Page 27 of Reaper’s Curse

I had already shed my jacket and toed off my boots by the time I made my way into the bedroom. I considered heading straight for the bed and passing out. Skipping washing my face or trading my day clothes for comfortable sleepwear. But I’d spent the day touching endless affecteds, attempting reap and cure after reap and cure, leaving an itching sense of filth upon my skin.

My lumbered steps carried me halfway to the bath chamber when a ceaseless tapping on glass redirected my attention to the terrace doors. On the other side of the double glass doors stood a large crow, knocking with his beak. A rolled message, clearly carried by the black bird, now rested near his claw.

Fighting against my exhaustion, I double and triple blinked to awaken my senses and then opened the terrace doors, careful not to scare away the feathery beast. As the door slowly swung wide, the bird collected the message, fluttered into the room, and deposited his cargo on the bed. There he remained with a chirp and an intelligent tilt of his head, his knowing and awaiting watch following my approach.

“Thank you,” I said to the bird, glancing around the room for any leftovers from my breakfast earlier in the day.

But the room had been cleaned, and no signs of the meal remained.

I slipped the message from his side. “Should you return in the morning, I’ll have something yummy for you.”

With a caw, communicating his acceptance, or his possible annoyance, the bird flew from the room.

After closing the terrace doors, I took a seat on the bed and read the delivered message. Expecting the correspondence to be from my father, I was surprised to find otherwise.

Hello Black Bird, the first line read.

My father wouldn’t bother with a nickname or a made-up title. But if not my father, who would be sending me a letter?

I chewed on my lower lip and read the message from start to finish, saving any judgement for the end.

Hello Black Bird,

I heard you were searching for me. I want to assure you I am back, and I am well, and I thank you for your concern. Should you come looking again, I can be found close to where we last stood face-to-face.

My heart fluttered with understanding, and I grabbed at my chest as I continued to read.

I also heard that our beautiful Black Bird has a new gilded perch. I do hope this perch is merely that: a place in which to rest her bones, feast, and not a pretty cage in which she’s become trapped. Send word if the latter stands true.

Can you fly, Black Bird? Because we must meet. For there are things we need to discuss.

Sincerely,

Curse Chaser

I fell back on the bed and pressed the letter to my breast. The message was from Chace. The fact settled firmly, comfortably in my soul. Bled through body and mind like a calming balm. Despite the avoidance of mentioning names, missions, and profession, the sender was obvious…at least to me.

Of course, my options were limited. Aldine wasn’t quite so clever, and Chace was the one who had knowledge about the crow clicker. If he had the device in his possession, that would explain its absence from my belongings collected by Winter’s men.

Hopefully, Chace also had my reaper’s manual.

Chace, saving my hide in the face of the royal servants or guards. Chace, who last I’d heard, was trapped in a dark cell. Chace, who now professed to be free.

And he’d said he was well…or as well as could be, given the fact he was recently a prisoner in someone’s twisted scenario.

Had Aldine found him? Broken him out of his prison?

I huffed a half laugh at his word choices. Curse Chaser? Seriously?

He could chase the curse all he wanted, but I would be the one breaking the darn thing. Badden would be taking a back seat to a Gunn win.

A sleepy smile lifted the edges of my lips.

Black Bird had to be a reference to my name, which wasn’t very covert. He probably needed to take a course in encryption. Of course, if he had written in a more deeply developed code, chances were strong that I would have failed to decipher the intended correspondence.

“Black Bird,” I whispered and smiled.

And he’d called me beautiful.