Page 7 of Love's Ace

For a moment, all I could feel was him.

I swayed forward without thinking and brushed my lips against his—he didn’t have a chance to shove me away or protest. Before he could draw a breath, the world around me dissolved and went black.

Chapter 3

Wren

There was no reasonfor the arrow in his chest to be bright red. There was noreasonfor the way his eyes widened to make my mind momentarily fog in confusion.

There was absolutelyno reasonfor him to go limp in my arms, and for me tofeelthe pull of it when his body fell and the arrow caught between us dissolved into a red thread—soulmates.

Soulmates?

That wasn’t fucking possible. It was even worse, because I could feel the dark, sucking sensation in the middle of his chest—the pull where the Enmity had infected him.

It leeched slowly along the thread that connected us and tried to take me with it. I couldseethe red line slowly draining of color. My lack of emotion gave the darkness more grasp to flow upward.

I had a flare, a momentary burst of sensation that I always got when I stabbed myself but…

But…

My heart wrenched, and I gasped. I didn’t realize I was falling to my knees with him until I was already doing it—with each pulse of the traitor organ, I couldfeelhim.

With each pulse of my heart, my arms spasmed tight around the limp body trapped against mine. I wanted to yank the arrow out, but it was already too late. I could see the glow of a swirling mixture—white and red—Aiden’s Ardor shattered in my pocket.

The ability to feel love, to truly feel emotion.

Pierced through my heart.

And Iknewwhat was wrong.

I’d seen this happen one other time, given my vial to a forbidden cause. I was a complete idiot fornotputting the vial away before I came out.

Then again, I’d thought I was simply going for a quick flight, not…

Not this.

Not…

“Fuck.” I hissed the word out, because the red line surged between us, and where the brilliant color met black, I felt the burn of it like acid.

I could feel the pain in his chest.

I couldfeelthe Enmity inside him slowly clawing and seeping out through his veins.

Taking over.

Ready to kill him.

Ready to kill us both through the connection I’d forged that shouldneverhave happened. It shouldn’t have been an arrow ofFatethat I hit him with.

“Sephtis!” I screamed, yanking the medallion I wore from around my neck with one hand while the other cradled the man against me. I didn’t even know his fucking name, but I could feel every beat of his heart. Every beat as it grew weaker. Every beatas the blackness started to eat around it. The necklace swung in front of me—silver with a black stone inlaid in the center.

“Sephtis, gods damn it all, I’m calling in my favor.”

I’d thought I would call it in one day for something interesting—maybe something entertaining. After all, it was rare to have a Reaper owe you…

But…

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