Page 26

Audrey

I stare up at the ceiling, letting the music roll over me as it speaks to me. It’s a beautiful song that has my heart breaking before putting it back together.

When it cuts off, I sit up with a smile. “That was beautiful, Wren. I’ve missed your music.”

“It’s nothing special,” she says, ducking her head.

I roll my eyes, but she’s always been like this. She’s never looked more at home than she does when she has a violin in her hands. She was a rising star when she met Michael, but he didn’t want her working, so she gave it up.

It was only the first of many things he took away from her, but it was the hardest for her to lose. I was shocked when she told me she was giving it up. She always used music to express her feelings when they felt too big.

When she started writing her own music, it blew me away. Her pieces always make me feel something—whether that’s joy, anger, happiness, or even sorrow. It’s a beautiful journey.

Then she just stopped playing.

I don’t know what made her pick it back up again in the last few weeks, but I’m ecstatic. Not only do I enjoy listening to her play, but it makes me forget everything going on in my life right now.

That’s not to say my life is bad. It’s really not. I have four mates who love me, two besties who would do anything for me, and my twin who would destroy the worlds for me. I shouldn’t be complaining. It’s just hard not to.

If Cassian and Wraith have been fighting, they’ve been doing a really good job of hiding it from me. They’re protecting me from something they know I hate, and I’m not sure how to feel about it. On the one hand, I hate that they feel like they have to hide anything from me. On the other hand, it’s so nice not to have to worry about a fistfight breaking out over dinner.

Plus, the two of them have been getting…closer. As in, I walked in on them fucking just yesterday.

They didn’t notice me at first, and I totally perved on them. It was hot as hell, and I’m not even sorry I watched them. When they did notice me, they invited me to join them, but I didn’t. It was really freaking hard, but I walked away and left them to their moment.

That’s one of the things I love most about the family we’re building. Not everything is about me. They all love me, but they love each other too. Cassian, Wraith, and Donovan are rebuilding a relationship they thought they lost a long time ago, and I couldn’t be happier.

I just wish that Brenden had that too. If Nex was with us, he would.

Ugh. I don’t want to think about him right now.

Forcing myself to focus on my sister, I wrinkle my nose. “You can pretend it isn’t a big deal all you want, but you’re fucking amazing. You never should’ve given up the violin. I hate him for that, too.”

“As if you need another reason to hate him.” Wren gives me a half smile as she puts her violin away. “He might have been the one to suggest it, but I was more than willing to give it up. Just like everything else in our relationship. I gave up everything, while he gave up nothing. I don’t know how I became that woman. Mom raised us better than that.”

“No, Mom raised us to be what and who we wanted. You thought you wanted to be the picture-perfect wife for the asshole you married.” I grind my teeth, feeling like I’m defending what he did and hating it. “You wanted to make him happy. He’s the one who took advantage of that. The good news is he won’t be a problem for much longer, and he’s already not your problem anymore. You can be whoever you want to be in your afterlife.”

She shrugs. “As long as I’m also a reaper, you mean?”

I make a face. “Technically, yes, but I have an in with the boss. If you hate it, then I’m sure Wraith can find you a position at the academy. I bet you’d make a great teacher.”

“I don’t know if that’s what I want either,” she says slowly. “I feel like there’s so little I can do or choose for myself. Michael took that from me, too. Being here kind of feels like being married to Michael again—even if Wraith has the best of intentions, unlike my bastard husband.”

“I’m sorry, Wren. I’d give anything to go back and save you from being killed.”

She snorts. “But not to go back and save yourself.”

I shake my head, as this is a conversation we’ve had more than once, and it always goes the same.

“Nope. I wouldn’t give up meeting my mates. Plus, I like being a reaper.” I roll on my side to face her as she joins me on her bed.

There are only two weeks left until her final, and when she asked if I wanted to hang out, I jumped at the chance to get out of the house. I love my mates, but after my breakdown, they’ve been kind of up my ass.

If I thought we were having a lot of sex before, it’s nothing compared to now. It’s partially because that’s the only time Wraith and Cassian can carry on a conversation that doesn’t leave either of them angry, frustrated, or hurt. I also think they’re trying to distract me, but there’s only so much sex a girl can have.

Once again, I know I shouldn’t complain, but if I wasn’t a supernatural with enhanced healing, my cunt would be bruised. Or torn. Or something.

I have now learned that there is such a thing as too much sex. Not that I’ll admit it to my mates. With my luck, they’d just fuck me more.

I sound like a whiny bitch, and I know it. That’s probably why I haven’t been complaining to my besties or my sister.

“Did you have anything exciting happen this week?” I ask her, using my hands as a pillow.

