Page 132 of Veil of Death and Shadow

Not that I knew whatfinishedeven looked like for a guardian angel on duty. He hadn’t been particularly forthcoming about that either.

But Thorne made it sound like Kieran’s constant presence wasn’t actually necessary. Maybe he was just supposed to check in occasionally, see how I was doing—watch from afar. If Kieran had other things to do, he was free to leave. It wasn’t like I’d asked for a perma-stalker.

I ignored the hollow dip in my stomach when I thought about the possibility of him doing just that. I knew he wouldn’t be around forever or anything, but I’d kind of grown used to his hovering, incessant presence over the last couple of days. And after what had just happened in Incendiary . . .

Fuck, was I getting attached to a dead guy now?

What the hell was wrong with me?

Maybe it would be better if I just left now, while they were distracted—saved us all the trouble before things got messier.

Sora was missing; I had my own stuff to handle. I most certainly didnotneed to get caught up in the drama of the dead. And, judging by their posture and the deep snarl on Thorne’s face, they weren’t any closer to working out their disagreement.

Soft, laughing voices echoed down the street as a group of people, each of them dressed to the nines, made their way towards Incendiary. The night was still young, which meant that if I moved quickly, I could probably make it to the bar before last call.

Decided, I spun on my heels and started walking away, doing everything in my power to ignore the heavy pang in my chest at the thought of leaving without saying goodbye to Kieran.

I brushed the guilt away with a deep, steady breath. We were tethered. If he wanted or needed to find me whenever they were done hashing their shit out, he could. In the meantime, I had a best friend to track down.

Sora was the thing that mattered above all else. Kieran was just a temporary fixture in my life. Sora was my home.

I’d only been walking for a few minutes when I felt a presence at my back. With as much subtlety as I could muster, I slid my apartment key between my fingers and spun around, holding the makeshift claw up in front of me.

Kieran’s brow arched in vacant amusement that melted into a small frown. “Thought I said don’t move.”

Thorne stood next to him, staring down at me like I was gum again.

“You clearly have stuff to do,” I said, hating the rush of relief that flooded me at his nearness, “and I need to go find Sora. We can check in,” I glanced at Thorne, “you know, later.”

“No can do, Agony,” Kieran shook his head, then wrapped his arm over my shoulders, turning me back in the direction I’d been walking. “I’m your shadow until my job is done.”

We started walking, Thorne following behind us a few paces like a storm cloud.

“You did your job,” I said. “I’m sure you’ve got other charges to track down and haunt. I can take things from here.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” he said.

“And your friend?” I glanced back at him, flinching at the dark look in his eyes.

Thorne made a deep rumbling sound. “Friend is not the word I’d use.”

“He’s free to do as he wishes,” Kieran said. “I’m not his keeper. I’m yours.”

“So,” I said, after a long, drawn-out minute of silence that was starting to make me itchy from the discomfort of it, “are you a guardian angel, too, Thorne?”

Kieran started to answer, “More or le?—”

“No,” Thorne said, cutting him off. “I’m a reaper.”

Kieran rolled his eyes, a muscle ticking in his jaw.

I stopped my stride, letting that world roll over me. “As in, like,” I tried to form the shape of a scythe with my hand, but itended up looking more like a bad impression of Captain Hook, “grim?”

Thorne, who’d apparently only momentarily forgotten that I wasn’t worthy of his attention, went back to glaring at me in a silence that screamed rage.

“We’re part of the same order,” Kieran said, chewing over his words slowly. “I protect and guide people. He devours them.”

Thorne snorted.

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