Page 30

“Thirsty?” Malakai asked. “’Cause I am.” He led the way to a table, waving for her to stand in front of him in line so he could watch her back.

There were so many people here. So much activity, Loren found it overwhelming. As she waited in line, she scanned as many faces as she could, looking for Darien, Ivy, Dallas, Max, Tanner, Travis…

Darien,whispered her lovesick heart.Darien, Darien, Darien…His name was etched into every beat. Tattooed on her heart in ink that would never come off.

Deep in her shadow, where he lay curled up in an anxious ball, Singer whimpered. Loren sensed that the dog missed Darien, too.

“Next,” called a sharp female voice.

Malakai nudged Loren between the shoulder blades. Pain seared through her back, but she ignored it and stepped up to the table. “Water, please,” she said, not really sure how this worked.

That seemed to be good enough for the venefican woman working the table. She handed Loren two bottles of water. “Any snacks?” she asked, already reaching for a box of trail mix and pretzels.

“Yes, please.” The medical tattoo on her forearm was getting warmer; she would have to eat right away.

Someone in the crowd bumped into Malakai, who stood just behind Loren—hard enough to make him stagger forward.

The Reaper whipped around, ready to fight whoever had slammed into him. Loren steeled herself for the inevitable drama that came with provoking Malakai, but?—

Malakai paused.“Devlin?”he exclaimed.

Devlin? Loren’s heart ballooned with hope, her breaths quickening.TravisDevlin? Or?—

“Malakai?”exclaimed a familiar voice. Travis. It wasTravisDevlin, not Roman.

The venefican volunteer thrust two pouches each of trail mix and pretzels in Loren’s face. “Here you go.”

Loren took them. “Thank you.”

The surprise the Reaper felt upon running into the Devlin Devil, who was weaving his way toward them through the crowd, turned into fury.

“This isbullshit!”Malakai spat through bared teeth.“Half the city gets destroyed, and somehowyou’restill not fuckingdead?”

Travis’s eyes went black.“Fuck you, Malakai!”

“Fuck YOU!”

They lunged for each other’s throats, the crowd around the table forming a circle. People scrambled to get out of the way, a few screaming for the police.

Loren stepped around a thrashing Malakai, nearly taking an elbow to the nose. “Travis?”

Both men froze, Travis’s eyes locking on Loren. Those eyes widened, the black fading out of them. “No way,” he breathed. He shoved Malakai aside and pulled her into a bruising hug, their chests trapping the cold water bottles between them, the snacks crushing into crumbs. “You’re here!”

Loren tensed up. “Ow ow ow!” Gods, her back felt like it was on fire! The blisters stung, a few opening up and weeping blood.

“Sorry,” Travis mumbled. He pulled away, hands up.

“It’s okay,” she said, though she winced again. “It’s just my back.”

His hands shot to his head, forming fists in his short hair, eyes wide. “Holy shit, you’re alive. You’re alive!” He pointed at her, his face transforming with a revelation. “You’re not supposed to be here!”

“I know?—”

“Neither of you are supposed to be here!She’snot supposed to be here,” Travis said, still pointing as Malakai glowered from a couple of feet away. Travis laughed in triumph, the sound slightly higher—hysterical—from delayed shock. “You’re about to be in such deep shit, Delaney.”

“Shut your mouth, Devlin,” Malakai warned.

“I can’t wait for Darien to rip you a new asshole?—”