Page 53 of Truth Revealed

They kept to the tree line, the woods suspiciously quiet to their left as they carefully, but quickly, killed the distance between their car and her home.

Every few feet she tightened her hand around his just for the hell of it, and every time he returned the gesture, her chest warmed at the small expression of comfort.

The house was silent when they came up to the left side of it. Granted, there were only a few windows to see through, but nothing seemed to be amiss—

“There.” She released his hand and pointed to the second-floor window at the end of the hallway. “Someone’s in the hallway,” she whispered. “A lot of someones.”

The house exploded into action, shouts and grunts of pain echoing into the quiet darkness. Glass shattered and Daria took off. She didn’t even realize she’d moved until Hope’s irritated voice hissed her name. All she knew in that moment was a begging desperation that her demons and her sister were okay.

Sliding to a clumsy stop under the living room window, Daria peeked her head over the edge and squinted through the blinds. Pain was putting his namesake to use and delivering blow after blow, kick after kick to the demons he encountered. Pandora stood near the front door, her arms crossed as she watched the happenings with a bored expression.

Her heart fluttered as she realized Pain was alone. Did that mean the others were okay?

“Should we wait for the others?” Daria asked Hope when he slid to a crouch beside her.

“For someone so tiny, you move really fast,” he breathed out. “I texted Death an update, but he never hit me back. I don’t know if they got equally distracted or wha—”

“Shh,” she hushed him, and slapped a hand over his mouth.

Over the fighting inside and the pulse pounding in her ears, she heard rustling. Jerking her head to the side, she glanced behind her but didn’t see anything.

Then she heard it—the distant splashing of water.

“Someone’s in the water!” she said, and darted to her feet to head in that direction. As she rounded the corner of the house, she collided with someone, her nose planting into their chest and an oof slipping from her lips.

Strong, firm hands caught her, and she braced herself on their chest, pulling back.

“Death!” she breathed, and wrapped her arms around him tight. “You’re okay.”

Tears blurred her vision as she met the gazes of Misery, Betrayal, and Wrath behind him.

“Time for reunions later—Truth and the girls are in the water, and Pain is inside,” Death informed her, his voice low and even.

Relief flooded her.

“Daria, go get the car and drive to the next neighborhood over. Truth is going to bring Persy and Sofia to you, they’re crossing the river right now.”

“B-But what about you guys—”

“We’re gonna help Pain and get that bitch out of our house.”

Daria was torn. They needed to collect the others, make sure they were safe, and now hope they didn’t freeze to death after dipping into that ice-cold water and then braving the colder air. But that would leave her demons alone—

“Daria. There’s five of us. We’ll be fine. Take the keys, go. Keep your phone on.”

“Okay. Okay,” she conceded, taking a deep breath. She launched herself into Hope’s arms and buried her face in his neck.

He hissed just the slightest and Daria immediately released him. “Oh shit, I’m so sorry—”

“Stop, it’s okay. Be safe.”

She gulped and stared into his pale green eyes, bright even in the darkness. “You too, Sunshine,” she murmured softly.

Daria was pulled around and engulfed in huge arms, the breath getting sucked out of her lungs in a kiss so deep she didn’t know where she began and Betrayal ended. “Come back to me, okay?” she mumbled.

He probably didn’t even hear her, but he nodded and passed her to Misery, whose kiss was gentler but no less desperate. Another grunt sounded from inside and they tensed. Then they were gone, Death with a last look and a soft press of his lips to her forehead and Wrath with a single nod.

Before she could talk herself into joining the melee, distracting them in turn, she made herself turn and run back to the car, her steps whispering across the stiff grass.