Lapidary

I greeted Teglon, Bergas, Megzith, Sorciz, and Zara at My Night Habit before getting to work. Once the club was full, upbeat music was playing, and everyone was getting drunk, a white-haired fae male showed up in the VIP section. Luther Silkbreath. He had a girl on each arm, one giggling, the other biting his ear. Across from him sat Devton, with a drink in his hand, looking bored. His eyes lit up when he saw me, and my makeover, but my mind was too occupied to share his enthusiasm.

I approached them and diverted my attention to Luther. “Excuse me—”

“Double whisky on the rocks,” he said as he traced one girl’s jaw line with a finger.

“I’m not here to take your order,” I said. “I need to ask you something. Did you sell Deluge to Ryker Featherswallow?”

Luther slowly focused his attention to me. “You’re his ex-girlfriend. I read about you.”

“Did you sell him drugs?” I asked again.

“He liked Deluge,” Luther said.

I balled my fists and resisted the urge to hit this stupid fae who had sold drugs to my fiancé. I was angry at Ryker for not telling me he liked to get high, and I was angry at myself for not knowing after dating him so long. I turned and stormed toward the bathroom where I opened the tap and wet my face. I didn’t care that the water smudged my eyeliner and created dark circles under my eyes.

“Nat,” someone said gently.

I looked into the mirror to see Devton behind me, lingering at the bathroom door. His eyebrows were pressed together, and he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, as if unsure where he should stand.

“Yes?” I turned to face him.

“Don’t tell me you’re fine.” Devton came closer. “I know you’re not.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said.

He looked me over. “Then what do you want?”

For so long I had been numb and thought it was the worst feeling in the world. Then I had felt sadness, hopelessness, and despair. I wanted to feel alive again, and Devton was the only one who ever made me laugh or feel something close to happiness. I stepped closer to him.

“I want you to make me feel something.”

His eyes grew darker, like those of a hungry lion, before he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around me. A small sound escaped my lips before his mouth met mine. His tongue flicked in and out of my mouth, and I tasted whisky. I couldn’t get enough. I viciously clawed at his shirt, and he pulled me into him before pushing me toward one of the bathroom stalls. Once we were inside, I slammed and locked the door before throwing myself against him. The thrill of doing something we shouldn’t, in such a public place, consumed me. Devton’s hands slid under my dress, and I couldn’t stop the moan that escaped me.

“Shh.” He trailed a finger over my mouth.

“Make me,” I challenged.

Devton’s eyes sparkled dangerously before he clasped a hand over my mouth. I tangled my hands in his long hair and pulled him closer as his fingers found the wetness between my thighs. He moved my panties to the side, and my whole body shivered as he slid a finger into me. It was a good thing he was keeping my mouth shut, otherwise I’d be screaming at him to fuck me.

My hands went for his belt, but he moved them away. “Not yet,” he growled. Devton went down on his knees, and I braced myself, but nothing could prepare me for what happened next. An explosion blasted in my ear, the club shook, and screams filled the air before the music died. Devton jumped to his feet, and his worried blue eyes met mine.

“Stay here,” he commanded, leaving the bathroom stall.

I pulled my dress down and followed him into the chaos. Everyone was rushing out of the club, which was in pieces. Something had exploded, breaking the speakers and splintering the tables. A second explosion rocked us – from above. Devton threw himself on top of me, shielding me with his body.

I covered my ears as there were several more detonations. When I opened my eyes again, a white substance coated the floor. I touched it and found it rough. When I saw how several daimons were withering on the floor, burning or dying, I realized it was salt. I instantly crawled out from under Dev so I could shield him with my body, but the salt wasn’t burning him. He was protected.

Devton leapt to his feet, grabbed my hand, and pulled me toward the door. We made it out just in time, before the roof gave and the walls caved in. A crowd had formed outside, but I was not focused on anything but Devton. I ran my hands over him, searching for wounds. “Are you okay? Are you okay?” I was unable to keep the panic out of my voice.

“I’m fine,” he said.

“How?” I asked. “There was so much salt…”

“I have the protection of a unicorn horn.” He pulled me away from the club so that we could have a little more privacy. I frowned because I had not seen the horn before. Devton read my confused expression. “I had it ground into power and tattooed on my chest.”

I am what I am.

I put a hand against his chest. “I would never have guessed. Where did you find something as rare as a unicorn horn?”

His eyes grew sad. “My dad gave it to me. It saved my life during The Shaking. My dad gave me the protection, which was meant for him. If he had kept it, he would still be alive.”

