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There are feathers all over the grass and pieces of black fabric, along with broken head stones and tipped over trees Pain sets in at what these two can do and how much I need to stop it

I stop short of them, suo away, Ca in my veins

Silence settles around me and I crack open my eyelids Ca lifelessly at his side "Don’t say things you don’t mean, Ember Rose," he advises "Think about the last tione," I de a step toward "I don’t want death haunting et rid of death, princess," he says sorrowfully, letting go of Asher cohtens uess I will outrun it for as long as I can"

Carass off his hands, before lowering the hood of his cloak, so I’ directly at hi you to ive in to me, not to the others"

My heart thules my chin up to look hiht and sadness haunts his eyes, like the first tiht?" I ask, with a shiver "When I saw you digging up the grave?"

His fingers twitch at his side, longing to touchfor a faer to the hollow of randma’s necklace…" I trail off, confused "Why do you want it?"

He smiles miserably "And I’m sorry I took it, but I had to Besides, it wasn’t yours to have in the first place It belongs to randma have it?"

"Because she stole it from us"

My eyes broaden "Ca his finger across ht noant to talk about you and me"

"There is no you and" My eyes stray to Asher, lying in the grass, encompassed by black feathers "Did you kill him?"

"He can’t die, princess" Ca frown "Unfortunately"

"Why did you kill Mackenzie? And Laden And I’ me to run, but my desire to know the truth overpowers them

"I didn’t kill Laden Asher did," he says "And Mackenzie and Farrah died from the same human’s hand, not mine And if you listened closely to her story, you probably could figure out the culprit"

"Her dad?"

He shrugs "That’s for you to figure out, if you want to I just collect the souls And I’ll admit, I didn’t try to stop Mackenzie’s death I wanted her to suffer for all the tiic is a puzzle toI’ve ever heard"

"I know you don’t understand" He cups h me "But that day when I saw you in the cemetery, I knew I had to have you and that I’d hurt anyone that ever caused you pain"

"Your little friends," I point over my shoulder at the forest, "hurt me Do you know about that?"

"I can’t help that without breaking more rules But it can all be over if you want it to be All you have to do is agree to be with me--want to be with me And then I’m allowed to help you"

"And what? Beco people?"

"There’s"More to you than what you realize and you’re in for a rough and painful life until you realize that But it can all be over if you’ll just give in to your Reaper blood"

I compress my hands into fists, and will h a s you to leave, just like I did when I was four"

His face falls and his eyes flash with anger Lightning zaps across the sky, but I refuse to look away "Is that what you really want, E in my throat and make myself want it "That’s what I want"

He bites down on his lip so hard blood drips down his chin, and then he cups the back of h, alainst his body I taste the blood on his lips, the foul darkness of death, but a flicker of so substantial is hidden deep inside him, like a seed in the center of an apple

He releases ers downaway "I’ll pay for that one forever" He backs toward the gates, his eyes fastened on me "They’ll come for you--the rest of the Reapers They won’t stop until they get you to crack"