Page 123 of Grim Tidings

“Okay, well. Fun as this has been—” Aelia stands from the stone steps, dragging her bag of sweets over to my feet. “It’s time for you to go.”

I shake my head. “I can’t.”

“You must. Gideon knows where you are. He’ll be here any minute.” She curls her fingers around the handle of her blade and lifts it in the air. The scythe begins to hum, shadows pulling from around the tombstones to circle us both.

Nate takes a step backward. “Okay. What the fuck?”

She spins the scythe, but I grab it before she can slam it back into the ground. Her wide eyes look up at me in surprise.

“What the hell are you doing, Darcy?”

“I told you. I’m not going anywhere.”

My arm starts to shake under the push of Aelia’s magic. On the other side of the small clearing, Gabriel calls his sword with a quick roll of his wrist. His blade flashes in the melting light.

Nate’s eyes grow as wide as saucers. “Okay!” he repeats. “What the actual fuck? Does everyone have a weapon?”

Aelia blinks, then lets her arm fall. The humming stops and the shadows recede. “A scythe isn’t a weapon. Technically, it’s a farm tool.”

Nate’s gaze bounces from my scythe to Gabriel’s sword to Aelia’s scythe again. “It looks like a weapon.”

I nod at her blade. “Put that away.” I point at Gabriel. “And you put that away.”

“No,” they say in unison.

Panic is starting to claw at my throat. Gideon will be here any minute, and there are too many people. Too many opportunities for collateral damage.

I don’t want them to see.

I don’t want him to see.

“Darcy.” Gabriel’s voice is authoritative, demanding my attention. He’s all hard, brittle edges, absolutely uncompromising in his fury. This morning, I left him in bed, soft and sleepy and perfect. Now he’s looking at me like it was all a dream.

Maybe it was.

“What are you doing?” he asks.

I bite the inside of my cheek. “I need you to leave.”

He adjusts his grip on his sword. “Yeah, sweetheart. That’s not going to happen.”

“Please,” I whisper, and I watch what it does to him to hear me beg him for this. How it splinters across his face and makes his eyes go soft. “Please,” I say again, my voice breaking around the word.

He shakes his head. “I won’t leave you.”

Aelia’s eyes dart from me to him and back again. Understanding makes her mouth go slack.

“Oh, shit,” she whispers. “I thought you wanted to stay for the dog.”

I don’t say a word. I can’t look away from Gabriel. It’s just me and him and the thread that loops between us. The one I’m desperately trying to sever before it gets him hurt.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“Don’t be fucking sorry. Just tell me what’s going on.”

Nate scratches roughly at the back of his head. “Yeah. I’d actually love to know what’s going on, too.”

“I brought you here because—” My mouth goes dry, the words sticking in my throat. “I brought you here because—”