Page 28 of Reaper’s Curse

My smile kicked up several notches, my silly heart somersaulting.

Of course he hadn’t meant it like that.

Still, his message was the lift my spirits needed after a day filled with disappointments.

After grabbing a fountain pen and parchment from the side table, I began to scribble a response.

Thank the merciful gods you are safe. I was worried⁠—

No. Saying such, no less starting my response with those words, sounded too…too…

I crumpled the page and tossed it into the trashcan. I needed to be timely, yes, but not too timely. And I needed to be smart, safe in my reply.

At present, my brain was too exhausted to script a reasonable response. My body too tired to hold the pen any longer, much less step out onto the terrace to try and catch myself a crow. Giving myself over to the fragility, I lay back on the bed, closed my eyes, and drifted into sleep, Chace’s message clutched to my chest, and gratitude for his safety swelling within my heart.

I shouldn’t feel such relief with regard to the safety of a Badden, and yet I couldn’t deny the emotion ran true.

For the first time in days, my sleep was deep and peaceful, yet not nearly long enough. The room was still dark when my eyelids eventually…reluctantly…lifted, no sun shining through the glass terrace doors.

And the letter, clutched to my chest…

It was missing.

A clang and clatter in the adjoining room set me sitting upright and jerking into quick motion.

Someone is in my room.

Bad idea. Very bad idea. Moving in on my space without my permission.

I threw the door open wide and dashed into the receiving room, my muscles tense and ready to attack.

Two steps and I froze. Stared at the figure residing in the center of the room.

Winter stood beside the table, a new floral spread commanding the eye, and a tray filled with deliciously aromatic fare, setting my tummy to rumble.

In his hand, he held up a sheet of parchment. My crow-delivered letter, I realized.

He clutched his hand tight, crumpling the page. “This is from him, isn’t it? How did you get it?”

9

“What are you doing in my room?” I glared at Winter and the parchment he held. Hadn’t I been holding that when I’d fallen asleep? “And what gives you the right to go through my stuff?”

“I didn’t go through your stuff. I found this”―he thrust the message forward―“on the ground, beside the bed, and picked it up for you. I had no plans to read it. It just happened.”

“Just happened?” I stomped forward and snatched the parchment from his hold.

Like coming into my bedchamber without an invitation?

Thank the mercies of hell I hadn’t slipped into anything too comfortable before dropping into a deep sleep the night before.

With a heavy sigh, Winter dropped his head forward. “I’m sorry I upset you.” He gazed up through heavy lashes. “That was not my intention.”

I crossed my arms and glared. “And you didn’t think I would find it upsetting that you simply let yourself into my room…again…while I was sleeping, no less? Do you have no respect for personal boundaries?”

“Gods. You’re gorgeous.” He bit down on his lower lip.

“What?” My entire body jerked back a step.