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Are you a Charonte simi, too?
Yes! she’d always answered back, proud to sleep like her favorite aunt Many tis propped on top of Sihtly around Kody that it had been hard to breathe Even so, Kody had never complained Every child should be enveloped in such love And so long as Si and no one could ever har them whole for it
And both Si Kody from the Malachai Even now, Kody could see the horror of that night in her e when the Malachai’s ar place Simi and her husband had stayed behind to hold the Malachai back while Kody’s brother had run with her into the night
Ari had used his oers to shield her from their de’s going to hurt you so long as I live”
And just like Simi and her husband, Ari had fallen to the Malachai Everyone Kody loved had been destroyed by the beast Nick was destined to becoht for hiallu She had to save him He was the only hope they had
The tio forward Too many lives depended on her, as well as the fate of the entire world
Determined, she flashed herself to the front porch of Menyara’s small duplex condo that Menyara had once shared with Nick and his mother
Kody took a moment to compose herself Because Menyara was her blood family, it was always hard for her to be around Menyara and not betray herself Every tioddess, she wanted to throw herself into her arms and cry To tell Menyara who she was and as to co
With a ragged breath, Kody knocked on the door and braced herself to ht yellow cotton dress, Menyara opened the door and arched a brow at her Today, she had her sisterlocks curled about her beautiful face
Kody ached to bury her hand in them like she’d done as a child Back then, whenever Menyara visited, she’d rock Kody and sing ancient Egyptian lullabies to her Kody would twist her fingers in Menyara’s hair and bury her face in the rose-and-hyacinth-scented strands until she fell asleep, nestled in Mennie’s warmth
How she loved this woman
Menyara smiled at her “Miss Kody, to what do I owe this honor?”
Kody opened her mouth to tell her what had happened to Nick, but no sound would cohtened as if soathered in her eyes
Then everything went dark
CHAPTER 4
Nick ca over hi as if someone, probably Tabitha, had slapped him a few times in an attempt to revive him
Amanda let out a relieved breath
Tabitha snorted “We’re in luck, T He’s not dead … yet We didn’t kill him Hallelujah! We don’t have to call the lawyers or hide another body”
Another?
Scared of that thought, Nick scowled at the familiar raven-haired Goth queen as decked out in black leather pants and a black bell-sleeved shirt This hat he knew Thank God, he was hoain?”
She duplicated his frown “When did I run over you the first time?”
Selena slapped at her arm “I told you, Tab He’s from an alternate place where he knew you”
Nick winced at Selena’s disgruntled voice Dang, it hadn’t been a dream, after all He was really here
With them
Worse? They’d multiplied There was now a total of five Devereaux sisters Tabitha, Amanda, Tiyana, and Selena he knew The other one he’d seen in a picture pinned by the register in the store
“I’ht himself before he mentioned that they’d already met here in this store But that had been in a different life, and in a different tiainst the counter, looking completely bored
“Karma”
“The woman orks with bulls?”
Kareful, mean one, too You’d do well to remember that”
“Duly noted” Nick sat up sloith Selena’s help He felt weak and dizzy Disoriented
What had happened to him?
“Now that is wicked”
He frowned at Tiyana, as staring at him like a lab experiment that had just sprouted a new head froazes with Selena “He’s not crazy What he told you is true He doesn’t belong here We have to get hi terrible will happen there and here”
“I don’t know He’s kind of cute Can’t we keep him?”
“He’s not a puppy, Tabby”
Tabitha s collar I have at home”
Nick moved over to Amanda, who seemed to be the safest bet in this falanced at him over her shoulder “For the record, if they attack, I’ for the door”
“Gee, thanks”
She shrugged “How you think I’ve survived so long in this family?”
Tabitha cocked her head as she studied hi scrutiny “So what are you, exactly?”
“How you mean?” Nick asked
She approached him slowly until she had him pinned between her and Amanda “You look huers and studied it “I know you’re not the undead You’re blond, yet you’re not a Daimon Demon, maybe?”
To his shock, A away, Nick screwed his face up at her “Hey! That’s gross”