Viri wanted to scream at her brother, to yell that it wasn’t worth it, to sayshewould go with the Reaper Lord, but she knew it would be no use. Braedan had made his choice—he was going to protect her, no matter what it cost him.
Reeve’s arm was the only thing that kept her upright as Braedan walked stiffly over to their parents and knelt between their bodies. His hand shook visibly as he reached for their dad, his throat bobbing as if he were swallowing back bile—just like Viri was—but he wrapped his fingers around Jorth’s bare forearm and closed his eyes in concentration.
One second stretched into five, ten, twenty, before Braedan finally squinted up at the Reaper Lord and said, “Nothing’s happening.”
“You have towantit,” the shadowy man instructed, sounding impatient. “Others become reapers because they want the strength, the heightened senses, thepower. Some just enjoy the euphoric high. But you? Think of what you want, why you’re doing this, and thenusethat to reach out and steal their magic, claiming it as your own.”
Braedan glanced back at Viri, his eyes roaming over her face until they turned steely with resolve, then he slammed them shut again to concentrate oncemore. He looked like he had during his Impartation, only instead of willing his ellixen into the obelisk, he was willing their father’s ellixen intohimself.
This time, it worked.
Almost instantly, Braedan’s veins began to blacken, the sight of them—and what they meant—so disturbing that Viri had to turn away. As she did, her gaze locked on Reeve’s hands, finding no trace of the strange silver lines she’d seen when he’d siphoned from her. It didn’t make sense—he was technically a reaper now, and she could apparently see reaper veins, and yet, there was no evidence marked into his flesh, as if he’d never taken her magic to begin with.
But Viri couldn’t think about that now, because Braedan’s tremulous voice called out, “Done,” and her gaze returned to him just as he released his grip on Amity, having siphoned from her as well. He rose to his feet above their parents, his blackened veins spreading all the way up his arms, proof of what he’d done, what he’d become.
Braedan was a reaper now.
And he’d done it to protect Viri.
A sob left her, but she clamped her mouth shut over it, not wanting to make this any harder on her brother. She knew he was doing this for her, and while part of her hated him for it, she hated herself even more.
“Say your goodbyes,” the Reaper Lord said. “It’s time to go.”
Viri shook her head as her brother walked woodenly toward her, refusing to believe this was it, that he was really going to leave her. Her tears were coming so fast now that it was hard to see as he stopped in front of her and pulled her in for a tight embrace.
“I love you, Viri,” he whispered. “Promise me you’ll do whatever it takes to live your life. That’s what Mom and Dad would want—for you to be happy.”
“They’d w-want us b-both to be happy,” she wept against his chest.
“And we will be, one day,” Braedan vowed, pulling back to meet herblurring, tear-filled eyes. “Until then, make sure you live well enough for both of us.” He kissed her forehead, then stepped away to haul Reeve into a bruising hug, rasping out, “Look after her for me. You’re all she has now.”
Reeve said something in reply, something Viri didn’t hear, and then Braedan was releasing him and striding away, following the Reaper Lord through the lifeless angelrose hedge toward the wayportal. He didn’t look back, not even once.
The moment he was out of sight, Viri crumpled to the ground, sobbing so hard that she was sure her heart was tearing in two. Reeve sat and pulled her into his arms, telling her everything would be all right. But he was wrong—nothingwas all right, and it never would be again. Her parents were dead. Braedan was a reaper. And she—she—
She didn’t know what she was, only that she was alone.
“You’re not alone,” Reeve said fiercely after she wailed her fears aloud. “I’m here, Little Shadow. I won’t leave you. I’ll never leave you.”
His words only made her cry harder. Everything that had happened flashed through her mind, torturing her in a way that not even the obelisk had managed.
“I c-can’t l-live like this,” she howled, certain the strength of her loss was going to destroy her. Braedan had asked her to live, to be happy, but it wasn’t possible. She knew that to the very depths of her being.
“Perhaps I can help with that,” a soothing voice interrupted.
Viri jolted in Reeve’s lap, fearing another monstrous reaper had come to add to her grief. But instead, a handsome man stood before her wearing a vibrant emerald cloak, his hood lowered to reveal a kind face with gray-flecked black hair and bright blue eyes.
“Wh-Who are you?” Viri asked.
“Who I am doesn’t matter as much as what I can do for you,” he said, crouching before them. “You wouldn’t remember me, Viridia Solace, but we’ve met once before, and because of that, I now owe you something.”
Viri wiped her face. “Wh-What?”
“A wish,” the man said. “A magical wish, for anything you want.”
Her swollen eyes widened. “A m-magewish?”
The man cocked his head to the side. “I’m surprised you know that term.”
