Page 86 of Of Daggers and Deceit

I’d kept my distance from Raya since the death of the Benefactor. I’d not seen her since the day of the address. Raya would be distraught without our mum.

Now, all I could think of was how the hell I could get to her, because she only had Bodhi to comfort her, and I had a promise to my mum that I intended to keep.

RILEY

Itapped my finger repeatedly on the elevator, eager to get to Raya to give her some sort of solace, despite how turbulent I was inside.

Zander hadn’t stayed true to his word by day’s end, having been called away in the night to attend a Benefactor’s house, and not for the first time, I was eager to sweep him out the door.

Sly had been quiet tonight, though he’d obliged my request, his hand gripping mine as we descended the building invisibly.

I didn’t know if I truly believed it yet that she was gone. I hardly saw her anymore, so a part of me felt like it wasn’t real. But I knew the minute I stepped into my childhood home and I couldn’t find her, it would hit me.

We stepped into the waiting elevator together, the silence between us awkward and uncomfortable.

It was Sly who broke it first. “You’ll be glad to know I’ve found two Omegas for the deal.”

I wasn’t. It made me sick, but the alternative made me moreso.

“They are sick. Their deaths are imminent.” The words were intended to reassure me, and to some sick extent, it did. They wouldn’t have to endure for long.

“You still want to proceed, don’t you?” he asked, his voice emotionless.

“There is no other choice.” It was times like this I was grateful that Zander’s guards were his only surveillance.

“There is always a choice,” Sly retorted, pushing me again. I didn’t feel like I had enough energy left to keep up with everyone anymore.

“There is no other choice that does not end in thousands dead,” I reiterated.

The ding of the elevator thankfully silenced our conversation before the doors slid open, and we tip-toed our way outside and around to the gap in the hedge.

I shifted towards it, and he paused, our hands held outstretched in the air as he released his magic, allowing us to be visible to the world, though this corner of the garden always remained just ours.

“You won’t choose me, will you? You won’t even try.” His haunting eyes bore into mine, his shoulders pushed outward, as if preparing himself for what he knew was to come.

“I don’t believe I truly get a choice in this life,” I whispered.

He lifted his chin, and his face turned steely. Then, his hand released mine.

I itched to grab it back, but I withheld no matter how much I felt like I was crumbling. It was for the best. It would keep him safe.

“I will stay and keep watch. I will see you when you return.”

My fingers touched a single rose, its petals falling to the floor as I nodded weakly, acknowledging his words for what they were: a dismissal.

On the other side, I looked back only once, his back turned to me. I watched for a moment more as his shoulders rose and fell, more tired than before.

Not a single light was on inside the house by the time I twisted the handle to step through my old front door.

It shut behind me with a soft click, and the gravity of her absence hit me immediately, rushing up into my throat, stealing the breath from my lungs. I scented the air. It even smelled different, sour, vacant.

Soft sniffles caught my attention, and I tip toed towards the lounge, noticing a figure curled up into a ball on it. Her head was between her thighs, but her beautiful hair cascaded down her back in a tangled mess.

“Raya?”

Her head lifted, and she sniffed.

My feet took me briskly towards her, needing to comfort her, perhaps even to comfort myself. I sat down and pulled her into my arms.

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