“Orion,” I say, crossing my own arms and frowning at him, mad again. “You have the power to call up anything, instantly, at your fingertips. And you seriously couldn’t have done this for her before?”“Easy, June,” Jesse murmurs, and I snap my head to him, surprised that he’s the one protesting. Jess
The four of us spend most of the day lounging on the couch, pleasantly buzzed off red wine, watching movies.Or, more accurately, Orion and Laila watch movies, and Anton and I watch them.“They’re so cute,” I murmur, leaning close to my ghost and idly slipping some popcorn into my mouth.“Technologi
A growl hums in my chest as I narrow my eyes at my handmaid. “Don’t you go falling in love with her,” I snap. “You know that’s forbidden.”Anton’s face bursts into his beautiful smile – the bright, happy one I can never resist returning. “You’re so cute when you’re jealous.”I snarl, flashing my tee
The moment Nic escorts Anton and I back to my room I storm away from both of them.“Juniper!” Anton calls after me, frustrated and mad.“What happened?” Nic asks, baffled, as I stride into the bathroom.“Do you really want to know?” Anton asks, snappier than he usually is.Nic just laughs, but I don
I turn sharply, covering my face with my hands, not willing to let Anton see the tears in my eyes.He doesn’t say anything. Even if I can feel him still standing there, anger and shock and fear still racing through every bit of him, he doesn’t say a word.“Can you please just go?” I choke out as the
“No, June,” Anton says after a long moment. “Of course I don’t love her. I don’t even know her.”“But that’s not how mate stuff works,” I say, raising my eyes to his. “It’s supposed to be…instant.”“I don’t have a body,” he sighs, gesturing towards himself. “No body no bond.”I bite my lip for a sec
I perk up at this. “How do you know that?”“Oh, Beatrice is all air and sun,” she says with a sigh, looking over at them. “Whereas our ghost wolf is all darkness and stars. It’s…not favorable.”A little smirk comes to my lips. “Don’t you need their birthdays to know that?”“When one is as proficient
“What kind of test is this!?” I snarl, waving a hand up to the pillars. “Is it so important that the Queen of the Underworld be able to balance at great heights!?”“Watch yourself,” Death snarls, stepping close enough that I can hear his lowered voice as he glances around, ensuring that the courtier
“No!” she sputters out, stumbling a few steps towards me, shaking her head so hard her pretty blue-green hair flutters out all around her. “No, Junie, don’t make me go! I want…I want to stay here! And help! I mean…” she bites her lip. “It will be nice to be able to visit home. But I want to stay wit
“I’m sending you home too,” I say quietly, doing my best to look each in the eyes. “I’m sorry this happened to you. I’m sorry if you’re disappointed that you didn’t get the wish.” They murmur a variety of responses back to me, most of them relieved. One by one they step forward and I take their ha
“Does…” I whisper, my eyes still fastened to Orion as my eyes move over him, feeling the powers that radiate from him now. “Does that mean you have all of the powers of Darkness too? From…from the wish?” “No,” Orion murmurs, looking down at his hands and flexing them, experimenting with the feel o
Beatrice is the last to go, staring at me in shock, realizing finally that she bet everything on the wrong horse. I bare my teeth at her, fangs extended, and Beatrice’s eyes go wider as she trembles and finally submits, going to her knees and bowing her head. “Good,” I say, my voice returning to n
Laila’s knife sinks deep between Death’s shoulder blades and the final scream of a God fills the air as Death falls to his knees. The magic stops mid-stream, like a tap being suddenly turned off. I groan and tilt forward against Anton, who catches me and holds me against his chest. “Shit, June,”
“Just a little longer, June. She’ll do it.” But what if she doesn’t? What if…what if I’m inches from oblivion, and this is it? My heart strains in my chest, my wolf shaking like a leaf from snout to tail. But still, I will myself to hope. To trust in my friend. “I know,” I reply, letting my ey
I gasp, my shoulders trembling under the sheer weight of Death’s magic that flows over and around us, my shield barrier straining and buckling under its might. “June,” Anton breathes, eyes wide as he looks up at the magic streaming over us in an unending torrent. “Shit – are you –“ I crouch besi
The wish presses against Death for a moment and then sinks into him, dissolving into his chest. He sighs with happiness and what looks like ecstasy, tilting his head back to the sky as the magic disappears into him. Beatrice steps away, tucking her hands behind her back, beaming at the God she jus
Before I can get more than three steps after Laila, Anton lunges forward, his paws landing on either side of me as he snatches at the back of my gown with his teeth, holding me back. His fierce growl reminds me that I need to stay here – that Death took Laila because he wants me to come rushing onto