Page 130 of An Oath at Midnight

Fuck. “You don’t need to think about this. Not right now.”

Ren turned into the driveway of Magnolia’s house and shut off the car.

She shoved the door open, then turned back to me. “I need to talk to my sisters. I won’t be long. Will you wait for me in the tree house?”

I nodded, and she took off into the house.

CHAPTER 32

Magnolia

Everyone turned to look at me when I walked into the kitchen, jumping to their feet, Mom and Else barely stopping themselves from running at me and hugging me like they were desperate too.

“How?” Mom said.

“I’m a reaper, nothing can hold me. Somehow, I tapped into it,” I said to the room, then turned to Willow. “Glad you’re back.”

Her gaze moved over me, making sure I was in one piece. “Back at ya.”

“How’s the peanut?”

She grinned. “The peanut’s perfect.”

“I’m going to make you something to eat, you must be starving,” Mom said, trying to feed me since she couldn’t show affection the way she usually did, by pulling me in for a tight hug.

“I’ll help,” Else said. “Then we can sit down and figure this thing out.”

I turned to my sisters. “Can I have a word?” They followed me into the living room.

Iris looked worried. “Are you okay, truly?”

Her worry wasn’t a surprise since we were all worried. There were so many fucking things to be worried about, but I couldn’t let this go. “I am. Now that I’m out of that place.” I wanted answers, and I wanted them now. “Are you immortal? All of you?” I said.

They were momentarily stunned by my sudden change of topic, then they looked at each other, something passing between them before they looked back at me. “Yes,” they all said together.

“Were you ever going to tell me?”

“Of course, when you mated,” Willow said.

“Well, therein lies the problem. I can’t touch Bram without killing him, and even before Death made me a reaper, my scars…” I looked up at my sisters. “They hurt… And they’ve grown more painful the last few months. A hug, a simple goddamn touch causes excruciating pain.”

Sadness filled Rose’s eyes. “You never said.”

“I was handling it, until…I wasn’t.” I gripped the back of the couch. “They put me in a cell across from Cora—”

“They did what?” Iris said, furious.

“Yeah, and she had a few things to say.” I told them about the hex she’d put on me, that it was inside me still, infecting me with her darkness to draw out my own, to stop me from finding happiness. “I want it out,” I said to my sisters. “Now.”

Willow nodded. “We’ve got you, Mags. I think if we work together, we can do it.”

“What’s going on?” Jasmine asked, walking into the room.

“We’re going to the cemetery,” Willow said. “And we could use your help. Will you come?”

“Of course,” she said, taking in all the serious faces in front of her.

“Let’s go while Mom and Else are busy,” Rose said.