Page 13 of The Shadow Bride

Another boom of thunder follows, rattling the copper pots. Then another.

And another.

It takes several seconds to realize the pounding noise isn’t thunder at all. Even Beau turns to look at the door before I make the connection. Because—someone is here. Someone isknocking. Frowning, I peek at the clock on the mantel as the door quakes beneath another onslaught. The hands read half past four in the morning.

Whoever this is, they aren’t stopping by for tea.

Lou swallows audibly, stepping from her nook and glancing from the pentagram to the door to Reid. “Should we—er—open it?”

“Are you insane?” Beau asks, low and incredulous. “We just summoned ademon—”

“We don’t know it was a demon.” Though Reid straightens, still staring hard at the door, he doesn’t release my elbow. “Whoever is out there might need our help—and I doubt a demon would knock before entering.”

“I don’t care who it is.” Coco rubs her arms absently, as if warding off a chill. “They can come back later. After what just happened, we need to rest—”

In the end, their bickering matters very little.

Everythingmatters very little.

Because with one last deafening knock, the front door splinters before blasting from its hinges, revealing Michal Vasiliev—dripping wet and furious—on the threshold. “Hello, pet,” he says through gritted teeth, and hiseyes—

They’re the last thing I see as my breath hitches, my heart leaps, and my knees collapse.

Chapter Five

A Fate Worse Than Death

I wake to strong arms around me.

For just an instant, my heart leaps in anticipation, and my eyes snap open to find—

Blue irises.

“Reid,” I breathe, and it tastes like disappointment.

Expression fierce, he holds me in a bridal carry and watches Lou at the door, where she stands with her back to us and her hands planted on her hips, entire body bristling with indignation. I look away hastily. I focus on Reid’s jaw instead. He must’ve caught me when I collapsed, and—and that was quite gallant of him. Quite nice. He appears to be feeling better since I closed the veil. His color has returned, and his movements feel steady.

Peering up at him through my lashes, I hold my own body perfectly still and inconspicuous. Perhaps I could simply—simply close my eyes and pretend I haven’t awoken. No one would need to know otherwise. No one would ever suspect. It would be for the betterment of everyone, really, if I just stayed silent—asleep, even—while Lou handles our unexpected caller.Yes.I nod inwardly and squeeze my eyes shut once more. Lou seems much stronger now too, so I should probably just—

“I know you’re awake, Célie.”

Low and pleasant,toopleasant—almost conversational—Michal’svoice sends gooseflesh down my nape. I shiver despite myself. The last time I heard that voice, I hovered above him, watching as he dragged his broken body to my own, as he brought his blood to my lips and whispered,Please stay.He turned me into a vampire that night. He broke his every conviction to save me.

Then he sent me away.

I keep my eyes firmly shut.

“Come now, pet,” he says, coaxing, his eyes boring almost painfully into my cheek. He must see how I shiver at the endearment—how Reid’s arms tighten around me in response—because his voice darkens slightly as he says, “You’ve never been a coward before. Don’t start on my behalf.”

“You don’t get to say that.” Lou’s sharp voice cuts like a knife through the heavy tension in the room. Whatever ailed her during the séance has clearly passed. “You don’t get to speak to her at all. We had anagreement, Michal, that you’d respect her wishes and leave her alone—”

“—with the provision that you’d care for her.” Though he speaks to Lou, I can still feel his gaze; it remains fixed upon my face, willing me to look at him. And a small, shameless part of me wants to do just that. The larger part, however, is just as cowardly as he says—because I can’t look at him now. After everything that happened between us on Requiem, I justcan’t. “A mistake, clearly,” he murmurs, “as it seems you’ve indulged her death wish.” Then, softer still, and directed at me, “When have you last fed?”

My throat closes in answer, but as always, Lou rises to the occasion, despite the feeble thrum of her heart. Every muscle in Reid’s body tenses as she snarls, “She doesn’t want to talk to you, and if you really think she has a death wish, I don’t blame her. You’ll talktomenow. And how dare you make assumptions about how we’ve cared for Célie? You have no idea what she’s been through—”

“And you do?”

At the dangerous note in his voice, gooseflesh creeps farther down my spine. Though that larger part begs me to keep my eyes closed—to ignore him in hopes this entire situation will justgo away—the smaller part knows Michal better. If he came here, he came for a reason, and he won’t leave until revealing it.

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