As if the weather knew that their skirmish had ended, the violence of the storm began to ease, the wind quieting, the torrent slowing to a drizzle, the thunder and lightning fading into the distance.
“Typical,” Sage said, scowling up at the sky, her beige leathers stained with enough filth to make her look like a walking corpse.
“Everyone good?” Reeve asked, his silver eyes scanning each of them, lingering on Viri’s clawed cheek and the rip in her cloak where her arm had been grazed by the first reaper’s dagger.
“ ‘Good’ is relative,” Sage answered, prodding a swelling bump on her head, her purple hair almost black from the rain. “But I’m alive.”
“Me too,” said Ardin, his dark gaze alert as he peered into the shadows of the alley, making sure there were no more reapers lying in wait. “I think we’re clear.”
“Viri?” Reeve pressed. “You good?”
She nodded her lie. Physically, her wounds were superficial. But mentally, she was reeling—not just from the fight, but from whom she had foughtwith. She had so many questions that shedidn’t know where to begin, but before she could figure it out, a soft sniffling noise had her whipping around and remembering the reason for the reapers being in the alley in the first place.
The children.
Ardin stood closest to where they were huddled beneath the half-collapsed awning of a derelict building, and he slowly approached them, his hands raised in a calming gesture. “You’re safe now,” he told them. “Don’t be afraid—we’re here to help.”
A few of the children started sobbing—whether from relief or as a delayed reaction to the trauma of what they’d witnessed, Viri wasn’t sure. But as much as her heart went out to them, there was something she needed to know with urgency, so she moved cautiously their way. She was aware of how terrifying she looked, covered in muck with blood dripping from her scratched face, but she pasted a comforting smile on her lips as Ardin began sawing through their bonds and asked, “Does anyone remember where you came from tonight? Were there any other kids with you there?”
Headshakes met her question, but a young boy around Jessalyn’s age spoke up and said, his voice wobbling, “It was just us, but they said they were taking us to be with others.”
Viri cursed inwardly, but outwardly she kept the smile on her face. “Did you hear them say anything else?”
A girl around the same age whispered, “They called us spares. I—I don’t know what they meant.”
This time, Viri’s inward curse was much more profane. The Reaper Priest was apparently covering his bases, making sure he had more than enough children to guarantee the fifty he needed for the sacrifice.
“All right,” Viri said gently, “thank you for—” She stilled as Ardin cut through the last of the ropes, her face draining of color as she realized there were only two lines of children, not three. Eight kids in total.
There should have been twelve.
Whirling around, she caught Reeve’s eyes, seeing the moment he noticed it as well.
“The eighth reaper,” she gasped out, recalling the one she’d lost track of in the fight. “They got away.” And they’d taken four of the children with them.
Reeve swore, then swore again, swiping an aggrieved hand over his face and swaying on his feet.
It was the sway that broke through Viri’s horror, but she didn’t have a chance to question it before a furious voice hissed, “This is allyourfault!”
Viri spun at Sage’s words, finding the purple-haired reaper glaring daggers at her.
“Myfault?” Viri repeated, incredulous. “What did I—”
“You’re not meant to be here,” Sage said, closing the distance between them and jabbing a finger at Viri’s face.
Indignation rose within Viri like fire blazing in her chest. “What are you talking about? Ihelpedyou!”
“You only got in the way!” Sage spat. “If Reeve hadn’t wasted time saving your ass, we would have taken down that second group before any of them could slip away.” She jabbed her finger again. “You’rethe reason we lost those kids!”
Viri rocked backward at the accusation, part of her wanting to scream her defense and the other part whispering that maybe Sage was right. But before she could decide between rage orremorse, Reeve moved forward to break them apart—only to stumble and fall down on one knee. A groan left him as he curled over himself, pressing a hand to his side.
Hisheavily bleedingside.
“Reeve!” Sage cried, rushing toward him, with Viri right on her heels.
His dagger wound—Viri had forgotten all about it, especially since he’d fought so effortlessly that it was as if he’d never even been injured. She’d assumed his enhanced reaper healing must have helped him, but now…
Now she wasn’t so sure.