I shook my head, understanding his guilt. “It’s not your fault he died.”

“I tell myself that, too,” he said. “Maybe one day I will believe it.”

The Sky Watch arrived to tend to the wounded and clean up the mess, which interrupted our moment. Ace made his way over to us, and I stepped away from Devton.

“What happened?” he asked.

“The club exploded,” I said. “Someone planted bombs and salt.”

Ace raised an eyebrow. “To kill daimons…”

“It must be the human rebels,” Devton said.

The humans hated all magic, not just daimons. I found it weird that they would only target daimons. It must be gang related. Maybe Volgrun had targeted Devton because he feared Devton would overthrow him. It was a good thing Dev had the unicorn horn’s protection.

Ace nodded, accepting the answer. “Can I take you home?”

“No thanks,” I said.

He looked me up and down, and when he was satisfied that I didn’t have any serious injuries, he turned away. “We’d like to talk to you, Devton, down in the station.”

I assumed it was mandatory for someone to go to the station after their club had been sabotaged. Devton didn’t look alarmed and dismissed him with a nod. Only Devton would have the balls to dismiss the Sky Watch.

“There’s no way this was the human rebels,” I told him under my breath.

“Shh,” he said, but there was a smile on his lips, which made me think he admired my intelligence. He took me by the hand and led me further away from the crowd. I spoke only once we are out of earshot.

“If Volgrun is trying to kill you, he will try again,” I said.

“I know,” he said, unfazed, and touched my hair.

I pulled away and met his gaze. “I’m serious, Dev. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

His eyes lit up, and I realized not many people cared about him as deeply as I did. “I won’t.”

“Then what are you going to do about Volgrun?”

Dev’s expression darkened, but he didn’t answer my question. His mother had said that his heart was too good for him to become the leader of The Risen. He had so selflessly thrown himself on top of me to shield me when the club exploded, after all.

“Devton, answer me!”

“I’ll be fine – I have Rhain, Luther, and Astaroth watching my back.”

I wanted to say more, but one of the angels called Devton, and it was time for him to go. I couldn’t follow, and a strange longing in my heart told me that the numbness inside me was slowly fading.

Devton caught my hand and brought it to his lips so that he could kiss it. He ran his fingers over my engagement ring, and for the first time, I considered taking it off. Ryker had passed away, and even if I figured out what had really happened to him, it wouldn’t bring him back, and it wouldn’t change the past. He was gone, and we weren’t engaged anymore. We certainly weren’t going to get married and enjoy our honeymoon at The Edge. Ryker would have wanted me to be happy, even if it was with someone else.

Devton dropped my hand, and it suddenly felt empty and without purpose. I watched him go to the angels, and they escorted him to a police van. He smiled at me through the window, fearlessly, before they drove away. I stand there a moment longer then began the walk toward my cottage. I was halfway there when something white caught my eye.

I halted, realizing that it was an arm. The severed arm had no skin, flesh, or blood – just the bones. I swallowed before going closer and then I saw more. It looked like someone had torn a skeleton apart. I went until I found the skull and stopped dead.

It was Rhain Godfrey, reaper, member of The Risen, and friend of Devton. I could tell because of the flame tattoo on his wrist. Someone had ripped him apart, bone from bone, and killed him. Reapers weren’t meant to die – they were meant to escort souls to the Netherworld or Heaven but, lately, they hadn’t been able to. They’d been wandering Testatha aimlessly, hoping that someone would find the White Crystal and restore the world to the way it once was.

I heard footsteps, ducked behind the nearest palm tree, and pressed myself against the bark, where I hunched down, between the grass, hoping the vegetation would hide me. I dared to peek and saw Volgrun Sozgemon standing close to the water. It was highly likely that he had caused the explosions at the club as a distraction for Devton, so that he could target Rhain. If he killed the people loyal to Dev, it would eventually be easier to kill Dev. How close had Devton and Rhain been? My heart went out to him.

I hid again and drew a deep breath. Maybe if I waited long enough, Volgrun would leave, and I’d be able to get away from him, unseen. If he had tried to force himself inside me the chances were high that if he saw me now, he’d most likely kill me. I had never wanted to die; I had just wanted the pain to stop. After all this time, the pain was slowly fading, and I was ready to move on with life – after exposing whatever happened to Ryker.

“You weren’t supposed to make such a mess,” someone said.

I dared to peek again, and what I saw chilled me. The male speaking to Volgrun was Rhinsel Grosstreet, head of Vesea.