Page 12 of Reaper’s Curse

“Did I hear you say you were looking for her?” I raised an eyebrow and tipped my forehead toward hers. Willed her reaction.

You and I are the only ones in the room, and you can’t help but fall for my charisma, so speak openly.

She batted her long eyelashes. Her muscles, her hand, melted into my touch. Her lips parted.

“Wait.” She gasped, her body suddenly tightening. “Badden, you said?”

Sensing the change in our dynamic, I nodded and pulled back ever so slightly to better evaluate her composure.

“Any relation to Chiara Badden?” She yanked her hand free from my hold.

My head jerked back as my nerves tingled. How in all reaper’s hell did this woman not only know Raven, but my missing ancestor, as well?

Regaining my composure, I squared my shoulders.

“I must say, Ms. Camilla,” I drawled. “You surprise me. First, you know my coworker, and now you appear to know, or know of, a late relative of mine.” I pulled a disarming smile to my lips as I folded my arms behind my back. “I never had the opportunity to meet Chiara personally, but I heard she once had business in your fine citadel.”

And was never seen again.

Was I attempting to lay the charm on a tad too thick, calling the cursed citadel fine? I wouldn’t allow myself to dwell on the execution. Not presently. I could only forge forward, praying to the death gods themselves that she would open up to me and possibly give me some insight as to what might have happened here so many years ago.

Aoes shifted to our side. “Isn’t Chiara the one who…”

His question dropped at the look upon Camilla’s face. Deep, uncomfortable history existed that in some way involved a missing member of my family. Their expressions and the heaviness in the air left no doubt in my mind regarding that newly garnished fact.

Did Raven know about the connection? Is that how she had come into Camilla’s orbit?

Camilla’s hand flew to her lips as if to hold back a sob, and then she dropped into a nearby chair. Slumping into the furniture and bowing her head. The twins shuffled in at her side, wrapping their small arms around her in a supportive hug.

I reached for her shoulder but stopped inches short. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

What had I done, other than follow her lead? I couldn’t have known. No way could I have known. With all that I had read in Chiara’s journal, I had seen no mention of the woman now crumpled before me.

Aoes’s hand slapped softly on my shoulder, causing me to jerk away from the touch with a hiss. His responding confusion was but a flash.

“Not your fault, Ace. When I learned your name, it hadn’t even occurred to me that you might be related. Yet it should have, given the number of visitors we don’t get around here.” He rubbed the back of his neck and eyeballed me. “A few things are starting to click into place.”

“Such as?” My gaze wandered over Camilla and the young girls before returning to Aoes.

“Um. Well…” Aoes fumbled.

Before he could respond, Camilla reached out and squeezed my hand. My entire body tensed, but I did not pull away, because doing so would undermine my information extraction attempt.

She swallowed hard and closed her eyes. “Chiara… She was the last one— As far as I know, she was the last one⁠—”

Aoes rubbed a soothing circle into the center of her back and finished her twice-attempted sentence. “As far as anyone knows, Chiara was the last one to see the girls’ father.” He motioned to the twins huddled beside Camilla. “No one has seen him since.”

So, she’d been spotted in the act of her tasked reap. But then, why was the guy missing? Where was the body? Had he collapsed in some deserted location and was yet to be found?

I swallowed thickly and narrowed my gaze.

For a hundred years or so? That’s when Chiara had been sent here, wasn’t it? A hundred years ago.

Camilla released a sob. “I knew I wasn’t the only one.”

By the way she accentuated the word one, I was confident she was referring to lovers. The twins’ father had multiple lovers.

“Someone as vibrant and outgoing as him needed the freedom to explore. To experience. But I never thought he would leave the girls without a word or a hint to his intentions.”