Page 22 of Gods of Prey (Parallel Prey #3)

She checks her watch. “We should go. Voss takes his break at four.”

I watch her gather her things—a small backpack, a taser, zip ties. “You’ve done this before.”

“Bash and I hunted a few members of the order last year,” she says matter-of-factly. “I’m not exactly an amateur.”

“I’m impressed,” I admit, pursing my lips.

I wish she realized what a compliment that is, coming from Death herself.

“Don’t be.” Her eyes harden. “They killed you. They tried to kill me. They deserve whatever’s coming to them.”

I follow her to the door, a strange warmth spreading through my spectral form. This is why I liked her from the beginning—her fierce loyalty, her unflinching determination.

“Let’s go catch a snake,” I say.

T he parking garage beneath Westlake Tower is eerily quiet at this hour. Jovie moves with practiced stealth, staying in the camera blind spots I point out to her. We make our way to the lowest level, where the security office is tucked away in a corner.

“He’s inside,” I whisper, drifting through the wall to confirm. “Eating a sandwich. Back to the door.”

Jovie nods, pulling the taser from her pocket. “Can you create a distraction?”

I grin, floating back through the wall. I forgot how much fun Bash and I had with this stuff. “With pleasure.”

Being dead has its advantages. I focus my energy, materializing just enough to flicker the lights in the security office. Voss looks up, annoyed. When I push a stack of papers off his desk, he stands, muttering curses under his breath.

“Now,” I tell Jovie as he moves to retrieve the papers.

She slips in, silent as a shadow, and presses the taser to his back. “Don’t move,” she warns, her voice cold and steady. “Gregory Voss.”

He freezes for a second, then tries to turn. The taser crackles and he drops to the floor, body convulsing.

“Nicely done,” I say, materializing faintly so she can see me.

Jovie works quickly, binding his hands and feet with zip ties. “The camera feed?”

I drift to the monitors. “I’ll short out the system. It’ll look like a power surge.”

With a bit of concentration, I send a pulse of Death energy through the electrical system. The monitors flicker and die, and the emergency lights kick on.

“I doubt anyone is bothering to come check on him, but I’d say you have a few hours if they do.”

Jovie nods, already dragging Voss toward the service elevator. “That’s all we need.”

Together, we maneuver him into the elevator and down to the subbasement level that houses the building’s mechanical systems. It’s the perfect place—isolated, sound-proofed by the hum of massive air handlers, and accessible only with a key card that Jovie somehow procured.

“You really did plan this,” I say through a breath as she secures Voss to a pipe. The room has been meticulously arranged with a steel table and various weapons scattered around. Just how Bash likes it.

“Four weeks.” She checks his bindings. “I needed to be sure.”

Four weeks. Revel and I aren’t the only ones keeping secrets, it seems.

Voss begins to stir, moaning softly. Jovie steps back, pulling out her phone.

“Time to call Bash?” I ask.

She nods, but before she can dial, the door to the mechanical room swings open and we both freeze.

Revel stands in the doorway, his expression a mixture of shock and anger. “What the hell are you two doing?”

Jovie is instantly on high-alert, her brows furrowed. “Revel?”

I move between them, instinctively protective. “How did you find us?”

“I followed her,” he says, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him.

Her brows lift at his admission. “When she slipped out at one a.m., I got suspicious.”

“You were watching my apartment?” Jovie’s mouth pops open incredulously.

“Of course he was,” I sneer. We need to figure out how to spin this.

“I was watching you ,” Revel corrects, as if that makes things any better. His gaze slides to Voss. “Who’s this?”

“Gregory Voss,” I explain, my tone cold. “Member of the Loyal Order of the Serpent. One of the men responsible for my untimely death.”

Jovie squeaks beside me, shocked that I’ve revealed so much. “We don’t know if we can trust him,” she hisses in my ear.

“He won’t say anything,” I assure. At least, not to anyone in the mortal realm.

Revel’s eyes widen slightly, understanding dawning across his features. “You thought kidnapping him was a good idea?”

“It’s a gift for Bash,” Jovie interjects defensively. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Do you have any clue how dangerous this is?” Revel ignores Jovie and steps closer to me, lowering his voice. “We’re trying to help Sebastian remember who he is, not encourage his obsession with revenge. This is your idea of getting close?”

“This isn’t about revenge,” I argue, widening my feet. I’m always preparing for a fight with him. “It’s about justice.”

“Is it?” His hard gaze locks with mine. “Or is it about you getting too attached to your mortal identities again? To this cycle of violence you and Sebastian keep perpetuating? We talked about this.”

