“Were you hunting the hellhound?” I ask, and when she turns to me, I flash her an encouraging smile.
“Errr. Yes?” She phrases it as a question.
“Lie,” Rafe deadpans.
Thea huffs out a breath, blowing at a piece of blonde hair that has fallen across her face.
“Okay, fine. I was hunting you guys.” She waves her hand in the air dismissively, but I go very, very still.
She was…hunting us?
I don’t want to think that someone as tiny as her is a threat, but I can’t deny her words or the severity of them.
“You just said you weren’t stalking us,” Everett growls, digging the sword into her throat once more.
“I wasn’t. I only just arrived.” She sounds defensive.
“All of this is the truth,” Rafe tells us, his tone carefully impassive.
Dozens of questions flood my mind, each one more confusing than the last.
“We don’t want to hurt you, lovely Thea,” I tell her with another charming smile—though the effect is probably lost on her, considering I still have an arrow trained at her chest. “Just tell us the truth.”
“I’m telling you the truth.” She plucks at another blade of grass and holds it in the air to examine it, twisting it to and fro. “I only just arrived, but I came for you guys. Or, at least, one of you.Don’t know which one for sure, though I’m ninety-nine percent sure it was for your handsome wraith.”
She lifts her free hand…which I now see holds a strange dagger etched in runes.
“Drop your goddamn weapon!” Everett barks.
At the same moment, I pull back the string of my bow.
Please don’t make me shoot you.
Please, please don’t make me shoot you.
“You asked me for the truth!” Thea points out, sounding exasperated. “I was sent here to collect one of your souls. I don’t know what happened, or how long it’ll last, but somehow, I ended up corporeal.”
My heart hammers in my chest like a caged animal.
“Wait.” I slowly lower the bow so it’s no longer aimed at her. “Are you saying…?”
“I’m a reaper,” she explains with an eye roll, as if that fact should’ve been obvious. “And I was supposed to reap one of you. Probably the wraith, but somehow, I saved his life instead. Now…can one of you buy me popcorn? Please?”
CHAPTER SEVEN
THEA
Best. Day. Ever.
If I would’ve known stabbing a hellhound would lead to this, I would’ve done it ages ago. Not that I know what “this” is or how long it’ll last, but for now…
I inhale deeply, taking in the unfamiliar smells of the forest. Pine, I think it’s called. And something else, something distinctly earthy.
And who would’ve thought being slightly stabbed with a sword would make my skin feel like it’s burning?
Eeep.
I jump to my feet—god, the grass feels amazing beneath them—and turn towards the wraith. I did save his life, after all. The least he can do is buy me some popcorn.
