Page 31 of Dead to Rights
He had anticipated her reaction. Like Noah had pointed out, she wasn’t stupid.
Nodding, he popped the cork and tossed it to the side. With his hand hiding the bottle from view, he pressed his thumb over the opening to create a seal, careful that not even a single drop of liquid would touch his lips. Then he tilted it to his mouth, tilting his head back to really sell it.
He even remembered to pretend to swallow.
“Alright,” he said, holding the vial out again. “Your turn.”
“How do you feel she asked?”
“Good. A little warm.” He searched for another adjective. “Excited.”
“And what about Noah?”
“Who?” The lie tasted bitter on his tongue, but he knew he’d made the right decision when she smiled and reached for the bottle.
He expected a moment of reluctance. A heartbeat of uncertainty. A part of him braced for her to stop at the last second and pour the river water out onto the dock like a Bond villain.
Instead, she tossed it back without hesitation, swallowing half the contents in one go.
Finn held his breath, every muscle in his body tense, prepared to fight if necessary. “How do you feel?” he asked, echoing the question back to her. “Do you know who I am?”
“I…I think…” She frowned, her eyebrows drawn together in concentration. “I’m sorry. Should I?”
Exhaling in relief, he glanced over his shoulder and nodded at Orrin. In an instant, the elf flashed to Karleigh’s side, wrapping a supportive arm around her shoulders as he led her away.
“Who are you?”
“It’s okay,” Orrin told her. “I’m here to help you.”
“Okay,” she agreed easily. “Do…do you know who I am?”
Orrin glanced up at Finn, silent communication passing between them. Neither of them felt good about erasing someone’s entire history, but it had to be done.
And now, the nightmare was finally over.
Chapter ten
TheGatesofJudgmentturned out to be a total scam.
First off, they weren’t even actual gates. Just two massive stone pillars bracketing a brick-paved road. Secondly, Noah had expected there to be more judging. A proper trial where he could plead his case. A ceremony in which he had his sins weighed against a feather. A reading from his Book of Life.
Something.
In reality, it had been way less dramatic. Instead of waiting anxiously to hear his verdict, he had simply walked between the pillars into a wall of dense fog and emerged on the other side in a sun-drenched park.
He still couldn’t believe he had been so nervous about it.
The decision to cross the river in the first place had been a fairly easy one. He had promised his mate he would wait until the danger had passed and make the choice from a place of acceptance rather than fear. And he had done just that.
Finn had never really belonged in the Village of Lost Souls in the first place. Now that he had answers about his death—even if those answers had been frustrating instead of satisfying—he hadbeen more than ready to move on. Which meant the only thing holding Noah back had been his brother.
Making the choice to leave Keegan behind had been an impossible one. They had been through so much together, and he hadn’t relished the idea of waiting thousands or even millions of years to be reunited with him.
Thankfully, Rune had made the decision for him.
Seeing his mate almost obliterated by an unhinged vampire had been a tipping point for the Guardian. The choice to remain in the village had put Keegan in danger more than once, and Rune had refused to let it happen again.
Although he had spent millennia in the Underworld as one of Orrin’s loyal guards, Rune wasn’t actually dead like his mate. At any time, he could choose to pass between realms and return to the land of the living.