She shakes her head. “Just more classes. I can’t wait until this is over. I feel like there isn’t anything else for me to learn.”

I snort. “You think that now, but wait until it’s time for your final. Everything I learned just seeped away. I reacted on instinct and was lucky that was enough.”

Wren narrows her eyes. “You also had to reap my soul for your final. I don’t think that counts.”

“I’m still pissed about that, and Wraith refuses to look into it. I know there’s nothing we can do about it now, but I’d feel better knowing which asshole has it out for me.”

“You’re ridiculous. Don’t you think having one vendetta at a time is enough?”

I jerk my head back when she flicks my nose. “That was rude.”

I dig my fingers into her ribs in retaliation, and she squeals. Even when she begs me to stop, I don’t let up. She’s always been ticklish as hell, and I’ve always taken advantage of that.

“Okay! Okay! You win! Mercy! Please! I’m going to pee my pants!”

“You’re damn right, I won.” I shoot her a smile as I roll off the bed. “Let’s go outside. I could use some fresh air, and we can work on your magic some more.”

Wren keeps saying she’s ready for her final and over the classes, but I know it’s driving her crazy that she hasn’t been able to do half of what I can with my magic. Of the two of us, she’s always been the one who had better control over her magic, so it surprised both of us when she didn’t advance as I had.

She was able to use her magic long before I could, and it’s strong but nothing like mine. It has me wondering if bonding with my mates didn’t affect my magic. Clearly, not how long it took me to be able to finally use it, but with its improved strength. Brenden and I have talked about it a few times, even bringing it to Wraith, but neither of them could say one way or the other.

They just don’t have the knowledge that Nex does.

If he wasn’t such an asshole, then I’d ask him. I’d have to catch him first. I swear he’s part ninja now that he’s avoiding me, Brenden, and even Wraith. It’s kind of ridiculous the lengths he’ll go to in order to avoid being around me. I’m not sure why he’s avoiding my mates now. Except Donovan—that one makes complete sense.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll never turn down playing with fire.” Wren’s grin is wicked as we head for the door and out of her home.

She’s not sharing with anyone since she still hasn’t made any friends. I don’t understand why she hasn’t, but she clams up every time I bring it up, so I just stopped asking. When she asked me to talk to Wraith about her having a place to herself, I wasn’t going to turn her down. Neither was he, apparently.

I lead her across campus and into the woods. There’s a clearing not too far from her place that we’ve been using for practice.

Whatever her reasons for not making friends are, I think that’s what makes her want to hide away when we work with our magic. I hate that she’s keeping something from me, but it’s her prerogative. She’ll break eventually and spill the beans. At least I hope she will. She always has before.

Neither of us has ever been good at keeping secrets from each other. I think it’s the twin bond we share. It’s nothing like the bond I share with my mates, which feels tangible.

My bond with Wren has been there since we were born, something that tethers us to one another in a way no one else can understand. It’s why she lost herself to grief when I died. I could still feel the bond, even in death, but she couldn’t. She said it was like it just snapped, and that’s how she knew I was dead.

I’m not sure I would’ve dealt with it any better if our roles would’ve been reversed.

“Ree?” Wren’s quiet voice pulls me from my thoughts, and I realize we’ve made it to the clearing. I was already halfway across it and heading back into the dense forest.

Oops.

“Sorry.” I shoot her a smile as I turn around. “Sorry about that. My brain went on a tangent, and I was just along for the ride.”

She shakes her head, and I know she wants to ask me about it, but she doesn’t. Probably because she doesn’t want me asking questions in return.

How did this happen to us? We used to share everything. I always knew what was going on in her life, and she knew what was going on in mine.

But I already know the answer to that, don’t I?

Michael happened.

It started when she met him, and it just got worse as time passed. Then he killed me.

It’s kind of hard to know what’s going on with one another when one of us is dead, and it’s been a struggle to regain all the ground we lost.

Wren is still the person I’m closest to in the world, but we’re just not as close as we once were. It was bound to happen with age as our lives grew apart, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I’d like to fix it if that’s possible, but I have enough on my plate.

Sadly, my relationship with my sister isn’t a priority right now, and I feel like shit admitting that—even if it’s only to myself.

“Okay, how do you want to do this, little sister?” I grin, already knowing how she’s going to respond.

“Not the little sister thing again. Knock it off, Audrey. I’m onto you.” Wren mock-glares as she tries to bite back a smile. “You’re trying to rile me up on purpose. You’re lucky I don’t have access to hellfire, or I’d burn your ass real good.”

And just like that, it feels like old times again. Our relationship might not be the same as it once was, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be better.

Now, I just need to make it through the next two weeks so we can take care of Michael before focusing on my relationship issues.

Who knew that the afterlife would be so hard?

Certainly not me.