Page 70 of Reaper’s Ruin (Reaper’s Ruin Trilogy #1)

Soraya glanced around, her brow furrowed with concern. “What about Skorn and Lorien? Did they...”

“They’re fine,” Taelon assured her. “We split up to search for the cabin. Your directions weren’t exactly crystal clear, Rhyker. Selyse said to ‘Look for the mountain that looks like a wolf’s head.’ Do you know how many rock formations look vaguely canine from certain angles?”

His face perked up. “Speaking of Selyse,” Taelon said, leaning forward with a grin, “that sorceress friend of yours is something else.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Selyse?”

“Mmm,” he hummed, a dreamy look crossing his face.

“The moment she opened that door... damn. I wanted to rip my heart out and hand it to her. Those eyes. That power.” He sighed dramatically.

“When this is all over, I’m going back to her little forest. I bet she could use a charming rogue like me to keep her warm during those cold Sylvan nights. ”

“She is beautiful,” Soraya said, smiling like she loved the idea of more love stories like ours.

I ignored his comment, focusing on more pressing things. “So they’re alive and coming here then? Selyse was able to make them mortal too? ”

“Yes. She said it took a lot out of her, but she did it. They should be along shortly.” He patted his horse’s neck. “Been years since I’ve been in a saddle. Fun, but I’ve gotta say, I feel every damn bump in the road in this mortal shell. I forgot how much riding can make your ass ache.”

Soraya laughed, the sound bright in the morning air. “Come inside! We have food, and Rhyker’s actually a decent cook for someone who hasn’t eaten in eight centuries.”

“Food?” Taelon’s eyes lit up like a child’s. “Real, actual food that I can taste? Lead the way, beautiful.”

Inside, Taelon settled at the small table, watching with undisguised eagerness as I set a plate before him. The moment the food touched his lips, he let out a moan of pleasure.

“Holy shit,” he mumbled through a mouthful. “This is... gods, I’d forgotten how incredible food tastes. It’s like... it’s like...” He shoved another bite in before finishing his thought.

Soraya laughed, perching on the edge of the table. “Right? When I got my mortal form back, I wanted to eat everything in sight. Wait until you get yourself a sweet roll.”

His eyes flickered with excitement, then he gestured with his fork. “Speaking of things in sight, this place isn’t half bad. Rustic, sure, but kind of cozy.”

“It belonged to an old hunter,” I explained.

“I reaped him about two months ago. Heart gave out while he was gardening. Peaceful, as far as deaths go but the old man didn’t want to leave here.

Thought he could stick around as a ghost and keep enjoying this place.

He did leave though... just at the end of my scythe. ”

“And now you’re playing house in his cabin,” Taelon observed with a smirk. “Ironic, don’t you think?”

I shrugged. “It was empty. Isolated. Safe.”

“For now,” Taelon said, his expression growing serious. “But we need to talk about—”

A knock at the door interrupted him. I tensed, my hand moving to the axe once more, but Taelon waved dismissively.

“Relax. Probably just our companions.”

I opened the door cautiously, nonetheless, relaxing only when I saw the familiar faces of the two Reapers who’d fought alongside us.

They stood side by side—Skorn imposing with his massive frame and piercing ice-blue eyes, Lorien leaner but no less dangerous-looking with his sharp features and calculating gaze.

But it was the third figure that made me freeze, my wings erupting defensively once more.

“Jade?” I snarled, positioning myself to block Soraya from view.

The Enforcer stepped forward, those once-silver eyes now a soft green meeting mine without flinching. She looked different in mortal form—smaller somehow, her features softer though no less striking. But I knew what she was capable of, knew the destruction she could wreak even in this form.

“What the fuck is going on?” I demanded, looking to Skorn and Lorien. “Why is she here?”

Skorn raised his hands placatingly. “Ease up. She’s with us.”

“She’s an Enforcer,” I growled.

“Was,” Lorien corrected, his voice carrying that same easy confidence I remembered. “And she’s the reason we got out of the Umbral Keep alive.”

I turned my attention back to Jade, studying her warily. She met my gaze unflinchingly, her posture neither aggressive nor submissive—just waiting.

“Is that true?” I asked her directly.

“Yes,” she replied simply, her voice softer than I’d expected.

I felt Soraya’s hand on my arm, a gentle pressure that somehow managed to cut through my tension. I looked down to find her watching me with those impossibly blue eyes.

“Let her in,” she said quietly. “Hear her out.”

After a moment’s hesitation, I stepped aside, allowing the three to enter.

