Page 84 of Haunted Nightmares
I think it has everything to do with what he inherited from his grandmother, and I bet if he let me dig a little deeper we’d find out there’s a touch of necromancing in his bloodline somewhere.
“Speaking of the dead,”Wraith says in my head as if he gives me a dirty look. “I had no idea you were so close to Edith.”
Duke nods, a hint of a smile shining through his obvious sadness. “Maybe not close, per se, but her father is a friend. He’s back in the old country so I told him I’d keep an eye on her. And I helped her get Clean Drip off the ground when the bastard High Elder kept shutting it down.”
My stomach drops as I listen, the events of last night still vivid in my mind.
Orion and I left in order to avoid seeing my mate deal with Drusilla’s spy because I couldn’t reconcile the female I knew before and what Ester had clearly always been. It felt like we were still friends and I couldn’t watch him torture her for information before killing her the way he does all traitors.
I underestimated Wraith, though.
We got back just in time to see him flay her alive, Ester refusing to scream out her pain despite the way they tore her heart out through the back of her ribcage. While that is awful to walk in on, what did me in was watching Edith stand ramrod straight, looking her mate in the eye while she quietly sobbed.
She begged Wraith to kill her after that.
Once Ester was dead and they were putting her body back together out of respect for Edith, she begged and pleaded for him to kill her as well because her mate was a traitor to everything she believed in, and yet she still loved her. Despite everything, Edith still loved Ester with every fiber of her being and not only did she feel like she was betraying the Purists, the Uprising,and everything Wraith stands for by doing that, Edith knew she wouldn’t be able to live without her fated one.
Which is when I got to watch my wicked king do something I wasn’t sure he was capable of doing.
He showed Edith mercy.
He forgave Ester for Edith’s sake, said there was nothing for her to ask for forgiveness for herself, then thanked her for centuries of dedication and service to him and his cause. Then Wraith kissed her forehead, bowed in respect and in one swift, forceful move, he shoved his lycan claws into the center of Edith’s chest and ripped out her still beating heart.
I couldn’t stay outside after that.
I wasn’t angry with Wraith, I understand what happened and why, and I wasn’t even traumatized from watching him do any of that, I was just so sad about losing two females I considered friends, and the way Edith didn’t want to live without her mate pushed me over.
So I drew a bath then sat in it and cried until the water was almost cold.
“Your tender heart is such a precious gift, my gentle breeze.”Wraith presses a kiss to my temple and squeezes my hand. “We’ve prepared both of them the way we would anyone else who served under my reign.”
Duke nods, the sad smile still touching his lips. “Thank you, my lord. You didn’t have to, and I know Edith’s sire will be grateful for it.”
“She was with me for a long time. Edith wasn’t just a soldier in my army, she was a friend. I think it is only right for her and her mate to be treated as such.”
We share a few more words with Duke and Penelope, the sweet woman clearly here in support of someone she considers a very dear friend, then they went with Declan and Archer to retrieve Edith and her mate, leaving us alone again.
“Did Ester give youanyinformation last night?” I ask as Wraith plops down into the chair behind his new and gigantic desk. “Anything at all?”
He scrubs a hand over his face with a sigh. “Only that my wench mother has her hands in multiple pots.”
“I could have told you that.”
“As could I,” he says as he pats his thigh for me to sit. “But I do believe Drusilla has been digging deep in Deveroux’s pot, and that could very well be the reason for our meeting this evening.”
Toying with the hair at the nape of his neck, I tilt my head. “You think he’s worried he’s about to get cut off from whatever Drusilla is providing him with?”
“I do, but I don’t believe that twat has any knowledge of thenew citizensshe’s letting into the city.”
Which makes sense.
I don’t think Drusilla ever told anyone her entire plan, or the entire truth of what she was willing to share. As a matter of fact, I think she was double crossing her mate with the president, sleeping with that slimy man to get information Atticus wouldn’t share with her, then using it against both of them. I bet she even cut a better deal with Deveroux than the High Elder ever did, and it probably all ties back to?—
“The cars Hans was collecting, the ammunition Wilfred and his mate were in possession of.” Wraith gives me a devilish grin. “Your mind is a wonderful place to be, my gentle breeze. You piece things together the same way you paint; paying attention to even the smallest details, and connecting them with precise strokes until the entire picture is clear. I do enjoy when I get to see it happen.”
I shrug my shoulders with a smile. “I think you give me too much credit. My evil scheming and connecting of dots is probably just the result of mating you, even more so since I’ve done it twice.”
“I like you when you scheme.”
