“Let him go.” Pisces takes a step forward.
“As you wish,” the wraith says, the last part of his sentence growing faint as Simon seems to lose consciousness, falling to his knees. Behind him stands the wraith in his own form, looking at us with his red eyes. He takes a step away from us and breathes in deeply. His form seems to ripple slightly and then comes into a clarity I hadn’t realized was missing before. “The air here is divine.”
“You’ve been to this realm before,” I say, confused.
“I have, but not as I truly am. Not fully corporeal, until now. I could interact physically, but it took a considerable amount of effort. Now I am at full power.” The wraith kneels down and presses a hand to Simon’s head. “He shall sleep and heal. Borrowing his form was necessary, to kill the one who summoned and bound me.”
All eyes fall to Jordan’s body and back to the wraith. “What do you mean?”
“The vampire summoned me, allowing me back into this realm. And then he tried to bend me to his will, but I was smarter. I made him think I was helping him, but really I’ve been helping you two all along.”
“You killed someone.”
“I’ve killed many, and it likely won’t be the last time,” the wraith says simply, as if it’s just an average day. “I will be in touch. There is still much left to do, but for now, spend time with your mate. Live your life.” He bows his head in a goodbye and vanishes once again.
He told me he’d be back, but I didn’t realize it would lead to this.
And as much as I hope we never have to deal with the wraith again, it’s becoming very clear Pisces and I have stepped into a very complicated web.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
BLISS
“I thinkI could sleep for a week,” Reese says, digging into the slice of coffee cake she’s having for breakfast.
“Make it two weeks,” Amelia says, stretching out her long legs on the couch of the hotel room we gathered in last night. She grabs a spare fork and snags a piece of Reese’s cake.
The wraith vanished right before Grim’s tactical team arrived. They cleaned up Jordan’s body and the rest of the scene before the sun broke over the horizon. And after a rather short debriefing in one of the fae sectors of the park, we were allowed to leave, but despite what my sisters are saying, no one went straight to bed.
We’re all crammed in the room, some sitting on one of the two beds, Amelia taking up the couch. Evan stands at the window with his back to us. Shaun hovers over Simon—the only one sleeping—on the other bed, constantly checking his temperature, or fussing with his blankets.
Pisces is the only one not here.
After we got back to the hotel, I wanted to pull him aside. Kiss him. Talk to him. Let him feed off me, if he needed. I justwanted to be near him, our bond fully perking up as if waking from a long slumber.
But he made excuses to be alone for a bit and wandered off.
The door swings open and my head instantly swivels, my heart leaping up in my chest.
But it’s just Grim and Pinkie, looking haggard after such a long night.
“You’re still here?” Grim asks, coming in and collecting the map and other supplies from our planning session.
“He needs rest before we move him,” Shaun mutters, once again moving hair back from Simon’s forehead. Grim doesn’t respond, just nods, but I don’t think Shaun sees.
“Pisces is back at the park,” Grim says to me instead.
“He is?” I ask, suddenly on my feet, moving to the door. I look at Amelia, who gives me an encouraging smile. Benny leaves his spot leaning against the wall by the door.
“What are you waiting for?” he asks, giving my hand a light squeeze. “May the stars belong to you.”
I beam at my friends, and I’m off.
I make my way back to the park, wondering where he might be.
I find him at the top of the Cascada Monumental. Under the covering of the monument, he stands, overlooking the fountain from the opposite side than last night.
“Pisces?” I ask tentatively, stopping next to him. He looks down at me on his left, a small smile tugging at his lips.
