Page 57 of Haunted Hearts

With a heavy sigh, Willow’s arms drop from around my waist. Reluctantly I let go of her so she can step back.

“Will you stay with me?” Her eyes flicker from the scrying pool back to me.

“Of course. I’ll be wherever you need me to be, Willow.”

At my reassurance, Willow straightens her spine and nods.

“Ok then, let’s get this over with.”

Chapter18

BROCK

Billowing back to my house is harder than it normally would have been.

The technique needs an immense amount of concentration on your destination, or you could end up anywhere in the Realm in the Dead. As it is, I stumble forward from the fold and end up on my knees. My hands, still wet from the natural spring under Death’s house, slam into the grass as I catch myself.

I swear under my breath before rolling back onto my heels to sit up. My eyes land on my house, dark and empty. Usually, it’s a welcome sight. Now, however, it leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I should be with Willow, not here by myself. Why couldn’t I keep my big mouth shut? Fine, I hate Theo and the trouble he brought to Willow’s doorstep. So what? I should’ve kept that to myself. Why did I think that making Willow choose between me and her men would lean in my favor? She knows them. Whether she can see their flaws or not, is beside the point. In the end, her heart belongs to them.

Not me.

And I just blew my chance at ever winning it.

Reaching up, I wipe my hand down my face in frustration. As it falls away and slaps against my thigh, I force myself to get to my feet. Sharing… I have to fuckingsharethe woman who belongs to me.

“What the fuck did I do to have to compete with four other guys?!” I roar into the universe.

As expected, I get no response. With a frustrated huff, I trudge towards the front door, ready to be done with the day.

“Brock, is that you?”

Inwardly I curse, but as I turn around, I force a smile to my face. It must be weak because as the blonde giant stomps towards me through the woods, he grimaces.

“Geez, do I look that bad? I know it’s been a while, but I think I’ve aged quite gracefully,” my friend greets playfully.

“Hey Caveman, long time no—”

“Yeah,tellme about it!” he says sharply, coming to a stop before me with his arms crossed over his chest. I have to drop my head all the way back to look up at him. “Where the hell have you been all these years, Brock? You’ve been home a handful of times here and there, and just when we think we may have time to rush over here to check on you, you’re gone.”

“That’s not true, we hung out during—”

“—Tooties’ wedding was two years ago, and we haven’t seen you since!” Cave throws up his hands. “We’ve been worried about you, man. We thought something bad was happening, what with reapers going missing, the Veil unable to open, and then with the full collapse of two different realms… Things have been wild and you disappearing on us made everything worse. You have some explaining to do!”

By the time Caveman is done speaking, he’s bellowing. I flinch. This guyneveryells. Having him do so now tells me how much I’ve messed up.

“Yeah, um, why don’t you come inside?” I suggest, my gaze swinging back and forth around the woods to see if anyone else is around. The woods are unusually silent and there’s no movement. It must be just Caveman then. Are the others working? It’s not that I don’t want to see my friends, it’s just I’m not in the mood to dive into everything right now.

“Can’t, I have five minutes tops, then I have to split. The search party is about to get underway,” Caveman shakes his head. “I was just—"

“Wait, a search party?”

At Caveman’s scowl, I cringe. The guy is a gentle giant, but the one time I saw him get mad taught me that those meaty fists can swing faster than one would think.

“Yeah, Remy’s gone missing. He left on a reaping mission and never came back. The Ward is up to their necks in souls they have been receiving since the Veil reopened, so a few of us are going to go to his last reaping site to see if we can track him down.”

My stomach bottoms out. “Remy? He’s missing?”

Remy is the nicest, most easy-going, albeit dumbest, guy I know. There’s probably no one with a heart the size of his. Remy’s a good reaper, a great friend and I… I’ve been gone too long.

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