There was a knock at the front door a few seconds later, and we all exchanged grimaces.
Some immortals were best to avoid if possible, even for extremely powerful fae. Something told me the Wraith was one of them.
"Sit next to me," Merrily said quietly. "Dare can sit across from the Wraith so we're more prepared if something goes wrong. I don't know how they know about fated mate bonds."
If I had to guess, I'd assume that Callum had decided to meddle in Merrily's situation too, since he was responsible for bringing Niall back into my life.
I wasn't going to say that, though. Iwas loyal to my best friend, even when he was an asshole.
I sat down next to Merrily, pulling a fidget spinner out of my pocket and twisting it in an attempt to keep my anxiety at bay.
It would be nice to have a mate. To hold his hand instead of fidgeting and pacing or straight-up panicking.
Callum was so different now that he had Kat. He actually seemed happy sometimes. Not just sarcastically, either. Hesmiled, from time to time.
Maybe making a bargain with Niall was a good idea for me.As unlikely as it was that he could be my mate, I needed to know if there was a connection there before I could make any other decisions on the matter.
Merrily and I both watched as a woman stepped out of the hallway and into the kitchen, in front of Darius. She was about my size—short and slim—but unlike me, she looked strong, and had some curves too.
Her grayish-whiteskin was covered in floral tattoos from her neck to her toes. Not the bargain kind, but actual ink tattoos that glittered with magic. I'd seen magic tattoos on occasion, but I'd never seen an immortal with that skin tone. It made me think something had happened to her.
Something deadly.
Her hair was a striking shade of gray that I'd never seen before. It almost looked like it had been black before the color was leached out of it unevenly, leaving her with some pieces that were lighter gray and some that were darker. Her lips were painted black, the eyeliner around her gray eyes was a sharp, thick cat-eye in the same shade, and her nails matched too.
Shadows moved around her constantly, the charcoal tendrils resembling ghostly fog or fire. She wore a simple black romper that was basically a skin-tight tank top connected to a pair of short, stretchy shorts.
The woman looked absolutely badass.
I needed to get one of those outfits.
Not that I'd ever in my life managed to look badass, but there was a first time for everything.
There definitely hadn't ever been pictures of her in the news. No one would forget a woman who looked like that.She was both ghostly and stunning at the same time.Wraithsuited her. She didn't even need a real name.
Darius waved her toward one of Merrily's armchairs. The woman moved across the room so silently, I had to look down to make sure that her feet were touching the ground.
They were.
She sat perched on the edge of the chair, her gaze moving slowly, calculatedly, over each of us.
I got the feeling she was trying to decide what she would need to do to keep herself alive if we attacked her. Or maybe she was just considering how she'd kill each of us, if she had to.
She was clearly very powerful, but there was no way she could take out even one of us without dying in the process. An assassin wouldn't bother attacking during the day, anyway. She'd use the shadows to kill us at night, when we weren't expecting it, if she wanted us dead.
Of course, the wards around Rumor would fall with us, which didn't make us ideal targets.
"Callum Frost told Grayson Darke to research fated mates," the Wraith said, not bothering with greetings as she looked straight at Merrily. "I work with Gray. We hunted fae and even tried to bargain for the information, but it took time to find someone who would tell us. Now that Grayson has figured out what theconnection is, he's planning to abduct you as soon as he gets things settled in the Shadow District."
Merrily went still.
"Why are you here, then?" Darius drawled.
The Wraith flashed him a look that couldn't have been anything other than irritation. "I'm aware that abducting Death without warning could cause a war. Consider this your warning. The demons have no desire to fight with you. When Grayson takes Death, he takes her as a fated mate. Not as an enemy to the fae."
She rose to her feet smoothly, apparently done with the conversation
Darius rose to his too, his body position casual, but his eyes holding enough of a warning to make me go still too. "No."
