“Thanks for killing her,” I murmured, meeting Skel’s worried green eyes.
“Anything for you, princess.”
Verity sighed into the phone. “A noble demon, killed at our school. Not missing—killed. Yes, Ironwood. I’ve got it.”
She hung up and her gaze settled on us. “And what’s your side of what happened?”
Before any of us could answer, Hunter burst in, practically knocking the door off the hinges. “What happened?”
Reed ran in behind him, clutching his chest as he took in the state of us. “Are you okay?”
I nodded wordlessly.
“You have blood all over you,” Hunter croaked.
“And your clothes are sliced through,” Reed added.
“Voidfire cast a curse on her. The Curse of the Fated Eyes,” Skel hissed out, anger drenching his voice.
“Pandora started being whipped by an invisible shadow tendril,” Bram spat out, his body trembling under me.
“I’m sure you can guess who she saw,” Dex stated, his hands tugging at the white-blond strands of his hair. His fog gray eyes were wide with fear as they scanned me over and over again to make sure I was healed.
“Penny Bones,” Hunter muttered.
I nodded, hot tears welling in my eyes. “Of course it was her. She spoke. It was like she was really there. I couldn’t…I couldn’t fight back. I was so shocked—afraid.”
“She’s dead,” Reed murmured, coming over and standing next to us. “She’ll never hurt you again.”
“She didn’t hurt you today,” Hunter told me. “Voidfire did.”
“And she was killed for it,” Skel promised.
Verity leaned back, rubbing her temples. “It’s aclearcase of self-defense,” she said. “Go on. Have a good day.”
No day that I saw Penny Bones would be a good day, but I appreciated her sentiment.
30
HUNTER
Pandora sat on the edge of my desk, and a constant stream of determination flowed through our matebond from her.
At her request, I’d gathered her dad, Jenni, and Joel in my office. She’d woken up with her mind clear and her intent fierce. She had too much on her plate, yet she didn’t let it drown her. Instead, she wanted to help my best friend. She was truly selfless, and Fates, I loved her with every fucking bit of my heart and soul.
Sure, Joel had no clue what was happening. Neither did Jenni. But Death and I did. We knew what Pandora had been trying to do for him. She just didn’t want to give him false hope, which was good.
False hope could be far too cruel.
Joel and Jenni sat across from us on my sofa a foot apart, their expressions tense with anticipation. Death leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his presence heavy in the room as he glared at Joel from the back.
“So, uh, not that I’m not happy to see my savior, but why are we all here?” Joel squeaked out, no doubt feeling Death’s glower at him.
“I was wondering the same,” Jenni murmured, shifting on the cushion. “I thought you had your session at this time.”
“Oh, we do. Hunter and I will continue our session after all of this.” Pandora’s red eyes met mine, and she grinned before turning back to them. “But I called you all here because I’ve been practicing something in secret, and well...I’m ninety-nine percent sure that I can bring Joel’s magic back.”
The room fell into stunned silence.
