.
“You…killed my parents?” Cass asked. The world seemed red. Not just from Gregory’s blood…but from fury.