Page 33 of Reaper's Ruin
Tears welled in my eyes, but they weren’t entirely tears of sadness. There was hope there too—a glimpse of light in the darkness of my situation.
“I think about my own mother sometimes,” Selyse admitted quietly. “I know I’ll see her again. I believe that with certainty in my soul. I just wonder whether she’ll be proud of what I’ve become without her guidance. I’m... struggling to take up her mantel. She was incredible, and I’m nowhere near the sorceress she was.”
“I’m sure she is,” I said, squeezing her hand. “You’re amazing. Even right now, I bet she’s smiling down on you proud you’re using your gifts to help someone in need.”
She smiled, blinking back her own tears. “So, we both have mothers to make proud, don’t we? You by finding your peace, me by living my purpose.”
I nodded, feeling a strange kinship with this young sorceress from another realm. Both of us daughters. Both of us missing our mothers. Both of us trying to find our way.
Emotions were still raw and painful inside me, yet I was now also filled with something other than horror and agony over my untimely death. I was filled with hope that a beautiful afterlife awaited me. One where I’d see my mother again.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “For giving me hope.”
“Hope is a powerful thing, and as long as you keep it, I know you will find your way,” she replied, standing and offering me her hand. “And now, we should get back before your Reaper decides to tear apart my forest looking for you.”
“He’s notmyReaper,” I said automatically, but then laughed awkwardly, that familiar heat rising in my cheeks.
“Well, there’s nothing wrong with having a little fun on this journey you’re on. You have a rare opportunity to live a little, and I think you should take advantage of it while you’re in this form. Enjoy Faelora a little. Or whatever else you’d like to enjoy.” She gave me a knowing look, her lips curving into a smirk, then with her chirping companion still resting on her shoulder, together, we walked back through the forest, the dress swishing pleasantly around my legs with each step.
When we returned to the cottage, Rhyker was pacing at the edge of the clearing, tension evident in every line of his powerful frame. He stopped abruptly when he caught sight of us, his expression shifting from what looked suspiciously like worry to carefully controlled neutrality.
“You were gone too long,” he said gruffly, his deep voice rumbling through the clearing. “I was about to come looking for you.”
“We’re fine,” I assured him. “Just... girl talk.”
His eyes moved to me then, and the intensity of his gaze made my breath catch. He took in the forest-green dress, his eyes lingering on the way the fabric clung to my waist before drifting up to the neckline that revealed more than I typically showed. Something flashed in those gray eyes—hot and quick like lightning—before he mastered it and looked away.
But not before I saw the muscle in his jaw tighten, the slight flare of his nostrils as he drew a deeper breath.
“Better,” he said, his voice rougher than before. “But there’s still one problem.” He tapped beside his own eye, clearly trying to maintain a businesslike demeanor. “Fae eyes shimmer. Yours don’t.”
“He’s right,” Selyse agreed. “Anyone looking closely would notice immediately that neither of you are fae.”
“Can you do something about that too?” I asked.
She nodded, already moving to her shelves of supplies. “A simple glamour should suffice.”
She worked quickly, mixing various powders and liquids in a small bowl. When she was satisfied, she dipped her fingers into the mixture—a shimmering silver paste—and approached me.
“Hold still,” she instructed.
Her fingers were cool against my skin as she traced a pattern around my eyes. I felt a strange tingling sensation that spread across my face, then faded.
“There,” she said, stepping back to examine her work. She handed me a small, polished stone that served as a mirror.
I gasped. My eyes, normally a simple blue, now seemed to glow from within, tiny flecks of silver and gold catching the light as I moved. The effect was subtle but unmistakable—inhuman in the most beautiful way.
“Now you,” she said to Rhyker, who submitted to the process with obvious reluctance.
When she finished with him, I couldn’t help but stare again. The silver-gray of his eyes now shimmered with an inner light that made him look even more otherworldly than before. Combined with his imposing height and the dangerous grace with which he moved, he was utterly breathtaking.
He caught me looking again and held my gaze this time. I couldn’t read his expression, but something in those newly shimmering eyes made my heart beat faster.
“Now you’ll blend in, at least at first glance,” Selyse said, seemingly oblivious to the tension suddenly crackling between us. Or at least she didn’t bring attention to it this time.
She moved to a small chest near her bed, withdrawing a pouch that clinked with the sound of coins. “You’ll need money,” she said, handing it to Rhyker. “It’s not much, but it should be enough to get you started.”
“You’ve done more than enough,” I said. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
