“She spoke to you again?” A hint of surprise flickers in Blaise’s eyes.
I nod. “Yeah. Or, well, her face did … Her body really wasn’t in the dream, which was a little weird.” I quickly shake my head to stop myself from getting sidetracked. “Anyway, she told me that it was important that I become queen because the ghost world needs me to, because I can save them from something … something bad. She didn’t give me specifics.” I grimace. “She never does. In fact, half the time, she speaks in riddles.”
A small, wistful smile touches Blaise’s lips, but he quickly stifles it. “She’s probably not allowed to tell you the whole truth. Honestly, I doubt she’s even supposed to be communicating with you, but clearly, she’s found a way around it.”
“I assumed that, too, from everything she’s told me.” I worry my lip between my teeth. “My mom’s in the ghost world.” It’s an obvious statement, something we’ve known for a while. But it’s not why I’m saying it. “It’s part of the reason why I chose to feed. Well, that and Scarlett told me that you guys would wither with me if I didn’t.” I figured they already knew that, but their shocked expressions reveal the truth.
They were completely clueless about that.
“Scarlett told you that?” Blaise asks, stepping toward me.
I nod. “Yeah, in my dream. Between that and the fate of the ghost world, I realized I was going to have to do it, even if I didn’t want to.”
“So, you didn’t want us to fade away?” Alex gapes at me, not a drop of teasing evident in his tone. I’m about to answer when he adds, “But you didn’t care if you did?”
“No.” It’s not entirely a lie. But it’s not entirely the truth, either. “I cared.”
Alex studies me closely, and I have to fight not to squirm. Then he grazes his fingers against my cheek, whispering, “Nondum cognoscis dignitatem tuam, sed vis.”
“She definitely will,” Blaise agrees, giving me this intense look.
“I really wish you’d stop doing that,” I gripe. “I hate not knowing what you’re saying.”
“How about this?” Jaxon chimes in. He’d been so quiet I almost forgot he was there. He scoots across the bed and kneels beside me. “I’ll teach you how to speak the language.”
“And you’re going to teach me how to fly,” I remind him, unable to stop a smile from materializing on my lips.
He smiles in return. “Absolutely. But first, we need to get your crown.”
And with that, a grave silence falls over them, leaving me to wonder just what sort of dangers that entails.
Chapter 7
Hadley
Apparently, me getting ready to try to get my crown means I have to dress up in a fancy outfit. That’s all the guys will tell me, though, and then I leave the room and go into mine so that I can change. Alex and Blaise, of course, have to briefly tease me about helping me out, but in the end, they let it go.
Jaxon heads off to his room at the same time, taking his sketchbook with him, and I wonder what exactly is on the pages. I don’t have time to find out right now, but maybe later? I do, after all, have a long time to exist …
That thought hits me hard, my eyes widening as I stand in my bedroom, trying to process that. How long do reapers live? Forever? I’m assuming with how old the guys are, we’re immortal.
It’s in that moment that all of it—accepting my fate, possibly becoming queen, having to save the ghosts—it crashes into me with more force than that time Londyn ran me over with her bike. She was six, and I was trying to teach her how to ride without training wheels, but she ended up running me over before crashing into some rose bushes. I have a scar on my arm where the pedal sliced my flesh open.
I absentmindedly run my finger over the scar as I sit on the bed, staring off into space. When I don’t feel the familiar bump, though, my attention centers on it, and then reality just tries to kill me.
The scar is gone. All of my scars seem to be. What else is different?
I leap from the bed and rush over to the mirror that’s on the armoire. At first glance, my reflection looks the same as before, but if I examine it closely, I see that my skin is smoother, my lips are redder, and my eyes have a ring around the irises, like a shadow. It’s alarming, the tiny differences and a reminder of what I am. A creature of the undead. A creature who drinks souls. A creature who no longer has her family, if she ever even did have one.
Tears stream from my eyes, and even those aren’t normal anymore, the color resembling liquid embers. I press my lips together until my jaw aches, and then suck back the tears, bottling them up.
Fuck this. I’m not going to fall apart. This isn’t who I am, even if I look like a freak of the undead.
Wiping the remnants of the tears from my cheeks, I open the armoire and begin looking for an outfit to wear. Blaise told me something fancy, but never specified, so I sift through the pants, shirts, and skirts, trying to figure it out on my own. None of them look fancy enough … until I get to the last article of clothing. I’ve never been into dresses before, but this …
“This is gorgeous.” I remove the dress and hold it up in front of me.
It’s floor-length, black lace that’s see-through for most of it except for the section that runs from the upper thigh to the top of my breasts. The collar is low and heart-shaped with a built-in corset, and a section of lace wraps loosely around the upper part of the arms. I’m not really a sparkle girl, either, but the fabric has a drop of shimmer to it that I like. It also has a section in the front that runs from the bottom to the upper thigh that’s open, so my legs will be able to move freely when I walk. I hate to admit it, since more than likely one of the guys picked it out, but it’s absolutely beautiful.
I take off my clothes and slip into the dress, only to discover that the back needs to be zipped up. I can’t reach it and, like an idiot, I try to summon magic to do it but fail epically. Although, I bet I could if I knew what I was doing. But, so far, no one has taught me to do much of anything with my powers. Jaxon offered, so …
Chewing on my bottom lip, I open the door and walk into the hallway. When we left Blaise’s room earlier, Jaxon entered a room two doors up from mine. I make my way to it and knock. A few seconds later, he answers.
I blink a few times at the sight of him. He’s changed into a suit with a vest, all of which are black except for the red roses painted on the jacket. His hair is styled black, and his eyes are lined with black eyeliner.
“Wow,” I accidentally say aloud.
His lips kick up into a half-smile. “You took the words right out of my mouth.” His gaze sweeps up and down me. “I mean, I knew that dress would look good on you, but fuck, you look a goddamn queen of beauty.”
If it were anyone besides him, I’d roll my eyes at the cheesiness. But I’m learning that Jaxon is more serious than the others, so I resist the compulsion.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” I mutter. “But thanks.”
“I would go that far,” he disagrees, adjusting the tie that’s ornamenting his neck. “You look stunning, even without shoes on.”