Page 25 of Dancing With Death

“Aren’t you going to introduce us to your new mate, Wraith?” Gael asks as he leans back in the booth.

I glance up at Wraith, finding him glaring at the three men, who all just grin back at him. “I hate all three of you,” he mutters with a shake of his head.

“No, you don’t,” the redhead says. “But you’re being rude.”

“Like any of you care about being rude.” Wraith scoffs. “Trouble, this is Gael, also known as Conquest. Beside him is Octavius, also known as War. That just leaves Riggs, also known as Famine. Horsemen, I’d like you to meet mine and Donovan’s mate, Audrey.”

“Ummm, hi,” I say with a wave, not sure which one of them to look at. They’re all just so damn attractive—although not nearly as hot as my mates.

Octavius chuckles. “It’s nice to meet you, little reaper. We’ve been begging Wraith to bring you around since he told us about you, but he’s been keeping you to himself.”

When I go to slide into the booth, Wraith stops me and slides in first, pulling me behind him with Donovan taking the outside seat. I glare at Wraith, knowing he purposefully put himself between me and Riggs.

What a jealous asshole. If he keeps this up, I’m going to give him something to be jealous of.

“Maybe I just didn’t want to watch the three of you hit on her,” Wraith snarks, and I snort.

Riggs lifts an eyebrow. “No one is hitting on your mate, man. If we were, you’d know it.”

Donovan snarls, and it sends the horsemen into a bout of laughter.

“Donovan, we’re not going to try to steal your mate.” Gael rolls his eyes. “We just want to get to know her, for Lucifer’s sake. You’re lucky he was busy. He wanted to join us, and he’s the one you need to worry about. He’d totally hit on her. You know he has a thing for redheads.”

“He even hits on me,” Riggs says with a wink in my direction. “Not that I mind. The man is amazing in bed.”

“Can we not?” Wraith asks, his exasperation clear.

I grin at the three horsemen before turning back to Wraith. “I wanna meet Lucifer.”

“You’re not meeting fucking Lucifer,” he snarls back before shaking his head. “Stop being a brat. They don’t need any encouragement. They’ll be on their worst behavior, regardless.”

A server appears and asks us what we want to drink as she hands out menus. By the time she returns with our drinks, we’re all ready to order, and I can focus back on the horsemen.

“So what’s it like to be a horseman?” I ask, and Gael grins.

They tell me about how it used to be earth-side but then explain that they’d rather prevent famine, war, and conquest rather than spread it. It’s actually kind of sweet. They’re all pretty awesome. It takes a while for my mates to loosen up, but after a few drinks, they were joking just as much as Octavius, Riggs, and Gael.

This isn’t what I expected from the four horsemen of the apocalypse, but Wraith has already explained to me they’re not actually going to bring forth the apocalypse. Yes, they have the powers to do so, but that’s not why they were created.

Lucifer will occasionally call upon them to use their powers to spread conquest, war, famine, or death—or at least he has in the past—when there’s no other option for a group of people. It’s meant to teach them a hard lesson, and if they don’t learn it, that’s when it falls to Wraith.

A lot of what I thought about the world—what we’re taught in school—is so very wrong. Being in the underworld is eye-opening, that’s for sure.

“Gentlemen,” a tall woman says, and all five men at the table stiffen as she and two men approach us. They’re all about the same height, maybe six feet or so. They’re each gorgeous, but that’s not all that shocking. I’m coming to learn that most people in the underworld are beautiful.

What is shocking is that they have wings. Not wings like Nex, but wings made of feathers. Almost like…

“Angels?” I ask hesitantly.

“Fallen angels,” the woman corrects, her eyes trailing over me. “Wraith, I wouldn’t expect you to be at a pub with one of your reapers.”

“Lovely to see you, as always, Ophelia. This is Audrey, mine and Donovan’s mate.”

Ophelia nods, pushing back her long black hair. “Ahhh, that makes more sense. It’s lovely to meet you, Audrey. Boys, you can relax. I promise neither Sol nor Cassian are here to start any trouble. We just saw you over here and thought we’d say hello. It’s not often we see the four horsemen together.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well,” I tell her, unable to tear my eyes away from her wings. They’re completely white, making her hair appear even darker than it is. Her skin is bronzed, a few shades lighter than Wraith’s. Her eyes are such a light blue, they almost seem white. It’s kind of freaky.

Behind her stand two men—Cassian and Sol, I assume. The one on the left has golden skin and short blond hair. I’d describe him as beautiful—especially with those cheekbones that I’m definitely envious of. His eyes are a pale green as they meet mine. He gives me a nod before they return to the men surrounding me. His wings are a mixture of white, gray, and black as he flexes them.

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