***Warning*** Book 2, Sequel to Burning Gods & Wicked Angels ***Warning***
***Warning*** Blurb contains spoilers! ***Warning***
If someone told me I'd be working with the enemy after losing everything, I wouldn't believe them.
...
"The truth will set you free, but first, it will piss you off!"
— Gloria Steinem
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The setting sun was bright in its golden haze, with a touch of warmth and the sweet promise of spring in the air. Brilliant fiery oranges and reds poured out into the horizon like a pot of molten lava. I couldn't help but pause for a moment, overwhelmed by the rightness of it all. The sight was so welcome and the feel so pleasant; I had to linger for a while, despite the urgency.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. The smell of sun-baked cement and gasoline greeted me instead of the exotic aroma of peaches, charcoal flames, and fresh-scented pine—the distinct scent of the faerie realm.
After breathing in, drinking in the feeling like a dying woman in a desert taking in water, I opened my eyes again.
London. I was back.
The garden was brittle and dying, not even weeds were growing on the dead land. The last sunbeams cast long shadows, and the ancient-looking willow tree looked gigantic and once again foreboding. My shoulders sagged, and I fiddled with the sleeves of my jacket.
I was so focused on my surroundings that I nearly tripped on the foliage that was sprouting up in the middle of the gravel parking space.
I caught a whiff of dirt and leather as the silhouette of the antique store greeted me. The shop's maroon-colored paint had mostly chipped off to reveal a yellowish stucco skeleton. The building was decaying fast. Faster than what would be normal. Gabriel would hate how his beloved shop looked now.
Gabriel.
I took a deep breath, trying to keep myself calm. I would be fine. These things take time. Fake it till you make it.
An invisible force called me into the store before I even understood what was happening. Sophia dragged me into her arms with a hug, half-collapsing around me, and I squeezed her back with all the strength in my body. Surprised, I noticed that I could feel her and that meant that she had been practicing her ghost manifestation stuff. I guess that's splendid news, but it also spelled trouble...
"What are you doing here, Soph? I told you to hide." I whispered into her neck, my eyes scanning the area.
I felt him before he appeared. Ah, crap.
"Well, well, well. This will be unexpectedly awkward," Death's bodiless voice snarled. "And here I just wanted to check in with you, Amelia."
In an instant, the Horseman sat in one of the crimson armchairs. Eyeing my sister and me. Liar. As if he didn't know Sophia was here. Every time she had turned up near me, he was right there. Waiting, watching.
"Hey, do you want something to drink?" I tried to sound casual.
Death gave me a look that said, You can't be bloody serious. But what he said was much more measured, "Don't tempt me."
