Page 91 of Reaper’s Curse

Aoes bound into the space from the direction of the underground tunnel entrance. His attention skimmed from me to Winter. “Coast is clear.”

Winter lifted the glove up for all to see. “I believe I have the matching partner.”

“Seriously?” Aoes balked as my body jerked stiff. “Can you bring it to me…I mean, us? The glove belongs to Chace, or Raven, or both, actually.”

Winter smirked. “Based on where I found the glove, it is highly unlikely that it belongs to either of them.”

“Where did you find the other one?” I asked.

“And why should I tell you?” Winter dropped the glove back where he’d found it and then grazed his finger along the box’s edge.

“Tentative truce, remember?” I pushed off the wall but chose not to approach and not to appear threatening. “I thought we were going to try to work together?”

“Right. That.” The prince’s lips pursed, and he regarded me for two seconds. “I discovered the glove among a bunch of the royal healer’s items.”

The royal healer. Winter was referring to Valen. And since Raven’s father had suggested they contact the male, I was under the impression Valen had been a reaper before getting trapped in the citadel by the curse. If the deduction held true, then it was plausible that Valen did have the glove. And maybe they weren’t a pair, but both single for their purpose.

I worried my jaw in thought.

“If the glove is yours,” Winter continued, “what does it do?”

I didn’t have a clue. “You’ll have to ask Raven.”

“Maybe I will.” He sounded like a precocious child.

“You do that,” I retorted and folded my arms across my chest.

“Enough already.” Aoes stepped between us and pushed Winter toward the exit. “You two are like baking soda and vinegar. You just can’t mix peacefully.”

He turned and shoved the prince out of the underground bunker.

He popped his head back in before disappearing. “Maybe later you can help me locate Earl?”

With my new heightened hunter senses, the request seemed reasonable. I nodded, watched the males leave, then grabbed the necessary goods to script my next message. I took a moment to study those four little words: golden black bird heart. Then I began.

Black Bird,

Blue you were when last we met, and although I had hoped the cause was me you missed, I’m told the truth was a seasonal seed within. Expelled it may be, but man and monster, magic with mayhem, this combination a lovely thing does not make. Keep your beak and feathers sharp. Be ever ready to fight or fly.

I prefer you fly and stay safe. We still have that bit to revisit.

The golden creature in the cage has the morning message and whispered of a matching glove (You know the one). A kernel that interests? A twig needed for your nest?

Your curious Curse Chaser

The message was flying in the clutches of a crow before nightfall. No reply came from Raven that night, nor the next morning. I didn’t let the immediate lack of a response concern me…much. I had plenty of work to occupy my time while I waited.

I took to the citadel to track Earl’s movements and marked the best locations from which to study the activities, both in and outside, of the palace.

If my soul hunter siblings were somewhere the Killian could not venture—the palace—I would find them. Find them and reunite with them. Then recall and conclude our original mission.

A silent laugh vibrated in my chest.

If only things were as simple as they sounded in my head.

25

“Wakey, wakey, sweet cheeks.” Lucas stood in the open doorway between my bedchamber and receiving room, a mischievous grin thick on his lips. “You have an early morning with Valen, and we must be ready to play our part. After all, he now believes we’re a couple.”