Page 36 of All Hallows Trick

Sure, we only had three vials left, but it was something. We had two weeks for the scientist Madde had tasked with engineering a cure—or at the very least another antidote—to finda solution. It would work. We’d be okay. I ignored the building sense of doom and held tight to the light bubble of happiness surrounding us.

Miz had had a good few days, and everyone seemed to be healing. His scratches had disappeared and so had Death’s injuries and Tor’s, much to his pouting displeasure at losing the mark I put on his body. We were okay. Still nowhere near full power but stronger.

Yet I couldn’t get rid of the crawling sensation on the back of my neck.

Nightmare was out there, plotting, waiting for a chance to kill Death.

Strong arms wrapped around me from behind, squeezing in a way that told me it was Tor. “Because you’ve been such a good girl, you deserve this.”

He turned me, hands squeezing my waist, and I spotted the gift box sitting on the cerise couch instantly.

“You got me a gift?”

“I got you several,” he corrected. “Open the box, and then you can do some research for later.”

Research? I frowned but unravelled the red bow on the black box, my breath catching when I removed the lid and found a stack of ten books.

“Have I told you I love you? Because I really, really love you.”

Tor laughed, kissing the top of my head. “You’ve told me, but it’s nice to know all I have to do to hear it again is buy you books.” He lowered his voice, lips brushing my ear. “Pick out some spicy scenes for us to act out, beautiful.”

Researchsuddenly made a lot more sense. I remembered the note he left me in the first book he bought me.

This is the first of many romance books. Take note of the sexy bits, beautiful, we’re going to recreate them. Tor.

A flush moved from my face down my chest, and I tucked a secret smile away between my lips, searching the titles before I selected one about a woman and her stalker.

“What’s this?” Death asked, a twinkle in his storm-grey eyes when I glanced up at him. He picked up one of the books and read the back, a smile growing on his face, making him so devastatingly handsome. “A priest, Cactus? You’re even more scandalous than I realised.”

“Hey, Tor bought them!” I protested.

“And I wear my scandal with pride,” Tor said, the twinkle in his eye making my heart soar.

I lightly thwacked Death’s arm. “And don’t call me Cactus.”

“But you’re a very cute cactus,” he laughed, stealing me from Tor so he could pull me close, his face hovering over mine, teasing me with a barely-there kiss. I’d just leaned up to kiss him properly when he sucked in a sharp breath and jerked back.

“What? What is it?”

The playful air of the room vanished in an instant.

“Is it Nightmare?” Virgil demanded, his voice a rasp.

“I can’t sense her,” Misery said sourly. “I’d know if she was close.”

“Someone’s broken the wards around my castle,” Death said in a dark voice. “Someone’s in our home.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

TORMENT

Eyeballs bursting. Bones snapping. Flesh peeled meticulously from muscle and ligaments. In the few seconds it took Madness to sweep us away to Death’s castle, I indulged every gruesome fantasy of what I’d do to the bastard who’d broken into my home.

Nothing prepared me for what we found when the hot-cold rush of Madde’s shadows ripped away, leaving us just inside the gates. The rage that had built in me stuttered at the sight of a dozen creatures lined up before the front step like soldiers under a general, their horns and claws and talons a clear threat. My leg throbbed in memory of the weakness that still gripped me, my magic nowhere near recovered. The last thing I needed was another fucking wound. I didn’t even want to think about what being wounded would do to Miz. Something felt off with him, and no amount of telling myself he was weak from being scratched soothed the paranoia.

But then I’d been paranoid about losing him since Nightmare hurt him the first time around; this was nothing new.

“Go back to Madde’s castle,” I said, catching his good arm when he darted forward a step.

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