Page 65 of Reaper's Quest

Winter jerked, ever so slightly, and scrutinized the maze of creases decorating her hand, his eyes widening. “Um…”

His silence pressed upon the group like a severed mountaintop.

“What?” Raven leaned closer to him, a soft giggle in her tone. “What do you see?”

Is her inflection born of flirtation or nerves?I couldn’t help but wonder.

Winter folded her hand into a loose clutch, cradled within his own. He raised her hand to his lips and gently placed a kiss upon her skin. “A fierce beauty. That’swhat I see.”

Raven bit her lower lip, restricting her smile.

I rolled my eyes and averted my gaze. I didn’t place much credence in palm reading, but something in the lines of Raven’s palm had rattled Winter. Or concerned him enough to remain silent.

Raven had to have picked that fact up from his reaction.She had to have.

Winter sighed then stood and bowed his head. “Unfortunately, I’ve already stayed longer than ideal. I must return to my post. Until next time.”

He made his way to the exit.

What had he seen written in the lines of Raven’s palm that had him deviating from his philandering tactic and fleeing from the scene?

I couldn’t stop my incredulous scowl. “Your post calls at this late hour? Where do you work?”

“Winter works at the castle,” Aoes answered for him.

With a quick word of confirmation and a tilt of his head, Winter dipped out the door and disappeared into the night beyond. I stared after him, the wordcastleringing in my ears.

Had the answer to reaching our quest been lingering in the pub beside us all this time?

“Charming and employed.” Raven’s words scratched at my delicately balanced temper.

Now she finds him charming?

All I found when I looked at Winter was the desire to break all the bones in the jerk’s hand.

But Raven wasn’t wrong about the employed bit. Winter might prove useful, after all.

We needed to get into the castle, but the streets leading to the massive structure created a frustrating puzzle. A hardto navigate maze, the route likely bewitched. And from what Aoes had told me, every palace entrance was well guarded.

Not to mention, every street we’d found that came remotely close had ended in a river of something thicker than flaming water, but more fluid than lava. A possible product of magic. The river expanded to a lake, surrounding the center fortress and royal estate with a substance that would turn a person to ash faster than a body could burn.

Yes, we would have to investigate…and leverage…Winter’s newly discovered position at the castle.

After rising to my feet, I pushed my chair against the table, scratched my neck, and turned for the stairs. “I’m going to go clean up.”

Andmaybetake my damn pills. Because I’d been neglectful on that front. The hints of auras had begun to take form, and they too often gave me headaches.

No one within the citadel walls needed to know about my daily medication needs.

Chiara Badden,daughter of Njord Badden and Balsinde Gunn. A journal of her thoughts. Her ridiculous ramblings of love and yawn-worthy family matters. Why would my mother want me to read the reaper’s never-ending scribblings? What purpose could it serve?

I kept my mind focused on that why, lest my thoughts wander to Raven’s laugh and flushed cheeks. An expression for which another, not me, could claim responsibility.

I lowered my body beneath the bathwater and welcomedthe mellow thrumming of sound deprivation. But even with silence all around me, my mind refused to still.

If I kept reading Chiara’s words, would I find a connection, however slight, to the situations I faced here in Veritas? Ubel had to be involved somehow. The presence of the flying monster in his lab, a clear testament to that fact.

I sat up and swiped the water from my hair. No answers yet existed. I had to keep reading, watching, and listening. Ever vigilant.