Skorn had to turn sideways slightly to clear the doorway, his massive frame making the cabin feel suddenly cramped.

Lorien moved with a predator’s grace, his eyes taking in every detail of our sanctuary.

Jade entered last, keeping a careful distance from me.

Once inside, Skorn and Lorien approached Soraya, their expressions warming as they looked at her.

“So, this is the soul worth risking oblivion for,” Lorien said, taking her hand and pressing it to his lips with a courtly bow. “A pleasure to formally meet you, love.”

“Such a gentleman,” Soraya laughed, then turned to Skorn who stood awkwardly to the side. “And you must be Skorn. Thank you for what you did. ”

The big man shifted uncomfortably, but there was unmistakable softening in his usually stern features. “It was nothing.”

“It wasn’t nothing,” she insisted, and to my surprise, stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. “You risked everything for us.”

Skorn stiffened, clearly unused to such contact, but after a moment, he gave her an awkward pat on the back. I might have been jealous if the whole scene weren’t so unexpectedly... touching.

“Well,” he grumbled, “I was planning on letting the Veil Lords reap me once you were safe. But then Taelon told me Death found a way to get a body again. Had to see it with my own eyes before I took a scythe to the throat.”

She squeezed him tighter. “Well, I’m glad you helped me, and I’m even more glad you didn’t let them kill you. There’s going to be a door waiting for you—there has to be. Someone who took such a risk for me deserves the best afterlife ever.”

“Told you she was special,” Taelon called from the table, his mouth still full. “She’s got Death wrapped around her little finger, and now she’s taming the beast Skorn. Next she’ll have Lorien taking a vow of chastity.”

“Let’s not get carried away,” Lorien chuckled, running a hand down the dark stubble on his jaw.

I turned my attention to Jade, who remained near the door, watching the interactions with guarded interest. “You still haven’t explained why an Enforcer is here,” I said, the edge in my voice unmistakable.

Taelon wiped his mouth, suddenly serious. “She helped us escape. Provided a distraction for the Sentinels, led us to a side passage I didn’t even know existed.”

“Why?” I demanded, directing the question at Jade herself.

She met my gaze evenly. “Because what they’re doing is wrong.”

“You’re going to have to be more specific,” I said, crossing my arms.

Jade glanced at the others, then back to me. “May I sit? It’s a long explanation.”

After a moment’s consideration, I nodded. Soraya sat beside me on the small bed, Taelon and Lorien at the table, Skorn leaned against the wall, and Jade perched on a stool near the fire. When we were all settled, the former Enforcer began her story.

“In life, I was of the Sylvan Court,” she said, her voice soft but clear. “An empath. One of the rare ones who could sometimes hear thoughts, not just sense emotions.”

I raised an eyebrow, skepticism evident in my expression. I’d heard of empaths like her, but they were rare. Maybe one or two in a lifetime.

“But that’s not why the Veil Lords chose me as an Enforcer. In fact, they didn’t know and I kept it that way,” she continued. “There’s a lot more power in keeping my abilities a secret.”

“And why are you betraying them?” I demanded.

“Because I’ve been sensing something wrong with them for years now,” she said, leaning forward. “Something... not right. As an Enforcer, I was closer to them than most. I saw things. Heard things I wasn’t supposed to hear.”

“Like what?”

She hesitated. “Whispers. Fragments of conversation. Nothing concrete, but enough to make me question whether things were as they were supposed to be. And then...” She looked directly at Soraya. “Then you happened.”

Soraya stiffened beside me. “Me?”

“When they sent Death to reap you, it made no sense. You’d barely died. Souls get weeks, sometimes months to find their peace, their door. It’s one of the core principles of the afterlife. But they wanted you gone immediately. I couldn’t understand why. ”

“Did you ask them?” I pressed.

“Enforcers don’t ask questions,” she said flatly. “We follow orders. Not to mention, they had no idea I could hear their thoughts and knew they were sending Reapers after a newly dead soul.”

Soraya leaned forward. “So what did you hear? Why did you risk everything to help us?”

Jade’s gaze moved between us, something like wonder crossing her features.

“Because I felt what was between you. A love so rare, so genuine, it blazed like a beacon in the Shadowveil. And I knew that if the Veil Lords were willing to destroy that—to obliterate a soul who hadn’t been given a fair chance at peace—then whatever they were doing couldn’t be right.

We’re supposed to be the keepers of the balance.

But somehow I feel that something is corrupted.

Something is just... wrong. I can’t explain it. Just a feeling.”

“And you’re an empath, so that’s not nothing,” Taelon said.