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Audrey

“T his is so good,” Wren moans around the mouthful of lasagna. “Who knew Death could cook so well?”

“Call me Wraith,” he reminds her.

She nods, piling more food into her mouth. “Sorry. I’ll try to remember that.”

After Cassian left us, I spent about an hour with Diana and Celeste before Wraith brought us home. He’d been ecstatic to have Wren over for dinner. My plan had been to cook dinner, but he bumped me right out of the kitchen and told me to relax.

Personally, I think he’s just shook up over seeing Cassian again and needed something to keep him busy. I want to ask him and Donovan about what happened so badly, but I don’t think it’s a good idea. At least not to ask Wraith. It’ll probably be easier for me to get the story out of my hellhound mate since he doesn’t like to keep things from me.

But that’s a problem for another time. Tonight is about bonding with my sister.

I practically abandoned her over the last few days, and I hurt her. I never want to hurt my sister. I definitely need to make this up to her—no matter how many times she tells me I don’t have to.

I’ve already finished eating, but my sister went back for seconds, so I’m just waiting for her to finish.

“We need to have a conversation,” Wraith tells me quietly.

I nod. “I know. After I spend some time with Wren.”

His smile is soft. “Of course. I’m sure the three of us can find ways to entertain ourselves while you spend time with your sister.”

Once Wren finishes, I give each of my men a quick kiss before dragging her upstairs and into the room that’s officially mine—not that I spend any time in here. We all sleep piled together in the main bedroom unless Brenden drags me to his room for a night alone. I can count the number of times that’s happened on one hand.

Brenden might not be sexually interested in my other two mates, but he loves spending time with them. I’ve caught him and Donovan cuddling on more than one occasion. I found it a little odd at first, but then realized it offered both of them comfort. I’m never going to deny my mates comfort. Plus, they look adorable.

“So what’s this conversation you have to have?” Wren asks, throwing herself back onto the bed.

I run a hand through my hair before pulling it on top of my head in a messy bun and securing it with a hair tie. “There’s so much I need to fill you in on—even before today happened, but now there’s more.”

I give her a quick recap of the conversation I had with my mates following Nex’s departure on her first night at the academy before moving on to the events of today.

“Five mates? I don’t envy you.” Wren pats the bed, waving for me to join her instead of pacing the floor like I am right now. “You’re stressing out, Ree. Come sit and cuddle with me.”

How am I supposed to say no to that?

I hop onto the bed, lying down to face her with our foreheads touching. We’ve always been close, as I suspect many sets of twins are, and there’s always been something comforting about wrapping ourselves up in one another.

We make each other stronger.

After a few minutes with my twin, I feel like I can do anything.

“Better?” she asks, smirking.

“Yes,” I respond reluctantly. “Just like you knew it would.”

She nods, rolling over onto her back. “Good. Now tell me what’s going on inside your head.”

“Really? You need me to spell it out for you?” At her nod, I sigh. “I have two mates who might not become my mates. That’s what the Fates told me. If I can’t get Nex to accept me as his mate, then I lose him and Cassian. If Wraith and Cassian can’t get along and make this work, then I still lose both of them. I know it doesn’t make sense, considering I just met Cassian, but I already miss him. These mate bonds are no joke.”

“I wish I could find my mate or mates.” Wren gives me a wry smile. “If I’d found them, I wouldn’t have married Michael, and I’d probably still be alive. Which would be better but worse since you’re here. Although you might still be alive if I hadn’t married him.”

“Nope. We’re not going to think about the what-ifs. All they’ll do is drive you crazy. Plus, I wouldn’t have met my mates if I hadn’t died.” Which isn’t something I want to think about. “According to the Fates, we have a destiny to fulfill or whatever, so I think everything happened the way it was meant to.”

Wren wrinkles her nose, scowling. “I’m assuming they didn’t give you any hints about this destiny?”

I laugh. “Definitely not. It would’ve been easier if they had, but life is never that easy, is it? Enough about that. I want you to tell me what you’ve been up to. Catch me up on the goings-on of earth-side.”

Wren raises her eyebrows as she considers me. “I’m not filling you in on celebrity gossip. You know I don’t read that shit.”

“Fine. Fine. Fine.” I hesitate. “If you feel up to it, can you tell me what led up to Michael killing you? Was he always abusive to you and you just hid it from me? From Mom?”

She covers her face with her hands. “Ugh. Really? This is what you want to talk about?”

“Yes? No? I feel like we need to talk about it, even if I don’t want to.”

“Yeah, I guess.” She rolls over to face me once more. “No, he wasn’t always abusive. That didn’t start until after he killed you, I guess. Since our house went up in flames, we didn’t really have anywhere to go. Michael wanted to get a hotel, but I needed to be near Mom. Losing you was like losing a part of myself.”

Tears pool in her eyes, and I wrap her up in a hug. “It’s okay. I’m okay.”

