Page 62 of Reaper's Quest

I paused in the entryway and fought back a groan. Rubbing my ears, I half expected to discover them bleeding, but my fingers came away clean.

Grimacing against the noise…and the content…I shoved the door open wider and ushered Raven through. My hand swung forward as if to press lightly to her lower back, but I caught myself inches before making contact. Jerking my arm back, I curled my hand into a loose fist.

What was I thinking? Did I want to touch her? I didn’t think I did. Such thoughts and desires went against everything I’d been raised to believe. Yet…I swung my gaze to her exhausted and wounded form and sucked in a tight breath, the memory of last night still holding a predominate space in my head. Her warmth, her breath, her perfect fit in my arms?intoxicating in ways I hadn’t expected. And my lips against her flesh…

Raven brushed past me, her hand held high, the blood from her wound seeping down her arm and dripping onto the floor. My attention momentarily snagged on her injury. Overcome with a sudden sense of restlessness, I shifted my weight and ground my teeth.

I might need to start toting around a first aid kit. Or, at least, clean swatches of fabric. Not because I worried about Raven’s health or possible pain, but because she’d left an easy-to-follow trail, should anyone want to take pursuit, and that could possibly have negative ramifications.

At least, I told myself, tried to convince myself, that was the reasoning behind my concern.

Raven stopped a foot inside the pub and glanced up at me, our eyes locking. My heart triple-thumped as my breath snagged in my throat.

Try as I might, I couldn’t quelch the emotions born from Raven’s earlier fumble. She could have ended up like Aldine, hurt and useless in completing our task. She could have been?

I slammed my eyelids shut.

“Fresh water and clean bandages,” I hollered, opening my eyes, and directing Raven to one of the many open chairs.

She shot me a defiant sneer and forwent the chair, marching toward the back of the room.

Aoes’s head swiveled in our direction.

He abruptly dropped his drink on top of the piano and rushed to Raven as the musical tune came to a curt halt. “Greatgasher! What happened?”

“I’m fine.” She waved Aoes away, but he seemed unfazed in his mission.

He grabbed a bar towel and held it beneath her hand to capture any further blood droplets. With his hand clasped around her forearm, keeping her palm elevated, he led her to the washroom.

Something deep within me urged me to grab Aoes by the ear and wrench him away from her. An impulse I held at bay, even as I kept my gaze glued on her retreating form until she stepped into the back room.

She was proud. Anyone could see that. And, as disappointed as I’d been in the way events had played out, I suspected she was equally frustrated.

My eye twitching, I clenched and unclenched my fists three times.

Raven might have walked to the pub with her stature stiff and chin high, but the pinch of her lips and the crinklesat the edges of her eyes spoke to something more going on inside her head.

I sagged against one of the many pub tables, and a shaky, sarcastic laugh bubbled free from my throat. I shook and lowered my head.

She’s going to be fine. Just fine. And we’ll be back to attempting reapings tomorrow. After all, she can’t prove herself the better reaper like she’s been trying to do if she isn’t actively trying.

A tiny grin curled my lips. I so enjoyed watching her efforts. And if I was being honest, she was good. Hella good.

“What happened out there?”

I snapped my head up. Winter stood in front of me, his hands fisted on his hips and all kinds of accusations shooting from his glare.

I didn’t have the patience for Winter or his clear fascination with Raven. Both he and Aoes acted as if they’d never seen a female before.

They probably hadn’t. Not a new one in an extremely long time, anyway.

I hadn’t drilled them about their birth dates, so I had no idea how long each of them had existed in this deathless citadel. The thought shone new light on Aoes’s overly friendly demeanor, and why Winter had paid a visit every day since our arrival—his flirtations with Raven growing ever more obvious. I found the idea that Winter had always visited Aoes with such frequency hard to accept.

From what I had observed, Raven granted the visitor little of her time and consideration. Did she find the prick as arrogant and annoying as I did? I hoped so. Of course, she could have been far too focused on trying to best me, makingthe reaping endeavor a full-time job, to then take in the attention of others.

“Well?” A muscle in Winter’s jaw twitched. “How did Raven get hurt?”

I shoved past him and strode toward the bar. “Leave me alone. I don’t owe you an explanation.”