Page 30 of To Crave Truly

“No, you don’t have to do that,” Fenris said on a gasp as he stood back up. “I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t have to pretend for me. I can see you’re in pain.”

“I don’t mean to interrupt this heart warming moment, but what do you mean by heal him?” Iver asked.

I sighed. “Why do you care?”

Iver’s dark eyes narrowed. “Because Sin Reaper’s shouldn’t be able to heal anybody.”

“Come again?”

“They’re built with the purpose to consume souls, force guilt blah, blah, blah. They don’t heal people.”

I looked to Alec. “Iver has a point. Healing does seem to go against what we know about them.”

He shrugged. “Perhaps it’s something to do with all the other stuff floating around in you.”

“You make me sound like I’ve got a disease,” I said with a scrunched nose.

He chuckled. “I didn’t mean that, just that you’re nothing like we’ve ever seen before. When it comes to you, I don’t think knowledge will help us.”

I glanced over at Iver and he was watching me with a curious gaze, his head slightly cocked. “What?”

“Nothing,” he replied quickly. Too quickly if you asked me.

“You know something.”

He shook his head, his messy black waves dancing around his ears. “No. Well, I’m not sure. What exactly happened when you saved Fenris before.”

I hated thinking about that night. I’d done more than kill someone, I’d consumed my first ever soul and left a man to a fate worse than death. Fenris brushed his hand against mine. I don’t know if he even knew he was seeking out my touch.

“Fenris and I were attacked by this guy and a couple of skin wearing demons. Fenris was killed, and I snapped. I let Iveri and the Sin Reaper take control. They took the guy’s soul, and then I used that energy, along with Lucifer’s through our bond, to bring Fenris back.”

Iver hummed but said nothing.

“What is it?” Alec asked.

Iver grinned. “I think we’ve just found our scintillam vitae.”

“Excuse me, what?” I’d heard what Iver had said but the words weren’t sinking in. “Nope. No way.”

“Lori, you can’t be that dense?” Iver scoffed, his black eyes sparking with amusement at my expense. “You just said you brought someone back from the dead.”

“But that was because I consumed a soul.”

Iver gave me a flat look.

“He’s right, Lori,” Fenris said quietly. “I died and you brought me back.”

“And I bet that you didn’t come back quite the same,” Iver said, and the room went quiet.

I looked at Fenris, but he wouldn’t meet my gaze. Was Iver right? Had he come back feeling different? “Is that true?”

“I… maybe. I don’t know.”

Well, that gave me the answer I needed. Surely if he’d come back the same, he’d know it for definite.

He looked at me and I saw the moment that he withdrew from me. His eyes darkened as he shrunk in on himself.

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