She snorts. “Yeah, but you’re still dead. Neither Mom nor I handled it well. Michael was so cavalier about the whole thing, and it rubbed both of us the wrong way. The day after your funeral, Mom said she needed to get away for a while. I understood it—even if I still needed her—so I sucked it up, and she left. She told me and Michael that we were free to stay at her house as long as we needed. She checked in with me twice after leaving, but that’s it. It’s almost like she disappeared off the face of the earth.”

“You don’t think that Michael has her, do you?” My eyes widen. It could’ve been completely possible for him to grab her without my sister knowing. He’s never been one for telling Wren what he does with his time. I was so worried that he would go after her next, but what if he already has her?

“I don’t know, Audrey. I really don’t. I wouldn’t put it past him, but if he did have her, then wouldn’t he have rubbed it in my face before he killed me?” She sighs. “I’m not sure he cares about our family so much as us getting in his way. Mom left town, so she isn’t in his way. Hopefully, it stays that way.”

I sit and move up the bed until my back hits the headboard, pull my knees up to my chest, and wrap my arms around my legs. “I really hope she’s okay, but she would’ve come home after they found your body—in her house, no less.”

“Fuck. I didn’t think about that. I’m sure Michael moved out, though, so there won’t be any way for her to find out whatever he’s up to. Not that I have any idea what that is. He didn’t tell me a damn thing before he killed me—though he made sure to tell me how much he couldn’t stand me. And how fucking annoying you were. If I could’ve, I would’ve killed him when he said that. I was so angry.” She scoots back so she can sit beside me, mimicking my posture with our sides pressed together.

“Let me guess, he used bindings that wouldn’t allow you to use your magic?” At her look of disbelief, I giggle. “It’s what he did to me. He’s not overly original, so I figured he’d done the same to you.”

She sighs, resting her chin on her knee. “When Mom left, all I had was Michael. I needed someone to help me through my grief, and I thought he loved me. Apparently, that annoyed him. He slapped me the day after Mom left, and I tried to kick him out of the house, but he just laughed at me. He started talking down to me, but the physical abuse amped up slowly. I know you and Mom didn’t like that I married him. You made it very clear you thought he was controlling—”

“He was controlling, Wren. Please don’t try to defend the man who fucking murdered you!” I wince as I shout at her. I didn’t mean to raise my voice, but I always hated how she had excuses for his behavior.

“Oh, I promise you I’m not, but how he used to treat me was nothing compared to how he acted once you were gone.” She bites her lip. “I think you protected me from the worst of it without even knowing it. He was always a little afraid of you.”

I scoff. “Afraid of me? I doubt that.”

She shrugs. “You don’t have to believe me, but he was always on his best behavior when you were around. Not that it matters now.”

We sit there in silence, and it’s nice to just sit with her.

“Oh, my gods! I can’t believe I forgot to tell you!” I bounce onto my knees, startling Wren. I call on my magic and show her my flame. “It’s purple!”

“When did that happen?” she asks, reaching for it. “Why did it change? Is it because you’re a reaper?”

I try to douse it before she can get near it, but I’m too late. Her hand is already dancing in the flames, but she’s not screaming out in pain like I expected.

“It’s hellfire,” I tell her.

She jerks her hand back, staring at it in shock. “It didn’t burn me.”

“I wonder if that means you’ll also end up with hellfire?” I ponder out loud. “No one has any idea why I’m able to control hellfire. They don’t think our dad was a witch, though. Or if he was, he would have to have been a direct descendant of Hecate.”

That gets Wren’s attention as she meets my gaze. “So Mom lied to us?”

“Or she didn’t know. I have no idea. I just know I’ve had more than one person tell me I’m not a witch since arriving in the underworld. Between that and the hellfire, I’m beginning to believe them.”

“Yeah. I can see why.” Her eyes have returned to the flames now dancing along my arm. “I haven’t been able to call on my magic yet.”

I shrug. “Don’t feel bad. I was one of the last to be able to use their magic. Nex—I mean Professor Novak—was tutoring me. Once I was able to use it, I found out very quickly how much stronger it was from when we were earth-side. I’m betting yours will be the same.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Wren yawns, her hand shooting to her mouth. “Shit. I’m sorry.”

A glance at the clock shows it’s getting late. We’ve been up here longer than I thought. “There’s no reason to apologize. Why don’t I walk you back to your dorm so you can get some sleep?”

“Yeah. Okay.” She stands up, stretching as she does so. “Are you going to go back to ignoring me now?”

“I said I was sorry. I just wanted to give you space, but don’t worry. I’ll be up your ass from here on out.” I shoot her a grin. “Starting on Monday, I’ll be assisting in classes. I’ll also be tutoring you if you need it. You won’t be able to get rid of me.”

She pulls me into a hug. “Good.”

I sigh as I relax into her hold. With so much going on in my life, I’m glad to see that hugging my sister still makes me feel better.

“Come on, let’s get you back to your dorm so I can have a chat with my mates.”

“Better you than me,” she says as she bumps my shoulder.

Once again, I’m struck with relief at having her here with me. It’s quickly followed by guilt because I should never be happy my sister is dead. Everything just seems a little bit easier knowing she’s here with me.