Oh, yes, the Reapers.
Zade Carden had always looked after Threx ever since he walked away from the Reapers in the name of love. Something about that entire damn family lives for that romantic bullshit. He must have been out on a hit and came across the evidence in the crossfire. I tried not to think about the fact that if Threx had owned his massive dick and found this out a week ago, I would have had more time to formulate an approach. But now with Lyla dead and all the Underworld looking to see how I will react, including Marianne when she realizes her plan failed, there was only one thing left to do. Own it all.
“Get the explosives,” I groaned, leaning against the wall. Nathem’s eye perked, but he didn’t argue, only padded into the darkness and out the door.
It gave me a moment to process. To stare at that board with my entire life wrapped in yarn. It was almost sad to think that if you cut one thread, the structure crumbled.
Daphne’s face stared at me from behind, wearing that quiet expression she often leans into whenever it rains. I was still looking at her when Nathem returned with a handful of red and chucked the bomb on the floor.
“You want me to set it?”
“Yeah,” I nodded, taking my phone out of my pocket and hitting Marianne’s face. “Tell Marianne we need to talk,” I said, watching Nathem work, and waited until her little pet came back with a response. “Two days is fine,” I agreed, thinking ahead. Threx would return, and Daphne would still be in Maine. I hung up the call.
“What are you going to do?”
“I intend to hear her plan. We can’t confront this thing if we don’t know what we are up against. Now get Blade on the line,” I added, turning out the door and back into the clearing. It was a good thing I had him park so far away.
“Can he see it?” I asked as I stood beside the car, and Nathem grinned, turning the phone to the trailer. I might not be able to cure Blade’s monsters, but I could at least give him the boom.
“Fuck yeah, he can.”
“Light it up!” I smiled when the entire thing exploded into the sky. A clash of reds, oranges, and nothingness filled the forgotten space.
Buzz.
Buzz.
Daphne: Thay says my sandcastle looks like a sand dick!
I eyed the picture through the smoke. Fucking hell, it did look like a cock.
Me: Why did you give it balls?
Daphne: THOSE ARE TURRETS
Me: Those are balls!
Daphne: Fuck you. It is a castle!
Me: It’s really not.
Daphne: Did you get home safe?
I watched the plumes of smoke decorate the sky in black fire, slamming the car door behind me.
Daphne: Wolfe?
I never dreamed of being someone else. I learned early on that the only thing dreams do is make you weak. Reality was the only truth you could depend on. My father was a shadow ruler, and my mother was a sex worker from the Brimstone district. There was never a question about the role I would play or who I would become. But whenever I had to lie to her to keep her protected, I didn’t really like myself much. In fact, I didn’t like myself at all.
Me: Yeah, Daph… my thumbs twitched on the screen…All safe.
thirty-one
Daphne: The Undying Lands
"I don't want you to leave," I pouted, crawling to the edge of the sand where Thay sat looking out into the glittering distance. His muscles were tense, and the way he kept flexing his fingers told me his mind was moving. "Can't you take me with you? I know Wolfe said to wait, but…?"
Thay glanced over his shoulder and pulled me onto his lap, wrapping me in his body until we melted together. The day had been perfectly still. My lips felt swollen, and my heartbeat was steady. How did I go a lifetime without kissing this man, when all I wanted was to shut my eyes and fall into him forever?