Well, shit. I hate when he’s right.

“You don’t understand,” Jovie says, stepping forward. Her fear of being turned in has overshadowed her confusion about us. “These people are monsters. They kill for power.”

His expression softens slightly as he turns back toward Jovie, leaving me feeling like a child who just endured a harsh scolding. “I do understand. But this”—He gestures to Voss, who’s now fully conscious and watching us with wide, terrified eyes—“this isn’t the way.”

“Then what is?” I demand, floating closer to him. For a moment I forget Jovie is here with us. “Tell me, Revel, what’s your brilliant plan? Because so far, all we’ve done is watch and wait while the balance between Life and Death continues to unravel. You told me you were on our side.”

He runs a hand through his hair, frustrated. “We need Sebastian to remember on his own. Forcing it could damage his mind, maybe permanently.”

“And if he doesn’t remember in time?” I challenge, ignoring the fact that forcing Sebastian was his suggestion just over a week ago. “What, then? We talked about speeding things up.”

Before Revel can answer, Voss speaks up, his voice trembling. “Lancaster. You’re Lancaster’s sister, aren’t you? The one from New York. Fuck, I must have hit my head. I swear you died.”

We all turn to look at him. I drift closer, letting my form shift into something more terrifying. The true vision of Death that mortals glimpse in their final moments. Jovie gasps behind me, slowly taking a few steps back to distance herself.

“Yes,” I say, my voice echoing with the weight of Umbraeth. “And you helped kill me.”

Voss pales, shrinking back against the pipe. “I didn’t have jack shit to do with those assholes.”

I laugh, the sound hollow. This was supposed to feel better than it does. It should be much more cathartic. But with Revel brooding behind me and Jovie backing into a corner, it all seems so frivolous.

Childish.

“You all knew what was happening and worked hard to cover it up. I was only one victim from one night.” I lean closer to Voss. “Little did you know they actually found Death herself.”

“Sienna,” Revel warns, but I ignore him.

“Tell me, Gregory,” I continue, “did you know that the Lancaster twins were reincarnations of gods? That by killing me, you triggered cosmic consequences beyond your comprehension?”

“Sienna, stop ,” Revel growls more forcefully. It takes a concentrated effort not to whirl around on him.

What sort of male would ever dare interfere with Death and her victim?

A dead one, if I had to guess.

“No, let her speak,” comes a new voice from the doorway.

We all turn. Bash stands there, his expression unreadable in the dim emergency lighting. Jovie’s feet scuffle over toward him and she tucks herself beneath his protective arm.

His gaze moves to Voss, then to Revel, and finally settles on me. I don’t bother hiding my form from him now. He sees me— really sees me—for the first time since we entered this realm as divine beings.

“Siennara,” he says my full name, and there’s recognition in his voice that sends a shiver through my spectral form.

I study him for a beat, my mind struggling to confirm what my ears are hearing. “Sebastian,” I finally reply in challenge, my tone lifting in question.

For a long moment, we simply look at each other—twins separated by the veil between Life and Death. I search his face for signs of my brother, the God of Life, hidden beneath the mortal identity he’s created.

And for the first time in years, I see it. That divine knowledge.

“You remember,” I say softly.

“Not everything,” he admits. “But enough to know that you shouldn’t be here.” He looks at Revel. “Neither of you should.”

Revel steps forward. “We came to bring you home, brother. Aurelys needs you. The balance?—”

“I know about the balance,” Bash interrupts. “I’ve felt it shifting.” He tugs Jovie closer to his side, tightening his arm around her shoulders. I have a feeling he’s doing it to ease the tension radiating from her more than anything else. She looks like she’s seen a ghost.

Well, what I’d expect her to look like if she’d seen a ghost. She’s much more resilient than any average mortal.

“But I’ve made my choice,” my brother goes on.

“You can’t just abandon your realm,” I argue. “Your responsibilities?—”

“Like you’ve abandoned yours?” he barks. “Twice, now.”

I flinch, my gaze flicking toward Revel before quickly fluttering away at the fury growing more prominent in his features. I forgot what a fucking twat Sebastian could be. “This is different.”

“Is it?” His green eyes hold mine. “You’ve always been drawn to mortal concerns. Their passions. Their vendettas. Their loves.” His gaze softens as he gazes at Jovie. “You understand why I can’t leave her.”

“I do,” I admit. “Better than anyone. You know that. But the realms are suffering, Sebastian. Life and Death need their true guardians.”