Page 134 of Unveil

Until a shadowy hand stretches through the flames.

I know that hand.

I blink. But it doesn’t go away. I smile up knowing who I’ll see, and I breathe past the smoke scorching my lungs.

“Momma.”

Her soft, blonde hair wafts in a phantom breeze. She brushes it back, giving me the sweet smile I’ve never forgotten.

This isn’t real. It can’t be. Lack of oxygen has gotten to my brain…

“Come with me, Orion.” Her voice is a whisper through Dark Corner pines and a gust in a wildfire all at once.

But even as she reaches for me, even as I’m desperate to follow, I hesitate. If I go, Fate will have decided, and Luna will be gone for good.

Momma smiles. “Trust me.”

She offers her hand through the flames. I exhale.

I loved you fiercely, Luna Bordeaux.

I push the emotion out with one final breath, hoping Luna can feel it. Gathering my courage and every ounce of my strength, I surrender, reaching for her to accept my bittersweet end?—

Momma’s hand is too rough, callused, and strong for such a small woman as it snatches mine in a painful grip. Her sweet face morphs, unveiling a furious demon in her place. His scarsare both armor and a weapon, his smile twisted into something vicious, and his eyes fathomless midnight pits.

The demon roars, heaving aside the fallen beam. Ravenous flames devour everything but his void as he yanks my arm… and drags me with him to hell.

“Ithought you were a demon, you know,” I grit out, my voice rough from smoke.

Sol snorts. “You’re not that far off. My wife calls me herdémon de la musique, after all.”

“Fitting,” I cough.

I don’t mention how hallucinating my mom ushering me into the afterlife then transforming into the man I thought hated me might be one of the top five most traumatic things that’s ever happened to me. The fact that he carried me out of the fire, got me to the getaway car,savingme, and now I’m in my own bed with Luna sound asleep in my arms? Nothing short of a miracle from the devil himself, and I ain’t about to look that gift horse in the mouth. Especially if he’s more apocalypse than pony.

“You were stalling too, weren’t you? When you argued with Bossie before my brothers showed up?” I clear my throat and take a swig from the water bottle on my bedside table, trying to wash the metallic taste of blood off my tongue. “All of it was a tactic. You and Nox were waiting until they could get there.”

Sol nods. “About five minutes in, I realized playing Bossie’s game would be the only way to keep everyone breathing.” He sighs. “Luna’s probably going to hate me for the things I said, at least for a little while. She’ll understand, though. She knows I’d sooner cut my own arm off than be strong-armed into a truce. Of course, all that wasbeforeLuna tried to sacrifice herself.”

He grumbles the last with a mix of anger and disappointment that only a father can master. A combination my brothers and I know all too well.

Then Sol has the audacity to cut me a glare, as if the whole thing was my fault.

I lift my hand. “Hey, don’t look at me like I’m not also mad as hell at your reckless daughter. She and I are having words.” I look down at the little hellion resting in my arms, and my voice softens as I stroke her back. “Later, obviously.”

Luna’s long lashes fan across her pale cheeks, bags under her eyes and remnants of soot I couldn’t scrub clean before she drifted off on my chest. Her even breaths flutter over my bare skin, and I cherish each one.

She’s alive. With me. Right where she’s supposed to be.

Her father gazes at her, leaning forward in his wooden chair, elbows on his knees and hands steepled between them.

“I wouldn’t have expected anything less. She’s a Bordeaux through and through, but her ability to think on her feet is unmatched. I trusted she’d come up with a plan or figure out mine and Nox’s. Either way, stalling seemed like the best stopgap.”

“Nice.” I smile weakly.

He grunts his agreement and reaches for her like he might brush her hair back, but I shift her away, hooking my hand behind her knee and pulling her closer, ricocheting pain through my bones.

Our local vet provided a makeshift boot cast for Luna until she can go to a real doctor. It’s meant for a calf but heavier than it looks, doing a number on my bruised shin fractures.