Page 28 of Samhain Savior

The thought made me both happy and sad at the same time, my chest tightening with the contradictory emotions.

Blowing out a shaky breath, I broke the seal and unfolded the letter.

My Dearest Delilah,

If you are reading this letter, then I’m afraid the Order has discovered my secret, and I have failed.

You know our histories; theUmbra Fratrumhave spent centuries working to protect the Light, and that mission has never been more critical than it is now.

That is why I have hidden the relic where I believed it would be safest.

If you follow the light, my words will reveal the truth.

Delilah, I must urge you to use caution. TheUmbra Fratrumhas been compromised, and as I write this, I cannot say for certain that the Brotherhood is safe for you. Guardians are falling in unprecedented numbers, and the Order is making dangerous headway.

Trust, as you know, is a precious thing, and so it is with a hopeful heart that I must ask you to do the one thing you have been raised not to.

Trust a demon.

Or, one in particular.

My death will start a chain of events that I am sure will lead him to you. When you find him, know that he will protect you in the way that I wish I could have.

He’ll have no choice in the matter.

I apologize for not being able to meet you in person, but you should know that protecting you has been my life’s work, and I couldn’t be more proud of the woman and the witchyou have become.

Tell Heidi that I am sorry I couldn’t do better by you. You weren’t supposed to end up so alone. I never believed that things would get this far out of hand.

Remember, trust The Archer.

He will lead you home.

Yours in eternal servitude,

Sir William Phips

Chapter twelve

Archer

Unbelievable.

My pulse thrummed in my veins, adrenaline and something that felt a hell of a lot like jealousy racing through me.

Phips wrote her a letter?

He’d been my friend for three hundred years, and this is what I got? We’d fought side by side, been through wars—human and celestial and everything in between. We’d shared drinks the night the Liberty Bell was first hung in Independence Hall, watched in shocked amusement as chests of tea were unceremoniously tossed into Boston Harbor, and stood side by side as the RMS Carpathia docked in New York on that cold April morning in 1912.

Centuries of trust, and this is what I got?

Fuck all.

We had been through so much together, he and I, and still, he’d writtenhera letter.

A letter that should have been meant for me.

Watching her read it, seeing the emotions play out on her face as she greedily devoured the contents, had me chewing my cheek impatiently.