“No, seriously,” he says, tone clipped. “You’re so fucking dense.”
The words land like a slap.
I blink, stunned. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?”
Cassian, already teetering on the edge, steps forward.
“Say that again,” he growls, low and dangerous.
And if I weren’t so confused, I’d almost think it’s cute, this weird protective instinct kicking in, like he’s on my side now, not directing all that barely-contained violence at me.
But right now?
Everything’s escalating fast, and the teenager clearly doesn’t want to answer any of our questions. Cassian’s barely holding it together. And with the wards down, we’re completely exposed to the wraith.
Waiting with decisions is the last thing we should be doing.
Luckily, the boy’s irritation boils over. He throws up his hands like we’re the ones being problematic.
“For fuck’s sake.” He shoots me a sharp glance. “You don’t even know what you are yet. Fine. That’s not your fault. But still, this is beyond anything I expected. When I called you dense, it wasn’t an insult. It was a statement of fact. Better?”
It sounds like something a younger version of Talon might’ve said.
Not exactly endearing.
Still, there’s this strange feeling in my gut, that not hearing this kid out would be a mistake. So I push.
“Please. Just help us understand,” I say. “You can do that, right?”
He rolls his eyes. “Short version? I’m here to help you.”
“Help?” Nathaniel says, incredulous. “You call this helping? The wards are down. The wraith could come through any second.”
The boy doesn’t flinch. “Good. They need to stay down.”
Nathaniel stiffens. “You want us exposed?”
“I want youmobile,” the boy snaps. “If you’d reset the wards, you would’ve trapped yourselves inside. She would’ve come, shealwaysdoes, and once she realized she couldn’t get in, she would’ve started circling. Relentless. Her instincts wouldn’t let her leave.”
His eyes flick to the corners of the room, his voice dropping.
“You wouldn’t outlast her. Trust me.”
Trust? I’m still trying to figure out if he’s not a hellspawn, one that plants this strange, gnawing feeling in my gut just to make me listen. And once I do, he’ll make Death’s threats look like birthday wishes.
Truth is, I don’t know what’s really out there. Even after dying, after becoming a Reaper, they only told me what I needed to do the job. The rest? Still locked behind doors I don’t have keys for.
So maybe he’s one of those things? Real, but buried deep in whatever lies beyond even Death’s neat little system.
A demon?
Wouldn’t be a stretch.
Nathaniel exhales through his nose. “That wasn’t a problem before.”
The boy’s expression sharpens.
“Well, she didn’t come here before, did she?”
