Page 31 of Reaper's Quest

The energy buzzing in the air around the citadel made my nerves tighten and my hair stand on end. More slivers of memories regarding a winged monster in a cage, what lay beyond the creature’s cage, hung just out of reach. Minute glimpses flickered every now and then, revealing more untapped information existed in my mind. If only I could access all of it.

I hadn’t expected to start uncovering Ubel’s secrets so early in the task.

What about my past, or about Ubel’s words, can I even trust to be true?

Without a doubt, the beast in Ubel’s laboratory came from the Citadel of Veritas. Reaper Badden knew those things came from here, and he’d said nothing to me, his only son, before seeing me off on this task.

Wish I could say I am surprised.

For Ubel, or one of his lackeys, to have captured the creature and gotten it to the lab, they would have had to have understood the creation process. Heck, the rotten reaper had a record of it set on replay over a decade ago. No scenario existed where he wasn’t aware of how easily I could have become one of those flying stingray-looking things.

I curled my hands into white-knuckled fists.

And now this guy…

Human, fae, elf, whatever… I didn’t trust him.

I stared at the back of Aoes’s head.

This guy could have been, or possibly still is, Ubel’s lackey on the inside.

The way he justhappenedto appear with the solution to our problem…

Everything about the situation rang as far too convenient. If Aoes could cross the confining barrier, why did he continue to hang around the citadel of death? Why hadn’t he left the place in the distant past?

I studied Aldine and Raven. Aoes guided them down the sharply angled path cutting into the craggy landscape, and the way my team members followed the stranger with apparent easy faith set my teeth on edge. My eyes were wide open, but were Raven’s? Aldine’s? I might not see Aoes fully for what he was,yet, but soon enough, I’d figure out the guy’s deal.

Bet it’s as shady as a cemetery at dusk.

I scrutinized Aoes’s every move as we descended the two-foot-thin trail. The earthen wall pressed in on our right, and the ground dropped off on our left. Aldine’s wide shoulders somewhat blocked Aoes from sight, but I saw, and I watched.

I’m only following because (one) the task requires I get inside the citadel, and (two) I need to keep an eye on Aldine and Raven.

We traveled single file, Aoes, Aldine, Raven, and then me, trekking into what appeared to have once been a moat surrounding the city. Puddles of stagnant water and mud patches riddled the now relatively dry, carved channel. The path led us beneath the bridge and—hopefully—below the magical barrier of energy.

After all, I’d seen Aoes on the other side of the barrier, and now the guy stood beside us. Still…

I fancied myself more of a raven than a crow, making my own decisions, charting my own course, and depending upon none other than myself, versus following the flock like that of the crow. And right now, I found my flock far too trusting.

I rubbed my fingers deep into my temples. “Where exactly are you taking us?”

In front of me, Raven’s shoulders stiffened even as she kept her focus forward. I had expected more from her, if for no other reason than because of her given name.And, quite possibly, because of the fire Imighthave perceived in and around her mother. Only I had yet to witness any hint of fire shimmer around Raven herself.

But I had seensomethingsmudged around her earlier this morning. Something strong and vibrant.

I dropped my gaze over her, snagging on the sway of her hips. A low hum rumbled deep within me as I bit down on my lower lip and dragged it between my teeth.

She was…

I jerked.Shook my head.

What in hell’s fire am I doing?Reaping gods, I needed to stay focused.

I blinked and forced my unexpected distraction to ash. Then glanced from the path ahead to the back of Aoes’s skull. “Where? Aoes. Where are you taking us?”

He spun around, and reacting to my question, pressed a finger to his lips. The gesture jerked my attention to his analytical gaze. The guide’s eyes darted back and forthbetween me and Raven, the press of his brow and lift of his lips suggesting he’d noticed my wandering perusal.

Whatever.