Page 79 of Reaper's Quest

And then serenity shattered.

Searing pain cut across the inside of my arm, jerking me back to mild awareness. Whatever Winter gave me to kill the pain had no effect on my reaper’s call to action. The sting of an assigned target raced unmistakably across my skin—a “hey, look at me; you’ve got things to do.”

Only I had become far too weak to respond.

My arm spasmed, and I hissed, “No.”

Making no attempt to seek the name of the soul delegated to me, I allowed myself to start falling into darkness once more.

“Did we hurt you?” Winter’s question jerked me back to the surface.

Had he mistaken my response to my reaper assignment as a reaction to something they’d done?

“No,” I hissed again, not bothering to open my eyes.

My heavy head wanted nothing to do with conversation. Or thought. Or anything.

The warmth of a tiny hand wrapped around mine. A touch from someone unknown, as I could feel the press of Winter’s hands upon my body elsewhere, holding me steady. I could also feel the tug of my skin where the woman continued to stitch closed the hole in my waist…much as one would sew together a pillow.

More warmth. Another touch. My other hand.

Giving in to curiosity as to who else loomed in the room with us, I cracked open my eyes. Chace stood in front of me, staring at me. Judging me like he always did.

I jerked away.

“No, no, no.” I pushed away from the side of the bed, my emotions rocketing into a frenzy. “He can’t see me like this.”

The woman growled a complaint and temporarily ceased mending my skin.

Winter’s clamp upon me tightened, and his breath warmed my ear. “Calm down. Everything is all right. Nobody else is here. Your secret is safe. I promise.”

I didn’t believe him. Not when I looked directly at Chace. My coreaper stood before me, and now he knew.

“Chace is here. He’s right there,” I said, my voice hoarse and torn.

Winter shushed me as he would a child, brushing his fingers lightly along the edge of my hair and the line of my cheek. “Chace isn’t here. Camilla’s girls are standing in front of you. They’re holding your hands to give you strength through the mending.”

“Children?” The idea that I saw Chace where two girls stood was absurd.

I blinked. Blinked again rapidly. The vision of Chace vanished, and two young girls, sharing similar coloring and features as their mother, appeared in his place. Winter hadn’t lied.

But how, then…

Confused? Or seeing things? Given my current condition, I didn’t know which was worse.

Two girls—twins—gazed down at me, their faces absent of any expression. I curled my fingers, motioning them closer, and they complied. Unlike their mom, their ears raised in a short point, similar to Aoes’s.

A trait inherited from their father?

“Thank you for lending me your strength,” I murmured.

One of the girls allowed her lips to curve ever so slightly, although the expression didn’t last. The second girl appeared sickly, possibly afflicted, and merely stared back.

With a gentle sigh, I closed my eyes and mumbled, “No Chace.”

The last thing I wanted was to appear weak in front of him.

I fell, fast and hard, into the abyss of nothingness.